CIVIC IDEALS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 8187, 31 July 1912, Page 8

CIVIC IDEALS.

SPEECH BY THE GOVERNOR APPEAL FOR TOWN-PLANNING. ■SCIENTIFIC LOCAL GOVERNMENT. With a social reformer's generous breadth of vision. Lord Islington inspired and delighted delegates to tlio Municipal Conference yesterday by an eloquent and able speech on the functions and future problems of local government in the Dominion. He made a special appeal on behalf of the. policy of town-planning and proper housing. His remarks, which were listened to with the closest attention and interest, made a deep impression on the conierence, and the general opinion was that the speech would rank among the most valuable in the cause of wise civic got - ernment 'which have been delivered for some time. In a few brief remarks by way of introduction, the president (Mr I). McLaren) paid a tribute to his Excellency's administrative work experience in local government at Home. His Excellency, who was received with hearty applause, said he apolog.se for intervening in their deliberations, but he expressed to one and all his appreciation of the opportunity of jnecting the gentlemen who represented the different towns and Isoroughs of the Dominion. He had a very happy recollection of the last time he met the mayors and town clerks in conference, two years ago. In the interval he had had an opportunity of coming into personal and intimate* contact with many of them m their - various towns, and he took the opportunity of expressing to them in all sincerity how deeply he had appreciated the uniform hospitality and spirit or welcome always extended to him " nerevor ho went.' He looked back on many most agreeable days spent in company with the respective mayors in their towns, and could vividly r'ecall many instructive conversations on those occasions. PROGRESSIVE SPIRIT.

■ "My observations of the towns of New Zealand have doubly impressed me with the well-ordered condition of those towns. They are giving full evidence of the active and progressive spirit which nas animated and. is animating the civic heads and their colleagues in administration. Gentlemen, after Parliament 1 regard municipalities as the most important governing body in any country. In some respects I would say the work attached to municipalities is as important as the work attached to those who discuss these questions in Parliament. The function of Parliament is to make the laws; the function of you gentlemen is to interpret and administer those laws. The one, therefore, may' be regarded as the complement of the other. Upon the accurate, .wise and faithful interpretation and administration of those laws depend largely the comfort, health and convenience of the citizens who abide in the country.

COMPLEX MUNICIPAL LIFE. "The importance of conferences of this character can*not bo overestimated, because yon -well know that the functions of municipal government, as time proceeds, do not tend towards further simplicity, but rather in a contrary direction. * The duties that devolve on them must of necessity, with the advance of civilisation and the world, increase in complexity and variety, You have all the various questions which come under municipal administration, such questions as the health and life of the people, sanitation, lighting, transport—all the necessities of modern life; all in their turn circumscribed by law, all to be administered within the margin, of law laid down to you as municipalities. iou have also in administering these different functions to realise that you have to listen, to the complaints of those who live around you, and are only too happy to criticise in a, somewhat ’ superficial manner. In addition you have the very burning question of finance. FINANCE THE FOUNDATION.

"Finance is the foundation- of all efficient administration in this country —(hear, hear)—and to be carried out efficiently it demands the very greatest proofs of qualities that can be produced. Yon gentlemen know you cannot go_ out without coming against that übiquitous individual—the ratepayer. The ratepayer is very fond of assuming two capacities ; he is a sort of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. For 363 days ho is an. importunate prodigal eon, saying, “You must give m© better services, and blow the expense.’ (Laughter.) For the remaining two days, when the rate collector comes round, ho is a frigid economist and a most reluctant payer." (Laughter and applause.) His Excellency had seen in tho agenda paper sufficient justification for the conference. Their daily work gave them the spirit of realising where weak points in tho law existed, and where provisions of the law required amendment and alteration. He wanted to say. In regard to a remark made by the president (Mr McLaren) that the remark was eminently practical a net well worthy their consideration, fl-o entirely agreed with the Mayor that -the conference should not be confined to routine work. LATEST SCIENTIFIC METHODS.

"I think you will find it of the utmost advantage that when you meet together you extend your work in tho direction of obtaining the latest and best information upon some of those scientific methods which appertain to your municipal administration. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, tlie scientific methods of Imunicipal administration are bulking more and more important." No matter what branch they took this was true; in sanitation, for instance, scientific methods were increasing in value every year. It was of the utmost importance that those administering local affairs should have the latest thought of the best miuds-on sanitation. There were also the questions of electric transport and electric energy, of which the same’ thing was true.. They might have at tho conferences tho best engineers and architects to read papers giving a digest of the most accurate modern scientific thought.

