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would raise such a spirit of discontent and resentment as would make the working and administration of the new body impossible. We have elsewhere expressed our opinion of what we believe to be the narrow, short-sighted policy, the lack of true civic pride and public spirit, which magnifies the importance of any local benefits that may attach to the present system and is blind to the advantages of amalgamation. This is a matter which is entirely in the hands of the citizens of Auckland and district, and until a spirit of co-operation and unity has been cultivated sufficiently to dissipate the present unhappy and arbitrary divisions the discord and difficulties which are inherent in those divisions will continue. City Control versus Board Control.—That leaves us with four alternatives —two requiring that the ownership and control should remain with the city, the other two that they should pass to a separate body designed to control transport. City Control eliminated.—ln considering the first of these alternatives — namely, the continuance of control and ownership by the city as it is now constituted —it must be taken into account that we are of opinion that the objections taken to the City Council acting as a motor-bus-licensing authority, as well as the owner and controller of traffic, have been sustained. Therefore, if it is still to function as an owner and controller of traffic it must be subject to the supervision of an independent motor-bus-licensing authority. It follows as a corollary that if this method of control is to be recommended, there must accompany it some recommendation as to the nature and constitution of such licensing authority, and it follows that the creation of such a body involves a corresponding diminution in and interference with the city's existing rights. In our opinion this would be a new difficulty added to the position as it exists at present, and might, in effect, be a division of control between public bodies. Furthermore, the greatest difficulty of all still would remain—viz., that the primary control and financial responsibility rests with the city proper and its citizens, whilst the demands for extensions and the powers of veto afforded by the deeds of delegation are with the outside bodies whose burgesses have no financial responsibility and no voice in loan proposals. The variation afforded by metnod (2)- —viz., adding co-opted members of outside bodies to the Tramways Committee —does not touch these basic objections, and therefore proposals (1) and (2) must be eliminated. The difficulties of the district in relation to transport are urgent and cannot wait till the outside bodies voluntarily amalgamate with the city. Until there is unified control the elements of the deadlock in the matter of proposed tramway extensions remain unaltered ; the contiguous local authorities still remain " outside bodies," with the power and the will to criticize and complain of the City Council's attitude in transport matters towards the outside bodies. The position therefore is that whilst the suburban bodies have made out no case for taking the transport administration and control away from the Auckland City Council, we are unable to recommend Your Excellency to leave this modern problem to any one component part of the archaic municipal divisions of the district. Combined Power and Transport Board eliminated. —It is convenient next to consider the proposal of the combined Power and Transport Board to take over the tramway and motor-omnibus services. In the first place, it was agreed by all witnesses who advocated this method that it would be necessary, for the purpose, to alter the respective boundaries of the Auckland and the Waitemata Power Board's districts. Evidence subsequently given before us on this point satisfies us that this point bristles with difficulties. Further, there is no evidence that the Auckland Power Board as at present constituted wishes or is willing to take over transport, and we are of opinion that the transport difficulties of the district would not be likely to be removed by handing them over to an unwilling authority. In our opinion these objections are fatal, and justify us in eliminating this method. Creation of a Board to control Transport.—That leaves us with one method, and it becomes our affirmative proposal. We accept it and put it forward with regret, because we have been led to it not by the constructive application of positive principles, but by a progressive elimination that leaves nothing else. The problem that we have to meet arises out of modern traffic developments, and it is an urgent problem. As we have already pointed out, it will not wait until the civic constitu-

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