STEPS IN ADVANCE

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 152, 30 June 1922, Page 4

STEPS IN ADVANCE

CENTRAL PROGRESS

LEAGUE

WORK DURING THE YEAR

SOMETHING ATTEMPTED, SOME.

THING DONE.

The affairs and interests of the City of Wellington and the neighbouring districts in both Islands were the subjects of discussion at the annual meeting of the Central Progress League last night. The president (Mr. C. M. Luke) was in the chair. The attendance was not large owing to the bleak weather and other causes, suoh as the meeting of the City Council. Apologies for absence were received from, the Mayor (Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P.), Councillors Forsyth, Bennett, and M'Kenzie, and Messrs. W. D. Hunt, C. C. Odlin, C. E. Daniell (Masterton), George Denton, P. C. Watt, and others.

In moving the adoption of the annual report and balance-sheet, already published in detail, Mr. Luke said it was surprising what little progress they did make with very necessary public works. He cited the instance of the Girls' College, the building of which was not yet in hand. Then there was the deviation of the Rimutaka. railway, at which they had hammered for years, but which, stifl. remained, like Mahomet's cofpn, suspended between heaven and earth. He believed the Government had now very important Surveys bearing on the question. Mr. Luke mentioned also the Paekakariki railway deviation and the Thorndon retaining wall, on which, in-, deed, same progress had been made. He was glad to see that an agreement between the Harbour Board, the City Council, and the Government had been reached. He could not .understand why the work should not be put in hand at once. On it rested the whole problem' of the central railway station. Better housing of the people and other questions were contained in the report, and to the organiser and secretary, Mr. Mitchell, they owed a great deal. He might even say that Mr. Mitchell was half the Progress League, which in itself was one of the most important institutions in the city. Like other institutions, it had its youth to get through, and, if it was walking now, he hoped the day would not be far distant when it would run very well. (Applause.) All they asked was that the just claims of the central district should he heard at least on an equal footing with those advanced by other progress leagues for other districts. (Hear, hear.) In speaking to the motion, duly seconded, Dr. T. D. M. Stout paid a warm tribute to the work of the president and secretary. There was no more important question than that of housing, the conditions of which were in Wellington simply deplorable. It was a common custom for families to be living in one room1 —a state of things that should not exist in a civilised, much less a wealthy, community like their own. He hoped that some town-planning scheme would be adopted in the near future. The distribution of population by sufficient transit to outlying suburbs and the prevention of aggregation of population in the city were questions that seemed to be overlooked Dy the city authorities. Narrow streets —streets deplorably too narrow—were being permanently choked for expansion of traffic by the erection of solid brick and concrete buildings. He^ instanced Moles worth-street. As regarded the Rimutaka deviation, the speaker urged the advantage of. the Wainui scheme. The reason was that it opened ■up fresh territory, and th^ problem was not entirely an" engineering problem— rather something in which the welfare of the whole province was concerned. (Applause/) AMALGAMATION OF BODIES URGED. Mr. W. Stuart Wilson endorsed the remarks of the last speaker in regard to the work of the president ,and secretary. He agreed they had not made the progress they anticipated -when the league was first inaugurated. Actual progress had been made, at least, in respect of the roads'. Last year, 28s per head <jf population was spent in Wellington as opposed to 14s a head in Auckland—a great improvement on the previous year. Mr. Wilson urged again that all the various leagues and associations should be embodied in one body, and that the Chamber of Commerce. He would like the executive to consider the question of merging. There was not the least reason why one big body working in the interests of the city and [the nation should not make for better progress. Parliamentary Government, as they knew it to-day, was more or less a failure. He instanced the loss on the railways, and the decline of the postal service. It was necessary for the business people -to be organised—an organisation of the trained minds of the community—if the country was to go ahead. Mr. Wilson said that Wellington should really have •more money, spent on railways than should _ Auckland. He hoped that a more live interest should be taken in all these questions, as they were of national importance. (Hear, hear.) Mr. John Howell, director of the Wellington Technical College, agreed that the league was doing the most useful work of any one of such societies. He doubted whether Mr. Wilson's suggestions for amalgamation of these bodies were in the right direction. Mr. Howell paid a very warm tribute to the work done by Mr. Mitchell in the interests of. education in the city. * The schools had no warmer and no move energetic friend than Mr. Mitchell. He felt confident that the league would continue to furnish such support as it had given in the past, and supply the most useful ammunition contained in the report. (Applause.) ■, ' The secretary (Mr. Mitchell) thanked members for the kind tfjings they had said about him. The social well-being of the people should be the first consideration. It was a duty to try to make everybody as comfortable aijd happy as circumstances would permit. The housing of the people and the housing of the children in the schools were therefore of pre-eminent importance. He believed the Government vtas going to'fulfil its pledges in regard to the Mangahao hydro-electric scheme, and was making a most commendable effort. He urged the power boards to get to work at once witli their reticulation, to be ready when Mangahao was ready. As regarded the Thorndon reclamation, the speaker said that in a week or two the plans would be all ready, and he hoped the Government would accept the offer of the Har-' bour Board, which had the finest staff of engineers in the Dominion, to carry on the work. The speaker referred to the improvements of the Paekakariki and Rimutaka roads, and expatiated on the advantages of the city geographically with the finest harbour south of the Line. All this was hampered by the railways over the hills. Referring to the Technical College, Mr. Mitchell said it was not i in the interests of economy that construction so far advanced should be stopped now and spoiled. He did not. agree with Mi-. Wilson that Auckland jyaa not entitled to the money spent on i

the development of a large province needing the linking up of railways, but he did say that Wellington was also entitled to much larger expenditure. It was the duty of local members of Parliament to look after the interests of the city. In conclusion, Mr. Mitchell warmly thanked the press for the service it had rendered to the community by giving publicity to the objects of the league. In reply the president said he could not agree with Mr. Stuart Wilson on the question' of amalgamation into one chamber of commerce. The objects of the Progress League and the Chamber of Commerce were not one and the same. The report, and balance-sheet were adopted. . ! OFFICERS ELECTED. . The election of officers resulted as follows :—President, Mr. P. C. Watt; vicepresidents, Dr. A. <K. Newman, M.P., Dr. T. D. M. Stout, Messrs. R. A. Wright, M.P., W. H. Field, M.P., W. Stuart Wilson; committee, Messrs. C. Daniells, L. M'Kenzie, T. Forayth, F. Castle, J. T. Johns, W. H. Bennett, C. C. Odlin, C. M. Luke, W. Sim; hon. secretary and treasurer, Mr. G. Mitchell, M.P,-