AUCKLAND'S PROGRESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15234, 22 February 1913, Page 8

AUCKLAND'S PROGRESS.

IS IT TOO RAPID? "NATURAL DEVELOPMENT." VIEWS OF LEADING CITIZENS. Some discussion has arisen in connection with the statement made by Mr. John Duthie, of Wellington, "that his admiration while ■ contemplating tho spreading city ex Auckland was tempered by the reflection that possibly the city was growing too fast, and that the rate of its progress was not in proportion to the development of tho district which it served." The rapid progress of Auckland as a city has been the subject of a good deal of comment from many visitors from all parts of the world, and a, Herald representative yesterday sought some representative opinions on the matter from leading citizens, who have been, and still are, in close touch with those matter:: which affect the growth ' of the Auckland district. '"■'•' The Mayor of Auckland (Mr. C. J. Parr) when approached, pointed out that in 189E the population of the city and suburbs 'of Auckland vac 51,287, while to-day it was 104,000, so that in 20 years the population had doubled. In 1892 the exports from the province** were worth £1,218,321, while in 1912 they reached £4,960,000, an even better record than the doubling of the population. The revenue of the City Council 20 years ago aggregated £58,992, while' to-day it re-; presented an "income of £214,962. Taken over a period of, the last 12 years the figures .-!:.;"(■ even more astonishing. In 1000 th • . s .e revenue lor the city totalled £71,723 -■ out by 1912 it had reached .8214,01 v, thus trebling if self, and representing on increase of 200 per cent. ** " I know the province of Auckland pretty oil," continued the Mayor. \J'-I. am e, native of the Waikato, and kept fit clos>r< touch with the whole provincial district while chairman of the Education Board and *>.r many years before. I have no ' hesitati ■■ i in saying that my observation prfVe*.. that the settlement of our waste hvd during the past 20 years has 4'flore the.i kept pace with the city's development. Whole districts, which when I was a boy were wild and uncultivated, are now yielding a rich harvest of butterfat. During the last 10 years the country's progress has been singularly rapid. Journeying through the country to ltotorna, or up to the North of Auckland, I noticed targe tracts of new country brought into settlement by new settlers, mostly men from the South. Land which was voted useless 20 years ago has been taken up throughev" the province, and properly developed. .. " Ten years ago ; **ode from Te Awamutu to Now Plymouth, through the King Country. There were not.-v dozen settlers j on the road, A'hidv now has 100 to 500. 5 AH this l trade drain? int-r ,*ud supplies tho city, and is rer. i » life-blood of this place-" . '..,>' ; Hot Warned' ;5y V^is. Mv. J. H. Gibson, c'h'irraar, of he Auckland .Sr : ..r-our Board, ;.?vid the conclusion that* the city Hvns'./de eloping too - fast was not wan-aniec? by the' facts.' Air. Duthie had evidently <iverlookod alto-? gether the fact that the first cause of the rapid development of the city was owing entirely to the Auckland Province being opened up and developed in a systematic manner. No prosperity in the city w-juld be lasting unless the country . continued to bo developed. This development had been too long delayed, owing to the neglect of past Governments, but how that the public needs of the Auckland Province were receiving more attention the e'dy must- niy.i,r3arily progress tit a rapid rale.' In his opinion them vas only one ;,sj:se which could, bring a's-.i'v anything approaching a depression : in Auckland, namely, ».-. big • drc» : it the prices of-wool and buttenj: ; ''.'■■"' jim ■■.producer '. Wbile prices remained sooiiiWjii'JW in the„ region of those prevsJliri'* at '{Resent the ,/iuck* land Province, and,, incidentally, tha city, must, continue to rai 'ily develop. 'uruaigrfi'cion. What w*»» ' i. q. '-.V continued Mr. Gun'son, Wds the. st'/atay fosterin, 6 of a wise immigration policy. He was glad that the present Gowrmnent was moving in this direction". ' While tire substantial and fitea/'v increase in population had enlarged" the prosperity of Auckland, Mr. Gunson said there waii another point in regard to Auckland's trado which was frequently overlooked. The Weji'.ngton Province, ?w terbury, and Soutlierr. Ot&go each .''i.rd «only one port, while the Auckland Province was singularly -.situated in having several ports on the-of at coast which did a substantial export i,ude, and two good porta on the west ccust —the Manukau and Kaipara. From the latter port there was j a very large export trade. ' The facilities '. for tradi:ag in conjunction with the systematic development of the country all helped to establish rapid progress and prosperity in the province. No " Boom" Being Experienced. "If Mr. Duthie n of the opinion that Auckland is experiencing a boom, then I 1 am sure he is wrong," said Mr. George Elliot, who is president of the Chamber of Commerce. "If there had been anything in the nature of a boom, it would have burst long ago. But our progress has been rapid, and at the same time steady. There has been no evidence of a jump in the prosperity of the district; it has been naturally fast from the potentialities of this part of the country. We have such an excellent climate hew that people are attracted from all parts, and the natural surroundings of Auckland lend themselves to rapid growth. I cannot see that, the place is growing out of proportion." A Banker's View. \ A well-known banker was next approached- He said, that a point that was lost sight of by many people was that the ideal climate of Auckland attracted many residents of the Southern parts of New Zealand, who came here to live on their means. This tended for the growtli of the residential suburbs, where naturally a good class, of residence was built. "The people in the South do not understand the prosperity of Auckland," he continued. "They do not think of the fact that the land in the North here v is far more productive than anywhere else in the Dominion. Take the gum lands of the North,for instance; they have yielded us gum, and in some cases timber; these products have given the city a grand start, and now we are finding out that a great part of this so-called waste land will be very valuable agriculturally if it is properly treated. Anyone who is sceptical about tho progress of this city will be oasdy convinced of the satisfactory nature of it if they glance at the figures of the deposits in the two savings banks, which exceed out of all proportion these of any other city in the Dominion." Future of tho Land,, Mr. W. B. Colbeck, who is just now acting-chairman of the Stock Exchange, was very emphatic in his opinion that there was no boom here. " There is an immense future before Auckland from an agricultural point of view. My opinion is that not sufficient value is placed on some of tire dairying land in Auckland Province. For instance, land in the' Hawera district which commands £60 an acre, is no better than land, say,' in the Thames Valley, for which only £30 or £40 is being asked. There cannot be any question about the progress Auckland will make as the land behind it is utilised." A Farming Opinion. Mr. A. Schmitt, secretary of the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, was interviewed. " The question > is," he said, "whether our exports are increasing rapidly enough to war* ant the increasing population of the city. But the whole question is a matter of figures, which would at once give an indication of the position. While prices are as high as they are everybody is all right, but if a slump should come, then ,it , would test the prosperity of the place, and show us exactly where we stand."