AUCKLAND'S FUTURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14689, 25 May 1911, Page 5

AUCKLAND'S FUTURE.

/A SOUTHERN .CRITIC'S FEARS.

[BY TELEGRAPH.— OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Christchurch, Wednesday. "Auckland has many claims to eminence, if not to the pre-eminence which her citizens are so ready to claim for her" (says the Christchurch Press editorially). "She owns an unrivalled position, great natural beauty, and a climate which at some periods of the year is delightful. The development of the great areas of country to the north is making the city a centre of great commercial activity. She is drawing from the public lands around her greater-wealth than was ever won from the mines. Tho selection of tho port as a naval base lends her an added dignity, and given wise management, Auckland in years to corne must be a ' great city. But Auckland is treading on dangerous paths. She is at present in ; the lull tide of a boom that is being engineered with persistence and enthusiasm. The over-inflation that so often follows a burst of prosperity has already set in. .One reads of suggestions that the city should borrow no less a sum than ,£400,000, of which a quarter of a million should be devoted to the improvement of the city streets, and £15,000 for the , purposes of a water scheme. This is the Government's policy all over again. A. temporary i'ush of prosperity and an immediate expansion of expenditure, and 'loans become the order of the day. We We all proud of Auckland in spite of her Assumption of superiority, and it ie because we wish her well that we trust her rulers and people will remember that a °°om is an unhealthy condition, too often followed by a relapse. The tide ebbs as well as slows."