Evening Post. TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1911. WELLINGTON'S OUTLOOK.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 96, 25 April 1911, Page 6

Evening Post. TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1911. WELLINGTON'S OUTLOOK.

Civic spirit, unlike Milton's fame, is a plant that grows on mortal soil, but the growth varies much with the soil and climate. The soft, warm air and volcanic tufa of Auckland are said to , be good for the plant, and it is 'alleged that Wellington's bracing breezes and clay are bad for the flower. Certainly Auckland's intense belief in Auckland is the first and seventh wonder of New Zealand, and Wellington's placid indifference to the sister city's assumption of superiority in all things material and spiritual is the second' and sixth wonder. It is charged against Auckland that she should remember now - and then that the blue and sparkling waters of the Waitemata do not embrace all New Zealand, even if they are privileged to kiss the stately feet ot the Queen City; but even if New Zealand cannot refrain from smiling occasionally (sometimes grimly) at an Auckland inference that New Zealand consists of an . important Auckland plus a more or less unimportant non-Auckland, New Zealand cannot help admiring. Auckland's frenzied loyalty to Auckland' should not be a reproach to Auckland, , but a reproach to cities not so jealous i of their fair fame and name. Auckland wins for Auckland by watching and , working for Auckland. The ' Queen City, with all her imperiousness, does not I prevent other cities from watching and' [ yprking for themaelve*. "Take th.%

cash and let th© credit go" condenses a charge often levelled at busy moneymaking Wellington. "Take the cash and the credit" is the Auckland axiom. Some casual visitors to Auckland, profess to note an air of languor about Auckland. Whether the-citizens seem languid as individuals or not, they are undoubtedly galvanic and hustling in the mass, and they have a habit of succeeding when they decid© to succeed. Auckland's decisions are numerous. Without wishing to see Wellington exactly copying the Northern city's fierce self- - consciousness, we should be glad to see a betterment in Wellington's belief in Greater Wellington. The civic spirit languishes here, and this generation suffers for it. The potential penalty for posterity is huge. Men have come, and men have gone, with hopes of creating and maintaining a vigorous, good, healthy opinion of Wellington in Wellington's own estimation. It should not be- hard to make the capi- i [ tal, ambitiously mottoed, "Suprema a situ," believe thoroughly in itself, but the task is formidable. Another volunteer, another promising Hercules, tho Citizens' League, is in the field. It is for time to test the mettle of the league, I and even its enemies should, be. chari- ■ table enough to concede a little time. Labour has chosen to regard the league as a wolf in sheep's clothing, but no wolf can long figure in that disguise without detection. The league's words, given in The Post to-day, are brave words, and common fairness, ordinary British justice, orders reasonable time for the league to prove itself. If it can make Wellington think and work heartily for Wellington, ' its glory wilJ be resplendent for ever. The Post has discovered how difficult it is to get some people to think municipally over a period of years. It is strange, but true, that some observers believe that Wellington, with 70,000 inhabitants, is planned for all time. In their vision Greater Wellington of to-day is married, for better or worse, hard and fast, to a straggling map. The marriage lines may be seen in the City Engineer's office, and there is no escape from them, in one iota (so it is sadly hinted). Let Wellington's population have the prospect of a doubling in twenty years or a trebling in thirty years — it is all the same. What muddling man joined in earlier times, let no meddling man put asunder, now or hereafter. We say again that even the groundwork of Wellington is not yet completely planned. The Town Belt is not properly planned; the foreshore (even in important parts of the inner area) is not adequately planned ; convenient arterial routes to some large residential areas are not definitely planned. If the simple word plan is likely to confuse any lover of Wellington, we are quite willing to substitute "town policy" for "town plan." Provided that we can persuade the citizens to think for the benefit of themselves and their children, we shall not quarrel about a phrase. If "town policy" can work better than "town plan," let us all be happy with "town policy."