AGAINST PAROCHIALISM.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 861, 6 July 1910, Page 4

AGAINST PAROCHIALISM.

AUCKLAND MOVEMENT CONDEMNED.

Tlio leaguo of Auckland members formed, as he expressed it, with the object of getting "as much of the Public Works Fund as possible' for Auckland" was strongly condemned in the House yesterday by Mr. Forbes, member for Hurunui, as a bad instance of •''parochialism." The ideal of this league, he thought, was a very low ideal indeed. if tho league's object was to see that the Public Works Fund was fairly apportioned to every part of New kjealand thero would bo. no objection to it. Mr. Rcolo (Auckland West): That's what it's for.. Mr. Forbes: Then you had.better get the newspaper report corrected. It says that you are going to see how milch of tho Public Works Fund you can secure for Auckland. Mr. Forbes read from the newspaper a statoment of the intentions of the league, observing amidst laughter: "That snvacks a good deal of the American in politics." Mr. Poole: That is entirely wrong. Mr. Forbes said he thought that the formation .of the league was .the most retrograde step that had yet been made in the politics of this Dominion. If the Auckland members were going to set up "this combination the rest of tho Dominion would have to combine to see'that Auckland did not get away with more than its sharo. (Mr. Poole: No fear of that.) If one pare of the country was to be pitted against another like this there would be logrolling of the ' worst description, and they would have to thank Auckland for introducing American methods into the politics of this country. . Mr. A. M. Myers, tho now member for Auckland East, said he was sur-. prised that southern members had raised the cry against Auckland members of parochialism. Reasonable requests, from the South would have the support of Auckland members, and he hoped that their reasonable requests would receive'tho support of southern members. Mr. Myers quoted figures to show that the North Island contained nearly three-fifths of the population of Now Zealand, and was responsible for two-thirds of tho total foreign trade. The. average net revenue per mile of railway in the North Island was £481 lis. Id., and in the South Island £345 9s. Id. This was in spite of the fact that tho miles of lino in the North Island for 190S-09 numbered 1132, and in the South ] island 1542, a difference of 410, although the Main Trunk line had now been completed and tho Manawatu lino ■ taken over. During the period 1833-1903 the population of. the. North Island'.increased, three times as fast.-as that of tho South Island; land values increased twiee as fast; live stock increased nearly four times as fast; imports'and exports nearly twico as fast; deposits ' in savings banks -nearly twice; postal traffic 1J times; Customs and .excise nearly three times: passenger railway traffic twice; goods traffic more than' li} ; times; live stock traffic more' than twice; season tickets more thah.lj times,; railway revenue more than twice as fast.