'EN AVANT," OTAGO!

Evening Star, Issue 16627, 9 January 1918, Page 6

'EN AVANT," OTAGO!

"Speak 'unto the children of Israel that they go forward." In the history of nations thel'o are testing times—times when the whole future of tho race is hanging in the balance. To falter spells disaster, to hesitato ruin. To such a climax, in its history had tho Jewish nation como when the command was given to its' intrepid leader. With the Land of Promise- before .them, they hositated; but the advance was '• made. What of Otago, the pioneer division" of New Zealand ? She seams hesitating" on the brink. Tho other parts of. tho .Dominion have set their faces forward, but we—we doubt; are we going to fall? To stand still is impossible: we must go on or go out. Where is that pioneer spirit that sent onr ' province forward, that crowned Dunedin the Queen City of the South, that developed her resources, that led the way in things industrial and commercial? Has it gono out, like a candle in the wind, or is it flickering to fail? We have a glorious heritage, the achievements of the past, the good name won by men of vision, men who took their opportunities in both hands and built out of them a lasting monument to their integrity in business, their industry in affairs, their zeal for the welfare of the Mother Land. But we, are we degenerato sons of worthy fathers? Surely we, too, have a vision; surely we, too, have,tho will to power. Yet we are lotting it slip. "To the North, to the North!" seems the slogan of the hour. The population of the island is moving ■ north, the spirit of enterprise seems to forsake us; our commercial and industrial supremacy seems to be passing from us. And why? Is it that onr resources are gone? Is it that the forces of Nature are against us? Is it that we have developed to our utmost capacity? Think, think for even a moment, and you will see that the cause lies elsewhere. We, the men and women of Otago, are to blame for this state of affairs. Tell- us, if you will, of the wonderful climate of the sub-tropic North. The answer is itung back in our faces in no uncertain way. Development has always been greatest in the temporate zones. No enervating elimat-u produces progress of itself; we-' cannot blamo our climate. We dare not blame the situation of the province... With a wonderful back country, with a material outlet for that back country, we nevertheless stand still! Assuredly our leaders need to hear the command of ancient days:' "Go forward!" For a moment let us "consider tho possibilities for development in "Sunny Central." We. know the two requirements of that district—water and roads. Have we, as a far-sighted community, demanded tho development necessary to' tap the resources of the province? Have we been standing at the door of Government House demanding, demanding that this should bo done, or have We been asleep in' the fool's, paradise, saying, like the Spaniard. "To-morrow"? Have we ourselves done anything towards its development? Echo answers " No !"

In the City here what have wo done to attract new industries? Have wo blazoned forth the advantages we have to offer? Have we learned that it pavs to advertise.?. We hear of new industries being started elsewhere, but we seem content to drift. "Laissez faire" seems our watchword these days. Have our public bodies ever considered a policy of advertisement—a policy of development—bv offering cheap sites? The Harbor Board possess big quantities of* land. Do they not realise that to develop the,port it would be wiser to have great producing factories on the land? Instead of having it idle, to bring to the port raw material and to send from the port the produce of these factories should be their policy. They might drop money on their leaseholds'; tnsy would make monev on the" port dues This " sit tight" attitude should be discarded at once. It is a. commonplace that tlie quality of labor in Otago is unequalled in the Dominion ; but how do we prepare to continue this most desirable state of affairs? Is it by keeping whole areas of our cities as slum lands? Do we expect to rear a healthy and happv peoole in some of these tumbledown,', insanitary places? We must faco a scheme-a big scheme, too—.to secure that sine qua non of an ideal city, for the blotting out of all undesirable districts, and erecting houses that conform to the rules of decency and sanitary scionce. and having something ot the city beautiful about them. To continue the roaring of a healthv and happy people wo must discard our haphazard market system. Without elaborating, I cite one example—the urgent need of a fish market, W r e must bestir ourselves to secure proper facilities for handling the foodstuffs of the Citv. No modern city should be without its market place—a place, too, built on the most up-to-date lines, where all food .supplies are under proper supervision! I do not suggest that the municipality should enter the sphere of the food distribut I assert that it is the business of a live city corporation to supply the most hygienic conditions, so that the people may rest assured that the food supplied comes through no tainted channels. In Auckland tho City ' Corporation bought a site within the city, and creeled buildings which are claimed to be tho most up-to-date markets in the Southern Hemisphere. These buildings tho corporation have let to the various merchants trading in the foodstuffs of the people, and here anyone can buy with the assurance that the goods have been pi-operly housed and handled, also that the article's have-been sold to them at a rate which has been regulated .by the authorities. As an instance of a," somewhat similar type, might I suggest the necessity for the erection of cool storage accommodation. It is a well-known fact that in the near future Central Otago will be producing fruit far beyond what is necessary for local consumption. At once the question arises ''Where is the surplus to go?" Oh, export it! But where, meanwhile, is the fruit awaiting export to go? We owe to ourselves as much as we owe it to the men who are developing the back country to see that proper facilities are afforded for the marketing of their produce. But we talk of the necessity for development. We have talked long enough. Isn't it time we did something? I am, of course, aware that quite a number of bodies have these various proposals under discussion ; but the time has come when we should focus the conclusions these men have arrived at. Their splendid work of investigation should now be made available. There should bo a centralising of all these organisations, and a plan for definite doing prepared. And now, how does this affect the general community? Surely what is for the general weal should be of general interest. But how, are we. to get this interest? 1 suggest that the civic head of the community convene a meeting or meetings to at once get something done. Assuredly it is true " where there is no vision the people perish" ; but we must have more" than vision. It is not enough to say that after the war there will bc°a great flood of emigration from the Old -Lands and a spate of immigration in the New; but are we doing anything more than merely talking of'this?* We'should be digging our foundations on which to rear the- future welfare of- our province. We should let the world know, bv sending forth our " Fiery Cross" to the far quarters of the Empire, that here in Otago we have to offer natural resources second to none; that we have facilities to give for the developing of these resources, for the making of the province what she has been in the past—the centre of a hive of industrial and commercial activity—and for • the making of homes for a happy, healthy, and contented populace. Let 'it not oe said of us : ' 111 fares the land to hastening ills ■ a P re y, Where wealth accumulates and men decay. "Every rod of ground maintains its man." En avant," Otago! to the forefront of the Dominion, and to the front of the world's battle lino of progress.—[Contributed.]