IMPORTANCE OF TOWN-PLANNING. There wae one topic of the most burning and urgent importance which, hitherto ■had not come under their consideration and which was eminently a question (o be dealt with on scientific lines. He alluded to town-planning. "I say in all sincerity: Turn your minds immediately to the question of town-planning. Tho minds of civic administrators throughout tho world have been turned to that subject." Whilst they had been pioneers in many branches in New Zealand, other paits of the world had made greate- progress in town-planning. It mn.-d coma in New ■ Zealand as it had come in other countries. “Yon are eminently tho people who should turn vour minds to this and become thoroughly acquainted with all its complicated details, because it will devolve on your colleagues in the future to administer the scheme in all its details. BEAUTY, COMFORT, HEALTH.

What is town-planning? asked Lord Islington. It was laying our their expanding and existing city to tho very best advantage of the population, as regards beauty, comfort, and health, down to the minutest detail of the life and occupation of citizens. The happiness, contentment —and he might say the character —of the population was largely influenced by external environment, and therein lay the meaning of (own-planning, lie ventured to .-peak stionglv on this subject, because he had gained an intimate acquaintance with- it in the Old Country. Ho remembered presiding at

an International Conference on the subject. with repressntatives from all the Great Powers of Jvurope, and the United States. Long discussions were held on meet admirable papers. lie recommended them to obtain copies of the volume containing a record oi a conference on Town-Planning in London only two j ears ago, giving in comprehensive and graphic form the advance of town-planning in Kngland and continental countries. INDISCRIMINATE GROWTH.

"Yon may say we are a new country and have not the problems of older lands. /That is true; tut some of your larger towns are growing in a somewhat indiscriminnfo fashion, which might be most materially improved if town-planning were established. lake time by fho forelock •and. avoid by your prescience the terrible problems that beset your colleagues in. the old. congested countries.” (Hear, hear and applause.) HOUSING. . The question of housing was the very foundation of tho whole social fabric. Housing of the peoplo went to the very rodt of the physical r.nd moral fibre ot tho peoplo. They knew it only too well in tho Old. Country. They had allowed tho evils to go on till they had terrible congeries of slums; terrible poor rates; increasing rates’ for hospitals, asylums and all those institutions that are correlated to congested, districts. Germany, France, the United States, # aud other countries had adopted scientific systems of laying out towns and extensions of suburbs. "Ho not think lam entrenching on politics. t refuse to regard this os a'party political question. This is a great social luestion." He urged them not to be deterred or discouraged by any considerations of that kind. la a system like this, they would be moving forward in. a great social advance; they would be doing probably more for thn<?e to come after than anything else that could bo done in- tho present generation, CONCENTRATION IN TOWNS.

Thor© was a groat feeling among people of tho Old Country that something must be done to check concentration in the towns. This phenomenon existed all ever the world, and could only j'e checked partially. Modern civilisation would attract more and more people lo the centres and they could not do anything more than try to check the tendency. "What you must do is to see to it that those centres of population are made as habitable, attractive, healthy 4 and convenient as is possible for administration to devise, by getting rid of your kill-joy streets and slums, inducing beauty and attractiveness round tho homes. The rural districts must bo urbanised; that was, to bring to the more remote parts of the country come of the attractions of the town; while the urban districts should be ruralised. Some of the beauties of nature should # be brought into city streets and domains, so that the men and women and children could go to their hQmes —happy and comfortable homes—and .look upon their surroundings with admiration. THE GARDEN CITS’-.

He would like ic eeo during his stayin New Zealand what they. had in _ the Old Land —the garden city. (Rear, hear.) Ho hoped that, it vould not bt? many years before such nn exam ole would bo found in, Now Zealand. The moment that example was introduced they would have the same system in other towns. He strongly advised any of the 'ielegafes who might mate a trip Home to visit such garden cities as Hampstead, Bourneville. and Letchnorth. where they would find the solution of a gieat many social difficulties, as well as others that fare us in our moral life. Lord Islington remarked in conclusion that he would cheerfully boar the m-ssible reproach ot having trvnsgrese'-d the constitutional limitation? of his office in discussing these problems with I he conference, and he retired amid a prolonged and vigorous round of hand-clapping.