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New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 6343, 17 March 1882, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times is a second Balaam : its office was to curse Auckland, and it has blessed it. It has paid it the most agreeable of compliments : it is jealous of it. Lyttleton lias a large dock about approching completion, and so the Times -wants to know why Auckland requires a big dock, and where the money is to come from for its construction, and refers to what it calls " a dock mania." Kow, it is doubtless very provoking that Auckland will not allow the South, peacocklike, to spread its feathers to the sun, and consent to look on with admiring quiescence. It is irritating that when Mr. Macandrew is devoting all his attention to that temporary aberration of his, a direct steam service with England, Auckland, with a notion that it must eventually become the station for the British squadron in these seas, and an eye to the completion of the Panama Canal, should resolve upon

taking opportunity by the hand, and make provision for the future. We have no jealousy of Lyttelton, have really no cause, quite satisfied with the prospects of a town and district which, struck down by the removal of the seat of government to Wellington, speedily recovered, made unostentatious progress under the adverse influence of native difficulties, and sees the time rapidly approaching when it will be able to show its rivals its heels. We wish them 110 harm, confident that their prosperity will be shared by this district in even a larger degree, and why therefore should our contemporary lend itself to the green-eyed monster, and envy us our dock that is to be, having one of its own that is ? STo doubt the Lyttelton dock will be inferior to our own, but that is not our fault, nor the fact that the physical conditions arc less favourable. They are not of our making, and why therefore should we he snarled at. It is difficult to accept as serious the solicitude of the Times with regard to the financial condition of the Harbour Board, because hitherto the solicitude of the South has been confined to itself, and the North, therefore, may be a little doubtful as to this new-born anxiety. The nervous sensibility of our contemporary may.perhaps be allayed by the assurance that the Auckland Harbour Board, whilst exultant with regard to its financial position, is in all matters influenced by the dictates of prudence, and would require something more than a big dock to over-weight it. Of course, the Board is always open to advice, even if it come from a quarter the disinterestedness of which may be open to suspicion. But it does not •want advice, it has got on very well without aid of that kind from our contemporary, and so he may spare himself alarms for which there are 110 grounds. And as to "a dock mania," is not comment from our contemporary somewhat like Satan rebuking sin 1 ? Example is better than precept, and Lyttelton has plunged very deeply with regard to a dock. Even if there were anything to justify our contemporary's remarks, at the best it would be but another instance of the mote and the beam.