THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 1904. THE GREY LYNN POLL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12570, 11 May 1904, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 1904. THE GREY LYNN POLL.

Whichever way the Grey Lynn poll may go to-day it has already brought the Greater Auckland question within the reach of practical politics. For undoubtedly the opposition which has arisen in various quarters, and the desire to evade the question by regarding it as premature, are due to the fact that the question has been boldly taken by the horns and

cannot again be let go. There are two ways of regarding the amalga-

mation of Auckland and the surrounding boroughs as there are two ways of regarding every practical proposition which has for its aim the

bettering of • the cat ire community. We can deal- with -it upon broad general lines in which those great social factors ' which cannot be ■■ reduced to pounds, shillings and pence are given place and recognition, or we can' treat it as an entirely commercial question, in which the difference of a penny rate or of a penny tax might turn the scale against civic spirit or national patriotism. The case for a Greater Auckland is of the best whichever view we take of it, but it necessarily stands upon more debatable ground when we treat it as a commercial transaction solely- If. the electors of Grey Lynn are influenced entirely by that broad civic spirit which aspires to make this metropolis of ours altogether fit for its people to live in and which is prepared to forego minor claims for. the sake of the major gain they will give a unanimous vote to-day for amalgamation | with Auckland, That we cannot exI pect them to do so, that really honest opposition exists among them as it does in Auckland itself and in every one of the surrounding tricts, is due not to the weakness of the proposal, but to a mistaken conception of what is at stake. No matter what Grey Lynn does to-day a Greater Auckland is inevitable, be- j cause we cannot satisfactorily meetgreat public requirements until we have it. But we heartily hope to see amalgamation carried because it will bring nearei that great civic reconstruction with which the best hopes of the metropolitan area are interwoven. The more intelligent critics of the Greater Auckland scheme are compelled to acknowledge that for certain necessary functions, such as

drainage, a broader local authority is essential, and they put forward vague suggestions for some joint authority which shall deal with such special questions. But this is a po-

lemic attitude, hardly worthy the practical attention of practical men. It is useless to oppose, without good cause, the unmistakable trend of the

times, and the trend of the times is

towards the closest amalgamation of such local authorities as those in the Auckland metropolitan area that can

be arranged when vested interests and deeply-rooted prejudices have to be taken into account. And we deny that, in. the case of the Auck-

land bodies, there is any interest or prejudice worthy the name. We are equally interested in sanitation, whether in the City or in Grey Lynn. We must all stop polluting the Harbour and can only do so by joint action. We are equally interested in fire-Sghiibg, yet Grey Lynn, being imperfectly protected, pays 2s to 4s per cent, more for her insurances than Auckland City, We are equally interested in water already, and there is no reason why Grey Lynn should pay, as it does, more than Auckland. We must have the same

sanitary service or system, sooner or

later. Our roads and streets run into one another and boundaries run down the middle of them. We have, in short, everything in common, and nothing particular belongs solely to either one." If we were to have a joint board to deal with our joint affairs that board would assume practically all the functions of City Council and Borough Council and

leave them mere shells. This division of authority where there* should be one authority is costly to both, but particularly so to the smaller, as is natural. We have noticed above how needlessly Grey Lynn pays for this needless and objectionable se-

paration of our common interests, and in her administration she necessarily pays still more. On general accounts, administration costs

Grey Lynn 22 per cent and the City only 9 per cent.; on the whole revenue Grey Lynn pays 14j per cent, for administration, , the City 4| per cent. Obviously, an amalgamated authority would pay less than°the City, and every step towards a complete Greater Auckland would reduce the cost. ■ ;; 'V " ■' '

We might go further into details and point/ out that while Auckland has averagely better public services than Grey Lynn the City rates are lower, but we , 'hesitate to unduly press the obvious financial advantages of amalgamation. The taxable values are in the heart of the city, not in the suburbs, and if there were any real division of interest between city and suburbs it is the city that should object to the throwing of its valuations into, the pool. Indeed, the* formation of a Greater Auckland may lead to a raising of rates in Auckland City which might not be so necessary if the income of the city were spent within its boundaries. But while economy is a desirable thing it is not the sole thing. We ought to have good sueeid wherever they are needed by our populace, whether in Grey Lynn, | Ponsonby or Newmarket. We ought i to have drainage wherever it is re- | quired, lighting wherever it is re- ! quired, protection from fire, all those ; conveniences necessary to make urban life healthy and reasonable, and to have them we must be prepared to pay for them. We should not shut ourselves from one another and say that so long as there is a lamp at our own corner we do not care what may be the state of the neigh-, bouring street- We must think of our metropolis as a whole and cooperate together for its public services and its civic administration, because thus alone can the best results be obtained in an economic manner and with the minimum of cost. Grey Lynn will gain if it carries amalgamation to-day, but so will Auckland City. For who can lose by the sweeping away of those absurd divisions which partition a metropolis that belongs to all of us into petty local governments and which prevent us from taking any united action for the permanent general improvement of our town.