OPEN COLUMN.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4138, 28 August 1900, Page 7

OPEN COLUMN.

THE VOTE FOR FRASER’S LANE. “Cosmopolitan’,! writes; —Our city fathers are asking the ratepayer-, lo vote £2.5,000 to make two streets leading to nowhere and to make them GGft. wide, which will leave r. strip of land 10ifL wide between, and that will mean two frontages. V.’by. it will bn the smallest building site in New Zealand facing streets a chain ’vide, and, what is worse. lending to a street bounded .with church propelty, and enhance its value. vet: that- propci ty gives no return to the Council, as church property pays no rates. Ffasei's la no Can and ought to. he widened, and can be at a very small cm t and be made rt productive. v.T limit. squandering money. Let our city fathers try again, as they did with Ihe bylaw for the fowls. 1. ask every ratepayer who has the welfare of (lie city lit heart, to vole against the proposal, as it is a scaiulaloua .waste of money. Let us have progress with economy, and our present streets made lit to walk along. COLONIAL CONTINGENTS. One patent and execrable blot; on colonial contingents’ assistance to the Empire i.s (writes Mr Charles vV. Clayton) the divided and independent control exercised over each by their own Governments. This, I suppose, can only be got over by a general fcduialien of all sections of .the Empire. Till tins fod elution comes about by necessity, and one army (and one navy), under one authority only, is recognised, Empire Britishers must continue lo grieve over colonial instances of irresponsibility,' grave though the results may prove lo British inicic.ils. Want of cohesion .(i.c,. divided authority) has always been tho cause of national disruption, and the voluntary system ol Britain seems to tempt disaster. '.Hie autocratically established solidarity ol The Russian 'Empire (which, notwithstanding the apparent' iiiiei' -iiability of its system of organisation), pis res it in Ihe fore-front of na.»ions possessing the present power, of offence and defence, a-mi must in the end (present conditions enisling) dominate wherever its huge consolidated strength anil power is used. Wluni will our colonial statesmen, reason (and. act) from analogy and commonsouse f