Aprit 16.
There are obvious limitations on the annual speech which the Chair= man of the outgoing Counc delivers to the assembled Rat Payers of the International Settle ment. Tradition demands that it should be, in effect, the swan song of the Council as a whole, It is easy to imagine that Ratepayers at yesterday's meeting would like to have obtained from Mr. H.
Arnhold some enlightenment on the retiring Council's view of certain controversial issues which have come prominently to the fore of late. In the absence of any def-mite resolution it was improbable that such information would be provided, if only because it is rather to the incoming Council that those issues will be of practical importance. Moreover it would be aiMeult for the Chairman to do justice to the views of all his colleagues if he attempted to go beyond the plain unvarnished tale based on official researches. Opportunity was given to touch on two topics of greatly divergent significance, The Rickshaw prob-Jem was dealt with in the review of the year's events; it culled for no discussion otherwise,.as resolution for that purpose had been tabled. The amendments moved concerned the Municipal Orchestra—which has received from the Ratepayers a new lease of Jife, to their credit in this time of a pression—and the Housing problem. Mr. 8. H. Peck's suggestion that a Commission should be appointed to report on the conditions of housing in this congested urban area wes sympathetically received by the Chairman on behalf of the Council [but cogent reasons were adduced for not adopting it. It raised what may fairly be regarded as one of the most important questions within the cognizance of the Ratepayers of the Settlement. That was evident from the pains taken by the Chairman {o expound the Council's policy.
It is satisfactory to observe that Mr, Arnhold, boldly risking the charge of drowning the eat in jeream, definitely committed the Council to responsibility for tack= ling the problem. So far, it would seem, the Council's activities have been' concerned chiefly with the limited question of construction. Although certain tentative inquiries have been made and valuable materia? obtained from the pertinent. observations of the Public Works Commissioner, in collaboration with whom the Industrial Section has rendered good service, it Is neces~ sary to expand the Council's present outlook on the problem, In that regard Mr, Pock's proposal its merits, but as he himself that he transmogrified his proposal the trappings of the Council's scheme—it may be concluded that he and the assembly addressed were of opinion that the time had not come for the departmental efforts to be supplemented by formal assonation of A public commission with the Council's development of policy. Stress will have to be laid on the disclosure that the Coune! in due course to make public the results of its study and investigation so far as they have gone. Mi Peck—and those who think with him—may then find more solid ground for the establishment of his proposed machinery {han was apparent from the speeches made yesterday. Tt would be unfortunate it Mr. Arnhold's deprecation of the principle of appointing a commis
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.