"CITY TO-DAY IS AT A STANDSTILL"

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 210, 31 May 1920, Page 5

"CITY TO-DAY IS AT A STANDSTILL"

ARRESTING CONFESSION OF A PUBLIC MAN A PLENITUDE OF PROJECTS AND MEANS OF EXECUTION WELLNIGH UNPROCURABLE (By "Civis")

In common with most other cities Wellirgton has perforce had to lag behind in the prosecution of those ivories more or less necessary 'o tlu progress and development of the city. Comparatively little new work has hcen accomplished municipally during the past six years, and, however pushful the City Council had been, big 1 works would scarcely nave been possible owing to tlio shortage o» labour and material. Bad as conditions were prior to November, 1918— when hostilities eeaswl—they have gradually become worso since, until members of the City Council are admitting that the city is at a standstill. Councillor L. M'Konzio, in roplying to a. Rosencftth. deputation last week, said the position was such that the City Council was not only not getting any cement for new works, but was not getting nearly sufficient for works of maintenance, and it was regrettable and irksomo that they were not in a position to grant even slight requests, although reasonable ana legitimate. This almost tragio shortage of cement has become a drag on the irdustrial energy of the whole Dominion, and it is caused, say those who should know, by a. lack of coal for the furnaces. Were < amplo supply of i coal forthcoming, it is said, the Auckland works alono could supply the. Dominion's needs—bat month succeeds month and the position instead of being relieved grows steadily worse, -until, aa the chairman, of the Outlying Districts Committee states, insufficient Supplies of cement are forthcoming to maintain the ordinary services and works of tho Empire City. . . . Yet the same week tlio City Council reverses its decision re power-houses, by deciding to go in for r. big sfceam-driveii plant at Evans Bay, which will bind the cpmmunity to the tmck wheels of the coal miner and the coal.heaver for all time. Though the City Council has had unpleasant experiences in the immediate nast—and are still having them at_ present—through tho\chronic' unreliability of coal supplies, thn.v hitch, their w;agon to the coal star by deciding to spend f the best part of half a million sterling on a coal-burning, steam-driven plant. (One caniot conceive of oil-burning furnaces being used, as the price would bo high and the guarantee of. regularity of supply less secure than in the case of coal, owing to supplies haying to be sea-borne from America.!) Although the motion concerning the scheme has been disposed of, it is not too late to express regret at the rejection of Councillor W. H. Bennett's proposal to call in an outoirto expert engineer to report on the alternative schemes, sseing that there was a distinct divergence of opinion between the General ; Manager of Tramways (Mr. W. H, Morton), who is not an electrical engineer, nnd the Assistant-General Manager and Engineer, who is.

That a .chairman of a City Council committee should take tho public into his confidence by telling them that the city is at n standstill, should (To ono thing of importance. It should "ginger up" the council to face the positionend "ginger up" the Government to briiicr about a more satisfactory state of affairs respecting .coal and comont supplies.,.. . . To .read, the newspapers day by day, ono would imagine that the City Council is doing an. immonpo amount of roalj work. Great schemes are mooted, discussed, and approved (or otherwise), but nothing follows ;• not even' maintenance work, is being efficients done—vide the. non-tarring, of. the. woodblocks, to quote one deplorable feature.

In 1914 the Mayor was about to bring down a loan schedule providing for a number of works,, most of which ho labelled "necessary!" Almost six years have elapsed since then, and though no great new/works have been done (Oriental Bay Parade and the new fire brigade station are the exceptions), the city accounts for the fivo completed years do not show the saving that should have been effected by the compulsory cessation of new work' 9 out of revenue. If there has been an almost totaT,cessation of work, there should be commensurate saving_ of public 'moneys—unless money is ' being paid away without a fnir Teturn- in service.

