MORE CONFIDENCE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 302, 22 December 1933, Page 6

MORE CONFIDENCE

POSITION IN WANGANUI SIGNS OF BETTER TIMES. POLICY OF SELF-RELIANCE Definite signs of a recovery frort economic depiction are having au effect lor goud in Wanganui, and tho prevailing thought of men who mould public opinion is that this city will be among the first to experience a return to normal conditions. During the past two or three years a spirit of increasing self-confidence has developed, and, as if in confirmation of the wisdom of that attitude, thc market for wool and meat, the two important products of this district, has become encouragingly firmer. A laige responsibility for th e growth of confidence within the. city itself lies with the City Council, it is true that the council has adopted a policy that keeps it strictly clear from a political atmosphere and seeks to take no part in moulding public opinion on political questions of the day. Yet it has had an influence for good even upon those questions, in that, by setting an example in conscientious management it has given a lead to leaders in all avenues of public life. If the council can apply business methods and be orthodox and conscientious in its deliberations, then other bodies of similar calibre can do the same. Faced with th e difficulty common to many local bodies, of having to pay for debts incurred by administrations of thc past, the council has pursued its original policy of consolidation. Only necessary expenditure, both capital and otherwise, has been permitted right-of-way through th e estimates. Anything that could be dispensed with was rigidly blue pencilled. The council's first duty has been to the ratepayers and since the 1930-31 rating year the rates have been reduced by £18,939. City maintenance costs have been reduced to a minimum and attention has been devoted to only those capital undertakings which are of pressing need, such as the water supply and town bridge. Money from the Ln employment Board has permitted certain developmental work to be undertaken, largely in respect to reserves. The results of this expenditure are evident at the airport, Castlccliff Beach, Gonvilie Domain and Aramoho Park. It is realised that preservation and improvement of the existing water supply is really the biggest problem of a capital nature facing tho council at thc present time. Thc installation of an effective pumping unit in thc Kai Iwi Stream, which came into operation last summer, has connected thc city with a permanent supply of water. Duplication of the pipe line over Capon’s Flat, however, is a matter of vital need and provision has been made for it on the estimates. Th 0 town bridge, which aL present is a joint responsibility on the city and the Wanganui county is engaging attention, and in view of its importance to thc main highway from Wellington to Auckland, ultimately it may be brought under the fatherly benevolence of the Main Highways Board. Negotiations arc in train hi that dir-eettion now. A total annual saving of £7650 will be effected by the council as the result of conversion of loans and by taking advantage of the provisions of the Local Authorities Interest Reduction Act. Portion ot that will com e into the current financial year, which does not end for another three months, but the saving over thc whole of next year will total to the amount stated. Interviewed by th e “Chronicle” yesterday, the Mayor, Mr. N. G. Armstrong, said that thc outlook generally was much brighter and there was every reason for people to feel confident of tho future provided that the lessons of thc past were, not forgotten. 4 ‘What this city needs, and thc coun. try, too, is the non-borrowing, selfreliant policy of the late John Ballance,” he said. “We have passed through other slumps but have forgotten thc lessons they taught us. John Ballance camo out with his non-borrow-ing policy of self-reliance and how much notice wa.s taken of him? Whatever borrowing is done in this country should be paid for by tho generation that does thc borrowing. The greatest of our troubles to-day comes from tho fact that another generation has had to pay for what was borrowed by a generation that has passed.”