THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1909. TO-DAY'S POLL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 429, 11 February 1909, Page 6

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1909. TO-DAY'S POLL.

:; : ; ; :P.ESPjra;^ho : ;rapid::-growth-of-"triiß city,! and the/great extension, of the municipality's concerns, the ■ citizens, ; have ,-.'■ never' shown.much.inclination to take the'same interest, in;municipal; : affairs. as thby take ; i£geherai,poHtics. iThibia'true/of other': 'towns besides, Wellington. From one end of ..the .country,to the other the new'sp apers regularly-exhort 'the citizens to.throw off; i.eheir'/apathyill .regard to ~:civic'/matters/' We'arc. all-waiting-for that municipal vival/under ;whicb/local- politics-will ex-' ; citb the keeni interest that, they ■•excite in. 'Great Britain,'where the annual.elections' : are>.hardly/less,exciting,'.and,;aro consid-hardly-less i.mportant, -than the; Par:.lianibntary<.contests.. In time, of. course, /the;-publio/'wili;;realise /tliat ; 'it ; ; is-;often: more/deeply,' and/always ; -mofe>quickly. :and more closely,, affected by. the work of local- government /bodies' than , by the work/of,the'General' mimstratioh'by-a;City' Council'!can cause greater''discomfort' and/trouble/ to the: ;city.; '/whose'</affairs: /it .and' good,administration can produce a better and, more' healthful condition, ;tban; bad or . good 'administration/:by ■ the:'; general ; iGoverniaont.vlt.is'in Wellington; that-we; i;should/sxpect'the/municipal/revival: to- (; show, itself first, since/this city is growing iimuch .faster than''-any:-other town 'in ,the country,. ; and its financial'operations are | i already of _huge magnitude. The amount ,;involved ;, in,. ,the /loan proposals upon: which a poll is to be taken to-day should bring- home.:to/the ratepayers a,. sense of ■their responsibilities..'.."Most people would ; admit that,: a / new ; Government; loan of ; j ;£&\b00,00'o would be a serious matter; and : that sum: is/the-equivalent of a Welling- i ton loan of £208,350. -But, even/without .the aid '.of; thiß comparison, the; proposal .to borrow over. £200,000. is quite serious enough/to make: the. ratepayers think' .twiceabout .it.. We hope : that they, will show their sense of the gravity'of the /proposal by polling moro heavily. than has been/ usual in the/past./: _ As to the various purposes for which it is proposed to raise-money, we have only to repeat.what we said when, dealing with the.matter tho'/other'.day; /So far as.the: Wadestown tramways and : tho Wadestown and. Northland water supply are ' concerned, the ..position, is different from, the, position in respect of the other borrowing projects;■"': The people immediately concerned will decide ' those/ questions for themselves, and.as thefinances of the loan for the Wadestown undertakings are guaranteed by a special rate, the generality of Wellington citizens are not directly interested in ;those -proposals.-We: have .already expressed the, opinion that the contemplated expenditure on the destruc- j tor, -the abattoirs,;tho' electric lighting plant, and,the existing tramways system 'should-repay'themselves,'-'and. the rate-' payers may vote "Aye" in rospect'of. these items with some'confidence. At the same time, it is necessary to repeat that ,'the tramways are still making a poor showing when the natural advantages of tho system'are taken into account. Economy must keop pace with extensive!; expondk ture, yThe Constable Streot extension is^

quite unnecessary, and may be a moneywasting enterprise as well. . The ratepayers will do well to veto this project, and to treat similarly the- proposal to. spend £27,500 on some vague scheme for building workmen's homes. : ' Nor is there any occasion for hasto. in undertaking the Kilbirnie reclamation, or in sponding £15,500 on recreation grounds. The elimination of the questionable and objectionable items from'the list will reduce the total sum required from £203,350 to £115,900. The present is not a time for heavy borrowing by the ' Corporation ; what holds good for the country as a whole is equally applicable to the municipalities, which should adopt'a "go slow'.' policy for some time—until, at any rate, wo have some indication .of what is ahead of the present tightness .of'money.! ■' ■