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Taranaki Daily News, 27 March 1919, Page 4

THE WAY OF REGENERATION. The address on town-planning given by Mr. Hurst Seager at New Plymouth on Tuesday evening was of the most valuable nature, and it is a pity more people were not aware of its vital importance to them and the community. They would have seen that townplanning is no mere fad of enthusiastic visionaries, but a means for the improvement of all our towns and cities, as well as the country districts, on practical and sensible lines, and for the application of art and beauty—though art is beauty and beauty art—to all our municipal building activities. Moreover, Mr. Seager showed the economic and humanitarian importance of town-planning, which provides housing and living conditions 'that enable the workers to live like human being, and not as so many animals, besides adding to their contentment and enjoyment of life. The contrasts given on the screen of the garden cities of England and Sydney with the slums that exist in New Zealand towns and cities were very striking, and convinced everybody who Baw them that we are woefully behind other countries in the important matter of housing, and that it is necessary to make a start to catch up with them without any delay. One point stressed by the lecturer was the necessity for open spaces about the workers' home and for playing purposes, and to have homes surrounded by open farm lands wherever possible. We hope this point will not be lost on the New Ply : mouth ratepayers who are being asked to change the system of rating to that on unimproved values, which would practically make such desirable conditions , impossible, penalising a man who had

a piece of land anil preventing or delaying the worker, who generally buys his section on time payments, from building a home, at the' same time letting off the capitalist possessing valuable buildings and improvements in the business areas from payment of his just amount of rates. We maintain, as we always have done, that the citizens, and working men particularly, should be encouraged to build on larger areas of land, ror that would make for the better health and development of the children, and permit of the growing of foodstuffs, etc., whilst smaller areas, as we know only too well, make for slums, insanitary and unhealthy conditions, the stunting of children, and the breeding of unhappiness and discontent. Mr. Seagar is doing a work of the first national importance in bringing the folly of the past so vividly before our eyes a'nd showing ns the way of regeneration, and he deserves the thanks of the country for so successfully carrying out his self-impos-ed task.