The Daily News. SATURDAY, JANUARY 7. MUNICIPAL PROGRESS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 227, 7 January 1911, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, JANUARY 7. MUNICIPAL PROGRESS.

The progress of New Zealand generally is not necessarily indicated by the expansion of its cities or the increase of their conveniences, but the decay of country industries would make it inadvisable for municipalities to continue the borrowing policy to which th© four centres owe their rapid growth. Each year sees a large increase of population to the foui large cities, an increase that is always correspondingly larger than the increase of settlers, or the population of small towns. Each of the four centres has become "modern" during the past few years. Not long ago there was no power street tramway system in New Zealand, but to-day the use of legs is becoming more infrequent. There is in city expansion no national goal, and under the municipal system councils achieving the greater variety of town improvements are the most popular. The progress of the chief cities lias lately been dealt with fully, a Christchureh critic mentioning particularly the spendthrift policy of the capital. Rapid expansion there has been, and rapid expansion of cities means constant attraction to the cities. Constant attraction to the city means that expansion continues to the disadvantage of the country, unless there is corresponding progress of population there. But although the chief municipality may have borrowed hugely the chief goal is a democratic one. The purchase of land for street widening, the addition of parks, the making of air spaces, long distance tramways to take folk out of congested areas are all good works. A modern city modelled scientifically can be almost as healthy as the country, and if the chief municipalities of New Zealand are pledged to produce hygienic models they are doing work of immense importance. The most important phase of municipal activity in the Dominion is the desire of the civic bodies to own property, and to ultimately make a city or town more or less self-supporting. There can be no doubt that the four cities of New Zealand will become very much larger, and that the city which during the process of expansion obtains the widest control of property and conveniences will be ultimately the best off. At present citizens are heavily taxed to pay interest on loans, but in those cases where public services have been retained or created by the municipalities, posterity will benefit by the extraordinary ease with which consent is obtained to float new loans. On the other hand, it is an amazing feature of both cities and towns in New Zealand that the civic spirit belongs to so small a proportion. Huge loans are raised by city corporations bv the will of wretchedly small proportions of ratepayers. The whole body of citizens may be perfectly willing to use tramway services, or extended water supply, public parks and municipal dwellings, but only a few say so ft a poll—which is a just indication of the civic spirit. In the past ten years a large proportion of each of the four big cities has been absolutely re-built, and as this indicates private enterprise more than municipal spirit, the particular phase is a true indication of general progress, for private folk do not as a general thing build from a sense of civic responsibility. But in the general metamorpliosis the civic bodies have had a beneficent control, and ajeas of rattletrap buildings that would disgrace any town have been swept away at the instigation of local bodies. The truest indication of the progress of a city and the utility of the body controlling it is to be seen in the health, convenience and prosperity of the individual. A city is not rich because it has ten millionaire merchants, but it is rich if all its citizens are normally prosperous, healthy and well housed. And it is in the housing problem that each of the four cities has miserably failed. The municipalities have strained every nerve to raise money for what may be called the luxuries of civic life, but they are showing no particular interest in those domestic things that are the essence of town life. Each of the cities would apparently rather have a few more tram cars than a municipal market, and certainly prefer to give an occasional crowd temporary shelter in a magnificent town hall than to give individuals permanent housing in a municipally-owned dwelling. An open space where folk may gather a breath of fresh air is important enough, but not so important as the stern insistence on a municipal law that prevents the overcrowding of dwellings. People cannot always afford to travel a mile to draw a breath. In the past few years municipal bodies have done some line work in wipi ing out sections of slums, but there is not one of these bodies that has prevented the erection of potential slums. In the more or less virulent land booms that have cursed a New Zealand city or two, there have been flagrant and daily breaches of building by-laws, so that the councils of the future will have many, unpleasant tasks to perform in setting right the evil deeds of their predecessors. New Zealand has an unexampled opportunity of building beautiful and healthful towns, of municipal ownership and of benevolent extension. Although the acts of local bodies are presumably dictated by the people, the municipal leaders whose hearts are in their work can

and do transform cities and towns. To our mind, the most valuable feature of civic representation in New Zealand lies in the fact that most mayors and councillors are not only properly representative of the people, but are busy men. Some of the best municipal work done in this country is performed by men who can ill spare, the time to give to it, but who do so whole-heartedly. Few people give municipal bodies the credit due to them, and are ready enough to blame for the spending of loan money. But the fact remains that no council can raise money without the people's consent, and the majority of people as a general thing are too apathetic to worry about civic matters at all. If the people helped in perfecting municipal undertakings the position of councillor or leader of a council would be even more honorable and coveted than it now is.