THE FOUR CITIES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 196, 13 May 1908, Page 8

THE FOUR CITIES.

THE CENSUS CONTROVERSY.'. ; ■" ■ (by telegr.U'h.—special correspondent.) . Auckland, May 12. / ' The system of .arriving at' population statistics ati present in vogue is looked upon here as being very ; unfair. Under, the Regis-trar-General's scheme, the Auckland Road Board Districts are not counted in, whereas Wellington and Dunedin have been allowed to retain their outlying- suburbs. Despite the departmental explanation, 'the 'system is ' considered to bo misleading. :Tho Chairman of tho Auckland Chamber of Commerce (Mr. L. J. Bagnall), seen by a "Herald" representative, said the method was • a most unfair one. In all fairness, ho considered that the Road Boards attached to the'. city should be counted in. Arch Hill and Eden Terrace districts, for instance, were quite "as much entitled to be called suburbs of Auckland as the ' boroughs. "They aro certainly suburbs of Auckland," continued Mr. Bagnall, "and I fail to sea what object the Department has in changing the old method. Surely the Registrar-General is not influenced. by any; party feeling of jealousy regarding the population of Auckland as compared with that of Wellington: I suppose the explanation is that all road districts are being-left out." . , , : Mr. J. H. Mackie, secretary of tho Industrial' Association, also expressed his dissatisfaction with the present method, which, .he said, would disturb.'tho continuity of the system that calculations had been .based on for a number of years past. "It would not matter," said Mr. Mackie, •" if the basis of compiling tho statistics was uniform throughout Now Zealand, but , hero there appears to b» unreasonable, discrimination., As a basis, the figures now being supplied are of no valuo as far as the rclativo • progress of tli-o citics is concorncd. Looking at the,matter from a practical utility point of view, the new system will defeat tho object for which the statistics woro provided." > Others expressed similar views;. it being considered tnat .tho four cities should bo brought into liOa with one another.