TOWN IMPROVEMENTS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XX, Issue 2204, 11 May 1865, Page 3

TOWN IMPROVEMENTS.

Tjte faintest whisper of any ]>rogres3 made by the " little fishing village cut out of the side of a lull," as an Auckland contemporary untruthfully and unfairly terms our city, has the same effect on the people of the ex-metropolis as a red blanket when flaunted in the eyes of a bull. Being by this time fully aware of the jealousy and rage with which the announcement of any improvements in this city are received by its enemies, we have charitably abstained, perhaps unfairly, from noticing signs of progression which must be visible toall. "We subscribe unfeigned assent to the faith that there is but one Auckland, and the Herald is its prophet, but we have certain heretical ideas as to its right to belie and vilify a city of which it knows nothing except from the garbled misrepresentations of interested correspondents. Let our readers say a short prayer for the mental repose of the good people of Auckland, when they hear the following items of intelligence respecting what has been done, and what is yet to do in Wellington. Any emphatic protest from us would savour too much of Porson's sublime anathema, " Damn the nature of things," so without further digression we shall return to the, to us, important subject of " Town Improvements." At the commencement of the year, were the words " Asphalte Pavements" used to many of our fellow townsmen, they would have been received as the signs of insanity, and as a mystic shibboleth implying an absurdity. Some few weeks ago, however, a gentleman skilled in the mysteries of tar preparations suddenly appeared amongst us. He was no adventurer who had seen the City's star in the ascendant and had come to worship, but a thoroughly practical business man, who, wished to add to his own finances and to our comfort at one and the same time. This gentleman brought with him recommendations and certificates which proved him to be cunning in the formation of asphalte pavements. For some time nothing was heard of him or his project, until the footway in front of Mr Pearco's store was seen to be cut up. Passers by stopped, and wondered. At last one day, not very long ago, the news was heard that the cut up footpath was covered with tar, in short, was transformed into a bona fide " asphalte pavement." Men walked over it, and grunted approval. Women sailed over it, and said, " how delightful." Little boys jumped on it, and voted it a "jolly lark" — so it became the rage. At the next meeting of the Town Board, a letter was received from a number of well to do shopkeepers — a letter which did not complain of a grievance for a wonder, but one which contained a proposal to lay down the new fancied p;n-ement in front of their doors, if the Municipal authorities would pay an equal amount with themselves — "go halves" in fact. Arrangements were entered into, and resulted in little patches of tar being dabbed here and there over the footways of the streets in front of individual stores. As time went on, these patches grew more numerous, one could not walk a hundred yards without stepping on them, and by degrees they arc being absorbed into one connected sheet of asphalle, which will ere long cover evei'y street in the city. So much for " Asphalte Pavement." We will with all humility call that improvent number one. "We have taken a very low estimate when we began underfoot, but following in the footsteps of the City we shall l'iso. The next particular branch of improvements we shall notice, are the buildings, whether already erected, or as yet in embryo. In the last Summary, we entered on the subject of the Government Buildings, their additions and improvements ; the proposed site for the vice-regal residence in Lowry Hay, and the town residence of His Excellency ; so we shall simply now revert to these incidentally, and pass on to what private enterprise has done towards beautifying our 'streets. We should usurp every column in the paper, were- we to particularise every dwelling house, and store that have been erected since last month— their name is legion. There is hardly a street in the whole City where one docs not sec new houses, in Auckland parlance, shanties, rearing up. Wherever, or whenever, one walks, the constant tap-tap-tap of hammers is to be heard, and a visit to the Thorndon end of the town discovers rows upon rows of handsome dwelling houses built on blocks of land that last month were regarded as " truly rural." Our own " shanty" is distant some five hundred yards from our office ; to go from one to the other, we have to pass through three streets, — we do not name them for obvious reasons. In these three streets, every other day shows an improvement. In the first of them, wo notice that an old tumble-down barn-like building, paintless and fenceless, has been resuscitated in a wonderful manner. Wo hardly knew our old friend when wo last passed thatway. Itsbattered«inolddoor, out of which no one was ever seen to come, was replaced by a large portal, round which were grouped a number of merry urchins. Our surprise was increased at finding windows, new palings, and a weather proof roof. Wo ruminated for a few moments and then wandered on passing neat cottages on spots, that a week ago, were as bare as our pockets. In the next street, round the corner, we almost fell over another bunch of boys staring at some men busily engaged in laying down chains and taking them up again. Enquiry proved that this was the prelude to another improvement, and a vast one. The chain gang were laying down the site for a mammoth hotel, which was to contain endless bedrooma, bath-rooms, billiard-rooms, every sort of room. A little further on wo wero horrified to see a certain hostelrie, to which we were partially inclined, completely turned inside out ; what is vulgarly called " gutted," this, we were told, was an improvement, but we did not then see it, now we can bow to our informant's superior wisdom and cordially agree with him, because a jaunty young building with a handsome face, is growing up to replace our old friend. Opposite this improvement wo iiud another in the shape of a very tasty erection, whosefront resembles a eoitain palace in Brighton, built by the First Gentleman in Europe (for which he was very generally auatliemized by the bye.) This building, not tlio one in tho other " small fishing village, " is to bo a butcher's shop, or we should say, meat mart. Our readers would be tired were we to continue, we could point out shop upon shop, dwelling house upon dwelling house, and street upon street, and linger over each, but will, in pity stop with one more improvement, and a great one, namely the weather. Notone, nor two, nor three, but numbers ofnew arrivals have expressed their surprise to us at finding that it does not always rain ; that earthquakes are as rare as angels' visits ; that the roofs of houses, chimney pots, hats and babies are not whisked away in sudden gusts of wind, &c, &c., to which we replied with a gentle smile " if the Auckland journals say suchthings are, they must be so ; therefore look out they have never happened yet, but tliey may — when porcine quadrupeds