While, as Councillor L. M'Konzie so deliberately says, the city is at a standstill. 110 one could say that there has not been a nroffigate outpouring of ideas, and a general agreement on wlmt should be done, were everything favourable to the doing of it. . t . Mr. Luke recent, ly proposed to raise £1,000,000 for tho carrying out of certain works to bo scheduled in a loan proposal. While that was all very well as far as it went, tha Sublie have not yet been taken into the toyor's confidence as to all the work to be constructed with that sum .of money —it would be useless for tho council to have ,£10,000,000 at their disposal in the absence of a guaranteed supply of cement, ccal, and other essential ma-, terials. As it is, the Mayor's million will, not go very far—in view of the depreciation of our currency—in providing those works which have been promised the city during the past ten years,. Here are a few that can be remembered offhand :—

Tunnel through Orongorongo Hill. New dam at Wuin,ui. 1 New mains into the city and at Wai- 1 iiui. Power station at Evans Bay. ' Renewal tramway tracks through the i city. Tramway extension down Waterloo Quay. Duplication of 'tramway tracks at Island and Lyall Bays. Re-curving tracks round Basin Reserve. Second traffic and tramway tunnel through Mount Victoria. New culvert a.t Island Bay. New grandstand nt Basin Reserve. Road improvements at Wadestown. New road access to Roseneath. Now road from Brooklyn to Mornington. Water and drainage for Ngaio, Khandallah, and Karori. Recreation reserve Prince of Wales Park (Salisbury Terrace). Recreation ground at tunnel entrance (head of Piric Street). Extension Anderson Park Low3r recreation ground at 'Kelburn Park. Surfacing roads to cope with tho dust nuisance. Improvement Clyde Quay at Corporation yards and extension of same. New carshed at Clyde Quay. Lift (or tramway or both) to Tempo and Kelburn. Kent Terrace Reserve improvement. Widening Evans Bay Road. Development of reserves at Lyall Bay. Housing scheme. Now main artery through city. Eire belts through Day's Bay bush. Imp rovement Nealmuranga Gorge and . „ Paekakariki Hill roads (in connection with milk wacon service). Conveniences everywhere. Other works which have been mooted from timo to timo. have been the improvement of the Concert Chamber (tho woret-appointed hall for exits in Wellington) ; the erection of a new Con cert Chamber and offices fit the back of the Town Hall; a new milk station; new baths at Thorndon; new baths and tennis courts at Karori; children's playgrounds at the Rigi and Mount Victoria; new recreation ground at Ngaio; development of Khandallah Domain ; and tho removal of Queen Victoria's statue from Kont Terrac?,- and tho running of the (tramway tracks through ifcho .reserve, leaving tho roads on either sido free for ordinary traffic. Such a list of works as tho above shows at leaat that whilst aroomplishlnont is hold shackled, there has been much to occupy the attention of city councillors. ... If, however, they would eeo "something attempted, something done"—which would be nearer the point, all energy should bo conoerltrated mi gaining a, suie and certain supply of all

tho materials necessary to carry on tho functions of a great and growing city. Until that is (lone is ifc worth whilo to attempt to raise a million of money lor the purchase of tho well-nigh unpurchasable? Why raise money for a dam when there is no cemont to built with? Why spend half a million on a power plant dependent 011 coal, when coal is tho most uncertain quantity in tho economic scale?

It will bo of interest to con the abovo list over, say, three yews hence, nnd noto what progress has boon mmio towards tho goal wo all have in view—tho ideal city.

"Under such conditions as these, public bodies and political parties alike-con-fused by tho multitude and congestion of issues—are apt to bestow their dangerous attentions now on one matter which happens to dart into tho limelight, now upon 'Another; but in tho general hubbub and perplexity they lose all sense both of truo proportion and natural priority. Everything is talked about; much is attempted in a piecemeal, slapdash, impulsive fashion; inconsiderably little is brought to any conclusion whatever; while nothing, or next to nothing, is considerod ou its merits and carried through thoughtfully, to a clean and abiding settlement." —F. S. Oliver, in "Ordeal by Battle/'