CIVIC WORK

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18891, 5 January 1927, Page 6

CIVIC WORK

AS seen ABROAD. A MAYOR'S IMPRESSIONS. [THE PRESS Special Service.] WELLINGTON, January 4. Mr J. W. McEwan, Mayor of Pet One, returned to' Wellington last week after a six months' holiday tour of England, Scotland, and France. During hia visit/ he said, he had taken a keen interest in municipal work. On the 4 whole the Dominion had not much to learn, many even of the cities of England being behindhand in such matters as reading. In many of the cities and larger towns Of Yorkshire and in parts of the city of Glasgow the streets and even some of the footpaths were still paved with cobblestones.

Mr McEwan said he was present at a meeting of the Glasgow City Council, on which there are 118 members, and was surprised to see in spite of this large membership the large amount of business transacted. The members seemed very much alive, and indeed on occasion four members were speaking at one time and the chairman had considerable difficulty in keeping control. The formation of the meetings of municipal bodies was very striking to visitors from the newer lands. Members did not take their seats in haphazard fashion, but the Mayor or Lord Mayor, preceded by the mace-bearer, was followed into the chamber by the aldermen and councillors.

The Old Country appeared to Mr McEwan to be really in a bad way. In most towns more than half of the industries were closed, and a largo proportion of the others were on half time. Bradford was one of the best towns visited in regard to keeping the wheels of industry moving, and there they were paying £3 per ton for imported coal. At Port Glasgow the builder of ono of the few ships on the Etocks said he was waiting for the arrival of German steel.

Mr McEwan was of coarse struck by the great strides made by motor-bus enterprise in London. Large doubledecked buses running on solid tyres travelled along the Strand at twenty-five miles per hour. In Glasgow, however, the trams were more than holding their own. Owing to efficient management and the establishment of the zone system the trams were made to pay in spite of the fact that the fare for a twenty-mile trip was only 2d. w