TOPICS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 87, 10 October 1927, Page 8

TOPICS OF THE DAY

Discussing State Advances and housing on Friday night, some members of the House of Representatives compared the marriage rate with the house-build-ing rate. The comparison is not directly relevant, for two reasons: (1) it assumes that each marriage creates a demand for a new house; (2) it suggests that the State is under some obligation to provide the funds for a home for every newly-married' couple. Actually the demand for houses does not rise step by step with marriages, because old homos are constantly being made available by the death of the old occupants or their decision to give up housekeeping in favour of rooms, boarding, or some other arrangement involving less labour. Them, too, many newly-married couples start their housekeeping in. flats, not always because they cannot obtain a separate home, but because they prefer the city to suburban lifo. Certainly new marriages increase the demand for homes, but a house-building programme which provided 100 new homes for 100 marriages would not be in accord with the facts of ■ actual demand. It is equally wrong to suppose that each married couple has a right to a house-building loan. That assumes widespread State paternalism and a general failure among young people to make provision for their married life. The State Advances system was designed'to supplement private finance; not to replace it completely. It is operated upon a narrow margin which makes little provision for losses. The Minister of Finance states that in all the centres except Wellington the border-line has been reached in building new houses. This means that if building is pushed ahead without consideration the Department may have vacant houses upon its hands. The financial margin does not allow for such losses. It is necessary, therefore, .that the lending should be conducted with caution. Every effort should be made to use the funds available to help those in greatest need;, but a programme involving unlimited millions would be dangerous.

Further reference has been made by the Mayor to possible ,solutions of the motor-parking problem. The time is coming, Mr. Tronp believes, when big buildings will have to make their own provision for parking the cars of tenants. Any attempt to compel such provision by direct regulation would, we believe, be inequitable,, since it couia only be enforced in the erection of new buildings. Individuals wouia thus be put to heavy expense in order to relieve the pressure upon public parking places. Better results can be obtained with greater fairness to all concerned by well-devised control of parking. It is now many months since this problem was first brought under notice; and the City Council appears to have made little progress in considering means of solution. The longer a decision is deferred, the greater -will be the difficulties to be encountered in bringing a new order into operation. Provision of a few extra parking places will not dispose of the difficulty., Action, it seems to us, must be on the lines of an extension of the principle of time-limits. This is now applied to the heavy traffic streets, and it must be applied also in modified form to adjacent streets. At present the motorist who uses his car for business in the city is liable to be crowded off the convenient parking places by- tho carowners who leave their cars idle all day. It is reasonable that the driver who wishes to park his car for four hours or longer should take the more distant stand, leaving the near stand for the car which is more constantly in use. To enforce such a' system, however, thore must be an improved control, first by plain and unmistakable notification of parking regulations and time-limits, and next by sufficient inspection to ensure observance of the rules.

It is evident that no substantial improvement in traffic control (including tho control of stationary vehicles) can be made without strengthening the traffic inspection staff. Particulars* published recently show that the inspectors now have much of their time ocou-

pied with indoor duties which could possibly be transferred to clerical assistants, leaving the trained men free to undertake the work for which they are specially qualified. Whatever form the reorganisation may take it will involve further expense. Should this expense be met oy the general ratepayer, who is neither responsible for it nor benefited by it? The Council now receives certain fees from motorists, including drivers' licenses and heavy traffic fees. Sometimes the return from these fees is quoted as a special revenue, available to meet interest and sinking fund charges upon special motor-road loans. If the cost of regulating motor traffic is considered, as it should be, as a first charge upon the revenue derived from that traffic, it will be seen that there is not nearly so 1 much available for the costs involved in jiew capital expenditure.

Parliament will have to walk warily in its treatment of citrus, fruits under the new tariff. As it was, the duty on these fruits of Id per pound under the general tariff, plus overseas freight and , charges, was - high enough. But recourse to California and Sicily was necessary for supplies on grounds of quantity and quality. The new tariff will amount to practically 6d per dozen, and in the passage from wholesale' to retail it is probable that the new duty will put another Id on every lemon. For a generation lemons and oranges have been grown in the north of the Dominion, but obviously not in such a quantity as the Dominion as a whole requires, hence the reason for imports from California, Sicily, and other countries. Manifestly the local trade would find it more advantageous and less risky to handle the local than the imported article, quantity and quality being equal. But are they equal? There is a far more urgent reason than oven the political support of northern citrus fruit growers why every facility should be given to the consumption of citrus fruits at as low a price as it is possible to market them. Modern "medical 1 experience is that consumption of such fruits—especially fresh oranges for young babies—is a vital necessity, quito as much so as bread and meat and milk. We have no hesitation in urging Parliament, before doing anything to' raise the prices of citrus fruits, that it take Sir Truby King and other high medical authorities into its confidence. Citrus fruits, with oranges at 3s 6d a dozen and lemons sometimes up to 2s Cd, put this indispensable article of diet out of court with people of moderate moans.