CONTRAST IN CITIES.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3517, 2 July 1920, Page 3

CONTRAST IN CITIES.

AUCKLAND AND GLASGOW,

A VISITOR’S IMPRESSIONS

“Auckland impresses me as being a very up-to-date and progressive municipality,” said Mr T. J. Irwin, a magistrate of the city of Glasgow. Mr Irwin, who has had a total service of 12 years CTI the Glasgow Town Council, is spending two or three months’ holiday in New Zealand for health reasons.

1 There are two things, especially, in which Auckland leads Glasgow/’ said Mr Irwin. “The first is your municipal trawler and fish shop. We consider ourselves up-to- date, but we have not got as far as that yet. Then there is the municipal choir, which, I think, is an object lesson to Scotch municipalities as to what can be done_ I was present at the Town Hall last Saturday night, and I was pleased that one of the items given by the choir was by a Scotch composer.” Referring to the public library, Mr Irwin said the “open access” system, especially in the reference section of the library, was a great improvement on the system at Glasgow. There a man wishing to consult a certain book had to go through a set procedure, of signing his name nad being under the close surveillance of an official. Here the library was pubbe in the fullest sense, and a man war allowed to help himself.

Mr Irwin said he was very much struck with the public parks in Auckland. The Domain, he said, was magnificent. He had found tha a great deal was left to the common sense of the people to uroteet their property, and they .did it. ‘ This was a contrast to Glasgow, where “please keen off the grass” signs were so numerous as to bo an eyesore.