NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 96, 17 January 1919, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY

Since a single definite proposal is worth a whole host of high-sound-ing generalisations, we would commend v to the attention of the Mayor, and City Council tho letter from Mr. ' H. A. Fox which appears in our columns this morning. Like many other good citizens, Mr. Fox approves and endorses tho appeals which aro made from time to time for the elimination of slums and the beautifying of the city; but he goes a step further. He puts forward a definite suggestion which is designed to convert an unsightly area leading into the heart of the city into a handsome thoroughfare lined with attrac-. tive buildings. The proposal is that the city, which already owns a por : tion of the property bordering on Adelaide Road, should acquire the balance, from the Basin Reserve to John Street on the one side and to the Hospital grounds .on the other. The whole street could then bo transformed and "an ugly blot," as Mr. Fox terms it, bo removed. Naturally the question of pounds, shillings, and pence has to be considered, but past experience has shown that improvements of the nature suggested can frequently be carried out_. without financial loss to the Municipality, and sometimes at a profit. In any case the matter is one which deserves consideration.

No one in authority; nowadays appears to have the time to give much, if any,- thought to the question of population.' Yet in most countries it is" regarded as a vital question. Tho population of the Dominion, according to the interesting abstract of statistics published monthly by the Government Statistician, was in September last (the latest'figures) practically wKat it was four years ago. This, of course, is largely duo to the absence of many of our young men overseas. But even when thoso overseas return . tho statistics will show that the increase in population during the past three years has been far below the average. The war, of course, has been responsible for this. It is not the cause, however, thai has now to be considered, but the effect. In 1913 the excess of arrivals over departures from the, Dominion was 14,219—the largest addition to our population from this source since 1908. In the years since 1913 the corresponding totals, excluding troops of the Expeditionary Forces, were:—l9l4, 5140; 1915, 3075; 1916, 636; 191 V, 1780; and for the ten months of 1918, 182. So we have it that in tho past five years (less two months), the increase in population from overseas has been only 10,813, as compared with 35,473 during the preceding five years. Added to this there was a substantial drop in the marriago rates for 1916 and 1917, while the birth rates for the four years from 1914 to 191 V, inclusive, were lower than those of the two preceding years. The figures for 1918 have not yet been published, but they are not likely to show any marked improvement. The cause, we know, was the war, but it is the fact that has to be considered. We want population of the right sort. What are we going to do about it?

. In dealing with the milk supply the City Council seems to be as far as ever from reaching the agreement it desires with the vendors, but a very important step is contcm?latecl on Monday next. On and rom that date, unless there is another postponement, all milk coming into the city will be received and tested at the depot the Council has acquired in Dixon Street. All going well this should mean that consumers will henceforth have a comprehensive guarantee of tho purity of the milk supply. As it stands, however, the arrangement is somewhat loosely drawn, and depends for its working upon a, good deal of voluntary co-operation between farmers, the Council, and vendors. Presumably there should now be little difficulty in ensuring the milk being released from the depot in the best possible condition, but a good deal will still depend upon its prompt delivery to consumers. Apparently it will bo entirely at the option of vendors,

meantime, whether the milk is promptly delivered or not. Pending an agreement with the vendors the Council cannot inaugurate the block system which would make both for promptitude of delivery and economy in working. .It will buy the milk wholesale and sell it to the vendors in such quantities as they need to supply their customers. The only important benefit secured for the time being, therefore, is the concentration of the milk at a central depot and the facilities this gives "or testing it. Considering N the amount of money the Council has sunk in its venture it obviously ought to lose as little time as possible in taking the further stops which-will enable it to completely reorganise the milk supply and to institute economies. It is even more important at. the moment, however, that no hitch should be allowed to arise which would throw the arrangements for supplying the city with milk into confusion. After the time spent in preparations and preliminaries, any/approach to the fiasco of a year ago would -be inexcusable.