WELLINGTON TO-DAY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXIV, Issue 16138, 15 January 1913, Page 6

WELLINGTON TO-DAY.

IS IT DECADENT? IMPRESSION OF A CHRISTCHURCH RESIDENT. Mr A. S. Taylor, one of the members for St Albans on the City Council, returned to Christchurch yesterday morning from a visit to Wellington. In a chat with a reporter he said that in tho newspapers of the northern city just now there was a good deal in regard to the city's alleged decadence. Some of the citizens, apparently, had become alarmed. It was reported that during the Christmas holidays there were comparatively few visitors to Wellington, and that the city was losing its attractions to visitors. In order to check this tendency, it was proposed to establish a Carnival Week, on tho same lines as the week that had helped to make Christchurch famous. It seemed to him that Wellington had become the centre of a large settled district, and was experiencing the , slow growth Christchurch had experienced during the past few years.

Speaking of Wellington's municipal affairs, he said that the fish market established by the City Council was appreciated by the public, who made good use of it. The market ■ was on a small scale, but up to the present time it had yielded a small margin of profit, and the Council, therefore, was not incurring expense by the experiment. The tramways, as had been announced, were not paying. Tho latest proposal in that direction was by the Trades Council. It suggested that there should be only one fare, and that that fare should be Id, which would take a passenger from end to end of the system. It was estimated that this, on the principle of tho penny postage, would yield sufficient revenue to meet working expenses; interest and sinking fund would be paid out of rates. The Zoo at Newtown, Mr Taylor added, was an excellent institution. It was well patronised, especially by children. Besides being a source of amusement, it had a high educational value. The feeding of the lions evidently was one of the great sights for the children of Wellington. Both tho lion and his mate Tere fine specimens, and they, with all tho other animals, seemed to be well kept and in good health.