LOCAL GOSSIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15521, 31 January 1914, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOCAL GOSSIP.

I BY MEBCUTIO.

. "0[ the most certain signs of the proof Auckland if. the disappearance of S" s^!' pessimist. Whero has he gone? /•<sd& a ß° a M a . who looked ahead ■ •*.' proposed schemes that cost anything JIM £ ICC the opposition of an influential i, • of ratepayers, who were confirmed f°"!}« belief that Auckland could never J" treat city. Within the past ten days «!' P»rr lias submitted loan proposals filing nearly £150.000, and the city is reei tJi.>t be is a very clever and a very *& b'.e j,[ayor, who knows exactly what wsjt. and has the energy to do it. vtic all th o pessimists are dead or the dfW't' of lhe city lias f " rned them into |pu»st 6 in ipito of tLem* Ives.

I' Is anybody going to do anything about ; mntner"school hours' Some people who ' nnirently know as little about children as p they know about schools are convinced V tint'the short-day movement is being onnfcieercd by tho teachers, so that they may '• riay tenuis and croquet. If school comP[ nitteemen are really afraid that the 'U teachers are getting 100 much play time, £: w hy not keep tho teachers in and let the children out? As a change from tennis and croquet the teachers might devoto jonie part of the afternoon to instructing members of school committees on school hygiene- and kindred subjects. The mothers are not interested in the teachers and their tennis. Why not give them the opportunity to -decide by vote what is best for the children':

Incidentally, it may be mentioned that teachers have a rather hard time in spite of nominally short hours, and apparently long holidays. Tho average teacher is physically of a good type, but the wear ana tear of tho work is nerve-racking and depressing in the extreme. It may seem uaiy to stand up and control fifty or sixty or seventy children for a few hours a day, besides preparation and correction work, but a few years of this diversion turns the average woman-teacher into a wreck. Education, as we have it, is not only physicilly demoralising the rising generation but is carried on at a terrible cost, in health and happiness, to the teaching profession.

Hnraanitari&m is doing a great deal for overworked muscles, as is fit and proper, but little is being done for overworked nerves. Brain-fag, in a hundred different forms,. is rampant among those who are mpposed to be enviable, simply because tihey do not lift bricks. The " lired feeling" which raanv condemn as though it were the result of drinking or drug-taking is, in the great majority of cases, due to lonj-continued strain upon the nerves. This is, of course, one of the prices we pay for civilisation.

We are slow in this part of the world to emulate the fashions or the foibles of tie C"d Land, and it may be quite a long . whil° before marriages out here are founded upon the new-fashioned' basis of "harmonious vibrations." A visit to the ', local Magistrate's Court on what is familiarly known as "Agony day" -« will convince most people that "inharmonious jangles," are the fundamental characteristics of' many unions in this secluded part of the clobe. What with eugenic marriages coming into vogue in America, and these harmonious, vibration weddings in England, there is, ,no;. telling what: may. ': happen. %i lt'" might i tie well if some step's /jirj.? taken in the .engagement;,days* to make quite sure " that, the couples concerned were suited to' one another. One

. way «i finding this out is, according to a •German professor, to ascertain whether 'J; the respective "balos" of the courting ;j pair harmonise in colour. The more we do to prevent unhappy or ill-advised unions the more work will be lifted off the heavily burdened jhoulders of. respected Mr. Kettle.

The squabble between the Health, Department and the Avondale i Road Board auent the locale of the sanitary depot is just one of these depltrrable incidents which are to be expected as the outcome of a system of numerous small local bodies. Hie time for a Greater Auckland is not merely ripe; it is over-ripe. Years ago, > when it first became obvious that Auckland and her suburbs were inevitably to • constitute a great city, there should have been a general amalgamation. Had this bean done the drainage scheme only now Bearing completion would long ago, have ? been an accomplished fact. Day after day matters are occurring which demonstrate in a variety of ways the need for a Greater Auckland, yet we jog along contentedly in the old groove, ana public affairs no from bad to worse. Some day Aucklanders will awaken from their lethargy and carry by storm and assault the citadels of opposition to municipal amalgamation.

