TOPICS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 145, 16 December 1927, Page 8

TOPICS OF THE DAY

In his four weeks' stay in New Zealand Mr. Amery has taken life strenuously. His "rest" in the mountains was no idling holiday. Without tho opportunity for preparing adequately for high climbing he yet managed to accomplish a great deal. It is doubtful, however, whether the test of endurance thus selfimposed was more severe than that to which he has willingly submitted almost every day of his stay. Indeed, it can bo readily understood that nineteen hours' hard'climbing was more of a rest than the sixteen hours of sneaking, interviewing, ;and'conferring'which has; been his daily portion;^ The zeal and ability with which 1 he has prosecuted his Empire mission cannot be better attested than by the fact that .he lias faced: tho heavy tasks of the tour'without. complaint. When spare minutes have been available he has even added to the list of engagements. Through it all he has brought the same close attention to bear upon all the varied subjects brought under his notice; and the. quality of his speeches has been maintained. Such zeal should convince every New Zealander that in Mr. Amery the Dominions have a Secretary of State devoted to their interests. Furthermore, the fact' that Mr.- Amery's experience here is similar to the .experience of the Dominion foiirie; Ministers at Imperial Conferenees\should -dispose"for ;eyer. of the suggestion that ■attendance on Empire business is a "joy-ride." ...

With, the old year nearing its close, the athletic bodies are showing, in the matter of the • proposed Gear Island Sports Park, that active interest which the ," Evening Post has consistently endeavoured,.;to arouse by various articles oh the open air aspect of HuttPetone development. A generation which is witnessing the rapid conversion to residential or industrial use of all tho neighbouring grass lands— from which are emerging the Moera workers' homes vijlage, the "auction area" subdivision,' the railway workshops site, and the '' industrial area"—eannot':afford to look indifferently on Gear Island, and it is much to be hoped that the energy and spirit of co-operatioiT shown at tho conference last night will not have_ diminished when the New Year arrives, with its call for deeds as well as words. When "The Post" wrote on Gear Island, some people seemed to think .that the proposal was too big, but our only fear was (and is) that Gear Island is not big enough ■ for .-the requirements of sports and athletics. The generation that sees all' this beautiful level grass land undergoing conversion may incur some criticism from posterity, but, if so, tho complaint of posterity will be not doing too much but doing too little. After allowing for the reservation of Gear Island; the continued existence of the Hutt Park, and the smaller reserves provided for in the Government's subdivision ;schemes, can it be said that the open air cause has received sufficient recognition? Posterity's answer to this question is easy to guess. Already there is talk-at the conference about the Gear land being-^'not enough to go round"—even though trotting stays in its home at Hutt Park.

With-.the* conference's large attendance and co-operative spirit as "a mandate to go on," the Hutt Eiver Board, as owner of Gear, as as trustee for the Board's ratepayers, has to decide what is a r fair revenue to the latter. A balance has to bo struck betwoen the ratepayer interest and the user interest, and.this should not be difficult to do, particularly if, as "the chairman suggests, special consideration will be extended to users who are public athIfetic bodies, functioning for healthful recreation;and not for private profit. Mr. Prendevaie, on behalf of the Goliath of the athletic world, the Wellington Eugby Union, spoke in reasoning vein to.*he assembled Davids, and raised pertinent questions as to finance and administration. As there will apparently be need of borrowed capital, shall the Hutt Eiver Board bo the borrowing and spending authority, apportioning the overhead among the various athletic bodies according to the stake (land and improvements) held by them under the allocation of land to bo agreed on? Again, having allocated the land and done the improving work, shall the Board then treat the athletic bodies as tenants on a rental, or give them a longer and more responsible tenure?,., Shall each body fix its own ground charges to the public? On what basis shall its land be valued, having regard to the contention, that Gear

land is of varying values, and cannot be assessed at a flat rate per acre? It seems that the Board will approach these and similar questions in consultation and co-operation with the intending users.

A long-delayed summer would.probably have hindered street-paving even if all plans had been ready for the prosecution of the programme. ' Now, however, we may reasonably expect summer weather at last (though present indications are certainly not promising). It is. satisfactory, therefore, to note that the council is preparing to expedite the work. It may not be possible to do all that is anticipated this season; and it 13 to be hoped that the more urgent works will, accordingly, be put in hand first. There are some streets and many footpaths where preparation has proceeded so far as to cause a considerable duat nuisance. If the surfacing is not done this season the value of this preparatory work will be partly lost, and residents will exchange the dust nuisance in the winter for equally objectionable mud.