AS OTHERS SEE US.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1136, 25 May 1911, Page 10

AS OTHERS SEE US.

TWO CITIES CONTRASTED. IMPRESSIONS OF A MUNICIPAL EXPERT. WELLINGTON AND SYDNEY. (By T. 11. Nesbitt, Town Clerk of Sydney, in the Sydney "Herald.") During my recent visit to New Zealand I noticed that a vast improvement in the style and architectural pretensions of buildings had been made in Wellington since my first visit to that city. Great numbers of old buildings had disappeared, being replaced by handsome and imposing ones, and the city had made remarkable progress, being municipally a city big in engineering works. The city of '"Wellington, as the result of the various amalgamations and absorptions of adjacent suburban areas which have taken place during the last eight years, now comprises an area of 9505 . acres—nearly three times as large as Sydney. The area under the jurisdiction of the "Wellington City Council, is now on a par with the great cities and boroughs of the Old World. The capital value of Wellington is now .£17,627,216, the unimproved value being .£10,064,981. There are 11,700 buildings in the city, and the population is 71,553. The Wellington City Council holds an endowment of laud, comprising 15C0 acres, situate 106 miles from the city, which is let to various tenants on lease in areas varying from 12 to 209 acres. The district in which the endowment is situated is in a thriving dairying and agricultural centre. Greater Powers than Sydney. Tn many respects the.municipal services of public utility and powers controlled and exercised by the cities of the Dominion greatly exceed those possessed by the City of Sydney, the consequence being that dual control is practically non-exist-ent, local government in New Zealand being a potent force, actual and visible, and not nominal. For instance, whilst the Citv Council of Sydney controls and administers certain public services, such as the electricity'supply undertaking, public baths, public parks and reserves, and public libraries, the City Council of Wellington, with a population and rateable value which cannot bo compared with Syduev, in addition to the services named, municipally controls and administers the water supply, drainage, fire brigade, tramways, public abattoirs, public cemeteries, and crematorium, municipal museum, the Zoological Gardens, and the Botanical Gardens. Further, the City Council of Wellington, controls the general issue of licenses, receiving the. revenuo annually derivable from this source, a by no means inconsiderable item, lho amounts payable as license fees vary from Is. to .£lO per annum. Tho annual, amount received by.the City Council of Sydney as license fees is approximately £1600." In Wellington it amounts to iSSSfi. 'The City Council of Wellington also possesses a valuable area. of Town Belt, aggregating 970 acres, part being laid'out as recreation reserves, and part let for grazing purposes. The total eivic revenue of Wellington for the year 1809-10 was .£397,928, and the total expenditure .E355.173, leaving a bandsomo surnlus of .£12,755. The harbour of Port Nicholson is under the control of a Harbour Board, on which the Citv Council is represented by the Mayor for the time being, the wharf fittiii"s"and thoroughly up-to-date appliances for rapid cargo handling being universally admired. The recognition of civic and commercial interests on the Harbour Board is one whicli might be followed with advantage in Sydney, such .a course- being by no means unusual in. England. It will be interesting to note that water is supplied for certain domestic purposes free of charge. This is, indeed, a rapid .progressive step towards the municipal millennium. Street Cleansing. In Wellington the ■ total mileage of streets and lanes cleansed by the council is ISO, the annual cost of city cleansing being under ,£13,400, including street watering and destruction of refuse. The scavengers and labourers employed in city cleansing receive Bs. per day, and are dissatisfied, agitation being now on foot for an increased rate of pay. Drivers receive Ss.-ld. per day. In Sydney the mileage of streets and lanes is 132, and the cost of city cleansing, exclusive of watering, for'the past year was ,£56,471, of which wages alone absorbed .£49,857. At first sight of these figures it would appear that there is something radically rotten in the State of Denmark in connection with the city cleansing of Sydney, when compared with Wellington and other cities. The conditions of working, however, are vastly different, and financial and utility comparisons are valueless for practical purposes.. For instance, in. Sydney until quite recently all refuse has had to'be carted a distance of three cr four miles, which is necessarily a heavy charge on the rates, and a severe tax on horseflesh, whereas in Wellington the refuse destructor is on the flat on Clyde Quay, in the very heart of the city proper. This destructor is capable of. destroying 120 tons per day. Last year 12,(100 tons of refuse were destroyed by fire in Wellington, compared with 31,213 tons destroyed at the Mooro Park Destructor, Sydney. Municipal Tramways. The tramways in Wellington are municipally administered, and were constructed at a cost of .E595,751, there being tho equivalent of 33J miles of singlo hack. The hills commanding the port have, during the past few years, become seamed with rock cuttings, and are pierced with tunnels for tho tram servico to tho outlying districts. The average !;ngth of penny section is 103 chains, compared with 152 chains in Sydney, tho latter city i being much in advance as regards fares. ; Motormen are paid Is. Id. to Is. l!d. pel' hour, the average earnings being <£3 7s. , Gd. per week. Conductors are paid HJiV. ; to Is. per hour, thcaverage earnings be- . mg ,£2 19s. 9d. per week. Inspectors are ; paid .£3 ss. per week. Tho average speed ' I s "•^' i , milc3 per'hour, including slops. In Sydney the average speed is 8.518 • miles, hut the stops in Sydney are nuch more frequent than in Wellington. The . passengers carried annually in Welling. ! ton aggregate 21,932,507, compared with . 13i,03i,4i3 carried in Sydney on the elee . trie lines. By legislative enactment ai . appeal board is constituted to hear ant ; determine appeals made by lho tramwaj ; employees against dismissals and suspen t sions, for'.misconduct, neglect of duty etc. This appeal board consists of a st'i I pendiary magistrate as chairman, th< ! town clerk as representing the City Coun ( . cil, and a representative of tho union tc , represent the employees. The last pub I lished statement of accounts showed ; . credit balance of 426124. '. Electricity Supply, 1 The electricity supply undertaking ii s Wellington is municipally administcrci t as in 'Sydney, 180 miles of streets beinj - lighted by electricity. The corporatioi - acquired the undertaking by purchase ii - 1907 for the sum of ,£1C6,r,!10.- includini t the public lighting installation. Th - price of current for electric lighting i t at the rate of 10(1. per unit, but with i - discount 7d. to sd. The charge for powe e is 4d. per unit but with a discount of 3d 0 to lijd. For heating and cooking purpose 1 lid. per unit is charged. The last pub t lished statement, of accounts showed c credit balance of .£2228. In Sydney electricity >-tricity is supplied at the following'rates '• — 1-Jd! per unit for lighting; lid. Pc unit for motors, heating, and cooking ap-paratus;-or at the option of the con ;' suiner, sd. per unit until the quantit; ', consumed amounts to 365 multiplied b; the consumer's maximum demand, and 2il >- per unit for all in excess of this amount '" This option to bo exercised by tho con J sumcr yearly. " Parks and Band Music. s The city parks and recreation reserve! v including the Botanical Gardens, all cor o trolled by the City Council of Wellinß n ton, involve an annual expenditure o s some .£ll7OO, the money being well ap i- plied, though AVellington has no Alber e Park like Auckland—"a thing of beaut " and a joy for ever." Band music is pre Ividcd in the parks, and is a legitimat charge on the rates, as in England. Th performances are given at regular inter

