SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1903. THOSE TRAMWAY CON – TRACTS. The Celerity of the City Council.

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 150, 16 May 1903, Page 8

SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1903. THOSE TRAMWAY CON - TRACTS. The Celerity of the City Council.

IT is refreshing to notice that the Wellington City Council is in a hurry. It cannot be said that m its march of progress hitherto it has been desperately rapid, and its newlyassumed activity, as demonstrated by its ardent desire to get. the electric tramways 1 in going order, is most admirable. So very anxious was the Council to displace the horse cars in, a reasonable tame that the fear grew m its soul that if local people were allowed *o build rolling stock, supply timber, and so on they could not possibly do the work to contract time. * * • This is an example of the prescience of the municipal powers that be. Not having tried local people's powers, they of cour&e knew exactly what they oould do in a given time. There would be delay, you see, if boilers and oars were made here. The people, not being used to waiting for oivio improvements ( ?) would resent delay. A& for extending the contract time, or, having specified a time within which local people could hope to do these works, why should this be done? * * There is absolutely no reason, except that it would give a fillip to local trade, and would itself have helped to advertise the ability of the workers of this city to undertake large works. Thero can be no doubt that the matter was very carefully gonei into by the conscientious Council, which had due regard for the impatience of the citizens in getting these much-needed improvements pushed ahead at express speed. Supposing that the manufacturing people here had been given a small order only, just enough to test their capabilities , supposing that a few sections of the roadway had been blocked with New Zealand wood as an experiment before concluding that it was useless to expect local timber that has only been tested m the severest way by other bodies would be good enough for sudh a progressive body as the Wellington City Council. * * » It is reasonable to assert' that if the contracts given abroad had been let locally, the Wellington people, eager as they are, would not have minded being inconvenienced for a few months longer. They are a long-suffering community, and one used to waiting. New Zealand cannot expect to be able to compete with other countries in these matters if she is given no chances. Wellington would be proud of that tramway system if local industry were utilised in

the way indicated. Wellington will be pioud of it anyhow, but surprised to find that, the necessity for pleasing the people is the clhief excuse for letting contracts abroad * * * By the way, the contracts are small matters to the firms that got them, but would probably be, regarded as a fairly decent help to local firms. Thriving as New Zealand is, manufacture is certainly not encouraged to the extent desirable, and it is at least a pity that the question of the people's willingness to wait a little longer for their long-delay-ed improved means of conveyance should not have been put to tihein before concluding that they desired to override local claims in their eagerness for the consummation of th. 1 scheme.