NEW CITY ENGINEER

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 55, 29 November 1926, Page 8

NEW CITY ENGINEER

MR. G. A. HART ARRIVES

THE “CLOG” IN THE COAL

TRADE

Wellington’s new city engineer, Mr. G. A. Hart, late sewage and drainage engineer tor the municipality of Leeds (England), arrived from the Old Country on Saturday by the midday express from Auckland, and was met at the railway station by the Mayor (Sir. C. J. B. Norwood) and several of the chief executive officers, including the town clerk (Mr. E. I’. Norman) and the acting engineer (Mr. K. E. Luke), who tendered him the heartiest welcome possible under the circumtalices, which were, meteorologically, of the worst description. Mr. Hart subsequently said that he took little notice of the weather. It was pouring with rain the day they left Liverpool; one of the worst days lie could remember spending in that city, and all he could say was that England wept at their departure, Wellington wept on their arrival, so it was an even break. He had found the long ocean voyage just a little tedious, and it was unduly prolonged owing to the inferior quality of Westphalian coal that was being burned.

When seen yesterday by a Dominion reporter, Mr. Hart had already been motored round the outskirts of the city by Mr. K. E. Luke, and even though the elements were unpropitious, he could see that Wellington was a place of extraordinary beauty of a novel character a bold sturdy beauty which had made an immediate appeal to him, as a dweller for a long time in an inland city beside the sleepy River Aire. The change was remarkable in many wavs, but it was distinctly novel and exhilarating. He explained that Leeds was a city of 490,000 inhabitants, which seemed to have reached its maximum growth for a time at all events. When he first went to Leeds in 1905, the place was overbuilt, and there were about 7000 empty houses, but in the intervening years it had caught up to itself. It was common knowledge in England that certain places grew for a specified time, and then something called “check,” and they stopped there or thereabouts. One had to remember that the citv was only eight miles from Bradford. Indeed, the borders of the two cities almost met, but between the two cities lay three urban districts, each with their own councils. These were Calverly, Parsley, and Pudsey, each and all of which had been flirting with cither Leeds or Bradford for the last twenty years in the matter of absorption, but when it came to an issue the proposals were always turned down, though each of the three would very much like to enjoy the privileges that either city could bestow without commensurate payment for the same. Anvhow they were a sort of buffer state whicli kept the two cities apart. The River Aire flowed through Leeds, whilst Bradford was on a tributary of the same river. Twenty-two miles below Leeds the Aire joined the River Ouse, which flowed into the Humber, so one could see the vast disparity between the city he had come from to the one in which he. was to make his home. It also explained, to a certain extent, how essential and vital a problem the drainage of such a large city happened to be . All the sewage of Leeds had to be treated chemically, otherwise it would mean the turning of the Aire into a monster septic tank, for no less than 22,000,000 gallons of water brought into the city for sewerage purposes (from watersheds other than the Aire) were pumped into the river daily. The Coat Strike.

"To visit Leeds a couple of months ago,” said Mr. Hart, “you would not notice that there was a great coal strike on, yet immediately to the south lay

the great West Riding coalfield of Yorkshire. The reason for that was that, to begin with, they had a six months’ supply on hand when the strike commenced, and since then a great deal of coal had been imported from America, Germany, and even Silesia. The German coal was bad, but the Silesian product was quite good in quality. Still they had to make restrictions here and there, chiefly in the curtailment of electrical supplies, and in cutting down some of the streets lighting. Probable Cause of Coal Strike. “As to the strike itself, my belief is that it was inevitable owing to the growth of two great federations—tlie miners on the one side and the mineowners on the other. The one started with the miners’ clubs and lodges; then finding thev were not strong enough thev united in unions, and then into federations; whilst on the side of the owners, the man with a little capital felt himself lost, and allied with others, the banks, the Jewish financiers, and so created'a big organisation. With the gradual growth of the two federations the spirit of mutual trust and understanding broke ‘down, and on both sides, seemingly, there appeared to be a desire to undermine the essence of all agreements, until a sense of utter distrust was engendered, which made the situation hopeless. Both sides tried to use the political machine, but that only made the position worse, and the result was the great strike. “Do Unto Others !” “I think that the only hope for industrialism in Great Britain is a change of spirit based upon the teachings of the New Testament. I mean, do unto others as vou would have them do unto you. The whole industrial machinery had become clogged up, and it needed that spirit as paraffin to clean it out. Behind all this was the temperament of the people. The British industrialist was a man who liked to be independent; he liked plenty of latitude; and hated to be hide-bound by rules and regulations. He simply wanted to be allowed to work along on rational lines, and did not believe in laws being made for those who break, laws; in short. ;he objected to legislation for the irrational. Yon will understand that I am no politician, nor do I trouble

mvself with politics; I am simply stating the case as I, personally, see it. Mr. Hart could not say much as to his work in Wellington, but be made it clear that he would be slow in making changes, as he was breaking new ground, and would be a few weeks m getting a thorough grasp of the city from an engineering point of view. Air. Hart and Mr. E. P. Norman (the new town clerk) are to be tendered a social welcome to Wellington by the staff at an early date. For the time being Mr. and Mrs. Hart are staying at the Orient Private Hotel.