vals throughout (he year, (he City Council subsiding four local bands for the hpei'fonnances at tho rate of .£SO per band Hi per annum. Alderman Evan Jones and .Mr. Layton would rejoice if we could engage bands on these terms, free from u the direction of wages boards, thereby g releasing a large sum ' annually, which | could be advantageously employed in g park development. | No Street-Opening Nuisance. || Street openings, the curse and despair K of Svdnev, arc not at all troublesome in p Wellington. The AVellington Gas Com- j paiiy is the only public body which has 8 statutory power to open up the streets, B and in every case it must notify the city | engineer of its intention so to do. The 8 openings per street mile are comparative- I ly small. The company, as in Sydney, H is required to pay the cost of all repairs | rendered necessary by its operations. | Tho council has recently purchased one | of the latest and most improved tar- B spraying machines, from which excellent | results are expected. Ordinary macadam fl is largely used for street maintenance pur- Hi poses, and it appeared to me that an ex- | tension of woodblocking in many of (ho || city streets might, with advantage, bo fil undertaken. There might be some im- SI provement in city cleansing in somo of jjj the streets, particularly where cab stands h are situated, one or two places being | somewhat notoriously uncloau. In con- s nection with pedestrian traffic in the § streets, the same difficulty is experienced § as in Sydney, it being practically impos- | sible to educate the public to-distinguish H the right hand from the left. "Keep to B the right" is utterly ignored in Welling- Q ton and Auckland, and a reform is very | urgently needed, . | Pest Office and Telephones. | Kew and extensive accommodation for ij post office and telegraphic purposes is B being provided in Auckland and Welling- B ton. In the former city lho site is one | of the worst possible which could have b been selected, being in the immediate g vicinity of the Queen Street Wharf, and a a considerable distance away . from all fi business, professional, and commercial. R In Wellington the site is good, though fa it is a matter of comment as to why the front entrance is to be at the back. New Zoalanders were by means backward in q giving expression to the view, that the g Sydney telephone system ( was the most H atrocious in the world, an'opinion in fi which, unfortunately, I was very reluct- jj antly obliged to concur, although jealous 5 for tho honour and reputation of Aus- j tralia. s Gas and Electricity. jj In AVellington, I found that an acute i controversial correspondence had been I going on "for some lime .with regard to tho '; merits and cost of gas and electricity. It § may be stated that in AVellington the • deferred payment system for wiring pre- j raises has been introducced, and has been « remarkably successful during the few IS months it has been in active operation, i AViring work is not done by tho City \ Council, but each ease is kt by tender, ; the owner or occupier of the premises re- ' paying, the council by 12 monthly pay- ! inents of the actual cost incurred plus 5 { per cent, to cover incidental expenses in- ; currcd by the council. '■