The Globe. TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1874.

Globe, Volume I, Issue 20, 23 June 1874, Page 2

The Globe. TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1874.

The introduction into the Provincial Council of " The Municipal Corpora- " tions Eevenue Ordinance, 1874," the second reading of which rnmrs on this evening in the Council, marks a new era in the municipal history of Canterbury. We believe that far back in the past a certain reserve of land was made for municipal purposes in exchange for certain rights ceded by the Council to the Government, but as to the revenue arising therefrom, or whether the city ever received any material benefit arising from such reserve, we are in the dark. Enthusiastic ex-Mayors, making the grand tour to the neighbouring province of Otago, have written in glowiDg panegyrics of the miles of asphalting, the number of street lamps, and other municipal bless : ngs, and have drawn rather unfavorable comparisons between the two cities. But it has been omitted to be stated how this was all accomplished. Not, as has been the case here with whatever has been done, by the rates raised directly from the pockets of the citizens and that alone, but by certain endowments secured under Act to the Corporation, a portion of which it is intended by the present Act now before our own Provincial Council to grant to the City Council of Christchurch. It is to be regretted that the Canterbury Association, in its zeal to found a strictly Church of England settlement, should have omitted to look forward to.theday when municipal institutions, in the ordinary course of events, and the growth of the settlement, would become a matter of necessity, and that they should, while largely and liberally endowing the church, have left the future corporate body, to a great extent, out iu the cold. Had not this been the case, the City Council would have been enabled to have done even more than it has done in the way of city improvements—not that this has been inconsiderable when we look at the very small amount af money they have had to spare for general works, but still much remains to be done, which, with all their zeal for the interests of the citizens, the Council has been unable to carry out simply for want of funds. Take, for, instance, the subject of footpaths. Those who reside in the suburbs, or indeed a short distance outside what is known as" the block" will agree with us, that in winter the state of the footpaths is simply disgraceful. At the present time it is a work of considerable difficulty for persons living a short distance from town to get into the city, and for the ladies it is almost impossible. A general system of asphalting all the footpaths within the belt half the width, as has been done in Durham street, is an imperative necessity, but then one is met with the insurmountable difficulty of want of funds. The Council, even with the most rigid economy is only just able to keep pace with the current requirements of the city, without entering into the new works for which there is so much need. Then again with regard to lighting; more lamps are wanted, even in addition to those recently erected, but the ratepayers are now, what with one rate and another, quite as heavily taxed as' they can bear, and so we are obliged to go with muddy and half lighted streets. But with the additional revenue provided under the proposed Act, amounting to some £2OOO per annum, the Council will be enabled to do some of the works—those at least most urgently needed —and it will relieve the constant drain on the pockets of the ratepayers of the city. Therefore we hope that the Bill brought in by the Government will become law, and that

to some extent—though tardy—justice will bo done to the city. To his Worship the Mayor the ratepayers owe a debt of gratitude for having ventilated this question, and pressed it upon the notice of the public, and whether the present ordinance becomes law or not, his efforts in this direction deserve recognition. In a future article Ave Bhall take an opportunity of commenting upon the provisions of the Bill.