The New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1924. MOUNT EDEN AND CITY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18707, 13 May 1924, Page 8

The New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1924. MOUNT EDEN AND CITY.

Whether Mount Eden- shall retain the status of a separate borough or merge with the city is' the question to be decided by a poll to-day. The case for and against has been argued with vivacity. There is more feeling astir in Mount Esen than that aroused by the abstract question of amalgamation or continuance as an individual municipal unit. Yet, since the question to be decided embraces considerations wider than those merely temporary divisions' of feeling at present manifest, it would be wise for the voters to face the issue on its intrinsic merits, not on the extrinsic circumstances which have been pushed boldly into the foreground. The permanency of- the union, if union be the choice, has been well emphasised. If the people of Mount Eden vote themselves into the city to-day, they cannot vote themselves out again by a similar process next day or next year. This fact they must necessarily take into account. They should realise also that if to-day they reject union, they have. not disposed of the question altogether. It can be raised again; it will be raised again even if those who are now pressing it .relinquish the effort ; not only will it be raised, it will some day be brought to finality, for by all the signs Mount Eden is bound eventually to join Greater Auckland. Its position and the momentum of the movement • for union will bring that result. ' Therefore the decision to be made to-day is whether the merger shall" be approved now or at some future time nothing more, , , ' Allowing that the best which can be secured by • the ' opponents :of union -is a 3 postponement, "it may next be asked r how Mount Eden stands as a distinct unit. Apart from details =affecting payments and services, it is. always argued that to join the city means a secrifice of individuality, and, perhaps dignity. j Wherein, then, does the individuality [ of the borough consist, if one refuses to take seriously the claim that it ! possesses a rubbish tip cleaner than any in Greater Auckland ? Of all the residents of Mount Eden, • how many outride the few officially cognisant know where the boundary, between borough and city lies? Does the stranger in Auckland, passing over the boundary, realise that he is entering different territory 1 At two points at least, he may be prompted 'to inquire why he is leaving smooth, well-paved streets • for a very inferior specimen of macadam surface. That is 'all, and the present council promises to abolish even that touch j of individuality if it survives to-day's test. There is no real force in the suggestion that an outside borough joining the city sacrifices all its dignity and gains none in return. It ceases to be an individual unit, but it becomes part: of something very much greater. At the same time it adds something to the greater individuality with which it merges itself. This is especially true of Mount Eden. Its individual services are few. What drainage it has comes from the Drainage Board— it has not nearly enough. Its electricity comes from the Power Board. The trams on which it relies for transport belong to the city. It buys its water in bulk from the city. There remain its roads, the result being that its , individuality suspiciously resembles - that of a road board. The summing up is that Mount Eden is a. residential outpost of the city. It would be well placed as a part of it for the purposed of local administration. . . The permariancy of amalgamation once achieved has already been mentioned. This ■. is an argument against taking the step only if the results are seriously in doubt. The people of Mount Eden have plenty of examples to hearten them in contemplating chances. Despite statements made in controversy over today's poll, areas recently added .to the;: city show no serious signs of repenting the step. At loan polls, newly-joined sections have endorsed the • council's policy by a heavy vote. Point s Chevalier had a grievance, but it ; was particular, not general. Since it has been met, nothing has been heard from that district, indicating dissatisfaction. Mount Eden has -every' chance of settling down just ' as placidly • under a new authority. ' There, are no special circumstances to forbid it. The argument of : higher f rates has been definitely challenged, leaving it evident that, all factors counted, it is very much open to doubt ; whether the Mount Eden resident- escape any more lightly than he would if in the city. The, only question is whether there , is: anything to gam by postponing an inevitable step. An impartial review of the - facts leads to the conclusion that,, instead of putting off a' decision, Mount Eden may well decide to-day to join Graafco* Auckland. " - % " ' Ak.