To possess iovely beaches and to neglect to make the most of them as assets is to be antediluvian and eminently shortsighted. Auckland is the best-eqnipped city in the Dominion for seaside resorts, yet these are the most neglected in the whole country. The lack of proper bathing accommodation has always been a reproach, and little hat; been done to remove st. The parrot-cry " expense" is raised whenever tho subject crops up, those who raise it being blind or oblivious to the fact that tho public is not clamoaring for £7000 or £8000 baths, or for £2000 or £3000 dressing sheds. Bathers would be quite satisfied with economically constructed shelters, such as are to be seen on every beach in Australia and any beach in the Southern centres of this Dominion. Auckland local authorities would no doubt bo highly offended if they were to be adversely compared as to the possession of modern ideas and enterprise with the local authorities of Timaru! Yet the fact remains that the popular beach in that comparatively small town has gained its renown because of its fine esplanade, its bathing sheds, its bathing machines, its . band stand, and its several other seaside attractions. It is one of the most surprising things in connection with Auckland beaches that, no matter what arguments are adduced, or what pressure is brought to bear, scarcely any advantage is taken of the magnificent natural assets these beaches comprise.

It is interesting to note from the old files of the Hkrai.d that 50 years ago this journal was agitating for the abatement of the dust nuisance, urging the City Board, ancient predecessor to the present City Council, to obtain even a large cask lad a cart to bo sent round to water the streets. For half a century, therefore, the citizens of Auckland have been suffer'ng under the disabilities of the i-ame nuisance. Even now it has not been abated. Will another 50 years elapse before it is Someone of mathematical genius might pass a useful hour in figuring out what lias been lost by the citizens °[ Auckland, during the half century, through abatable dust. 1 should be afraid to suggest the tens of thousands of pounds' worth of goods, clothes, and furnishings which are spoiled every year since Auckland has become a great city. Tho aggregate cost during tiie period m»*t bo away over a million sterling, enough to nave pnvided practically dust-proof streets, not to mention the saving in health Wo temper.

Yet we still Blunder along. The weird Old practice of sweeping Queen Street first and washing it afterwards is still indulged "> .nightly. A step forward has been made ny delaying th sweeping until theatre- ;, goers are out of the way, but the system > la Very typical of the inadequacy of cur local authorities in dealing with one of »o worst nuisances known to Aucklanders,

The entries made from time to time ha. .the visitors* book at the Auckland office of the Government Tourist Department ajo not as a rule remarkable for originality or brilliancy. Some recent recorded flashes, of thought, however, serve to show the na'tnre of the compliments often bestowed on Auckland by people from abroad, as .'well as to illustrate tho contrasts produoed by different points of view. Twovisitoi-s from Marseilles were recently good enough to *?y " tne best town since leaving France." Whilst a Melbournite— impartially Jet us hope— "Sydney Harbour takes a back seat." Sydney visitors, who, of course, aro prejudiced, do not admit that the Waitemata can compare with their own beloved Port Jackson, but they agree that Auckland is entitled to suchecomiums as a bonny city," and "a bonny harbour and city." Many Southern New ZeaJanders.aro very complimentary in their remarks about our " lovelv city." A Masterton visitor, however, strikes .a slightly discordant note. "A good place for pay"! pay! is what he writes. Possibly he was overcome by the.attractions of the .Exhibition.

Visitors views regarding our climate differ considerably. "Too warm," and too hot by far," and other similar expressions aro placed on record from the .chilly South. A Canterbury resident, however, tells the truth when he says: Not as hot as Canterbury's mor'-westers." A tourist from a torrid spot in West Australia does not feel "the heat" of •which wo have heard so much lately. Very charming, nice and cool," is his contribution to the collection. Circumstances always alter cases—and opinions.

The Exhibition, now two months with us, has become an institution and lam becoming interested to know what will happen to us when we lose this most popular diversion. Many thousands' aretecoming accustomed to moving Domainwards whenever they have an hour or two to spare, and. I am inclined to think that one great result will be to . make the Domain one of the most popular of gathering places. ; It is certainly the most beautiful of centra parks to be found in 'the Dominion. When the Exhibition Commit tee return their ground to the City Council, improved and beautified, it will be found that they have paid a very handcome, rent, not to mention their balance which is to be devoted to Domain improve-

The public appetite for "parks is, varv fortunately, insatiable. If ft i were not «e should probably have very little left of .'all our original endowments, whereas thei* a a steady increase in these invaluable .-nos3™' b^ 0118 bein §' made airnost yearly. Buskin once emptied the vials of his wrath. upon those who would leave people in slums and take them to parks once a week in traracars- There was something in this, but even Ruskin ' could hardly.object to parks in a city which endeavoured to exterminate slums and to make decent Christian conditions ; for all In Auckland,- we have a city of such beauty that parks seem as natural as flowers in a garden, and slums appear to bo not merely disgraceful, but positively ;