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THE QUBBN OETY. .
? Hunmhls^^ according .to ti»e
Scriptures, began -with a tangle home in
a garden,. iikl its ctfflBummatldii -Will
be found 'la a perfecfty.. ordered and
[wondrpofllvy b_eauUful j garden . dty,
wiKtse TOunUeasniyiiladsof ? inhabitants
?will be so worihy of their envifon
hl^6;that no poU-»'and no Inspectors
^^neede^ to' enforce the Unra, the
obwitance 'of -wiik Is* essential . to
ideal conditions otisoctal service and
happiness. CoL/Li^bt obtained in
spiration from Hie Iglowtug -word-pi^
tore ol.^tclty^oX«JUie Golden Ag$
and «o far ftj'TOhf?pdssflfle and .con
venient, 'he deflignsed South' AnstraBa's
capital in t^rdanw**lth~itf o'ntward
pattern. PldeHty to.its ?founders con
ceptions, therefore, requires the resi
dents of Adelaide tor aim -t nuking it
the model city of a jnocei people.: That
(fepiration may only be realised ? by
gradual stages extaidJtag, perhaps, :over
Beveral* generations, ihe^tnie munici
pal spirit invorYes,1 among^other.thingfi,
toe abolittom «f-'pnhiic vices, : thepre-
vention of destitotion and.equaior, the
improvement of home .-.life, and the
blessings of an all-round education for
every child; and such conditioDs.preds*
cato q permanent reUgious and moral
uplift of the jwbole community. It has
been the custom 'of a few slly. people
sneertogly to refer to Adelaide as The
Htity City*'' 'Such a designntkm - has
never been and could not 'justly be
claimed for it; bnt formerly the dty
bad a dedded; advantage .-xver the large
capitals of *he Eastern States in being
usually avoided by undesirable, n classes
of ;Unmigrants.fand probably through
nurturing more .?wholesome public 'and
private manners of living. In the pre
sent epochal and mournful period,
when national calls and responsibilities
have so greatly changed popular esti
mations . of :: moral values of thmgs
which once, may hoive appeared chiefly
desirable, the cttixena may profitably
consider not only whether they hare
improved on the example' set them by
the past generation, but -whether they
have .maintained the standards / of
municipal virtue as high as they found
them -when Vthey entered upon their
splendid inheritance in thisdeilghtfully
situated city.
Testimony', to the pride of the civic
fathers. in the city, and their devotion
to its welfare, is satisfactorily 'borne
by the 'annual reports of toe Mayor
and Town Clerk, which .were submit
ted to,tiie;Corpo^oii.onMonddy. .On
account; of ffiandal a'nd'other 'disrup-
tions occasioned by the great war, no
eaierpriseST-of ? any magnituda were
etarted during the past year, and con
gidexation,of ail but the most necessary
undertakings has been .deferred until
times are again comparatively normal.
Rut extraordinary drcumstahces in
duced the Mayor and the Mayoress to'
continue the discharge of numenws en
gagements suggested- by patriotism',;
and the public's fervent gratitude to
the men aid women who bar? enlisted
in the Empire^ service in the war:
These exceptional demands upon their
pubUcHspirUedness - hate far out
?weighed the claims of the. recognised
routine duties pertaining to the Mayor
alty, and both have been performed so
heartily and thoroughly as to win for
Mr. and Mrs. Isaacs the sincere thanks
and admiration of a! vdriases. . In ref
linqninhing thua chief magistracy, Mr.
Isaacs inakes thoughtful ocknowledg
ments in generous terms, which Indi
cate why he has been so successful in
preserving the harmony' in thfe Coun
cil's gatherings, and- in meriting -the
high respect accorded to him by the
Corporation's efficient and industrious
staff. .The confidence of the ratepayers
—now heavily burdened.by . Commbn
weajth ond State taxations— is ' en
hanced by fresh evidences of ^conomy,
wJUiout parsimony, In the management
of the dty*e flnancea It ia patlfying to
note that the overdraft to no more than
f 6,000, or £2^50 less than had been: ex
pected at the beginning of the year..
In various directions the Council has
been hampered in its ' operations
through Federal \ restrictions : and tbe
dearness of money. It must be com
mended for baying— hi order to obtain
an adequate^ supply of tar for street
sirring purposes— promptly compUea
with the:requirements of the War Pirer
cautions ragulations, framed to ensure
that the toluene and benzine needed for
the manufacture of Munitions should
be extracted from the crude bur. Limi
tations upon new' activities in the im
mediate future' has encouraged,' rather
than hindered, the study of interesting
municipal problems. ;'; ^ The recent Town
planning and Housing Conference1 and
BxbJbltion— the first in Australia
served the. exceedingly valuable pur
pose of focussing attentkwiupoH. .the
particular, natural advantages which
pertata to the Queen City of ;the South'^
end -the' policy which; should be consls
tentijr porsned ! ti| imrare. their -Rise alia
profitable utltttttlon in the public^hv
terest * LesBons; learned 'from tlw. -»n-
ferences* will; doubttesa be'fruitful oi
advantages- to'. ' thc^cl^fm 'yeais- to
come. A mati»- which' must ^be.d^alc
wilu.\«o^:VrJE^ito.-;-^'-:-'!'tbe^iii^r-
yation- of the OSirT^ banks,; bridges;
and. weirs .'wJ^v.t^.^l^-'-shw^y.'fa
ctoverted; into.^a. road^vtoria^s
was the case m thia nftddle of Jnlj; Ac;
wrding to the a^ Valn^; i^ta^i.in
the i residential areai'^wwfe^^^du^
ing tiie.year, although building was not
brisk.. Inthe^^ business portid^/Mliia:
ingrwas fajWy good, :i^:rtb-raltetar
tionsr and; adffltiorc^kfected hdped '£&
^e/tbiogs look a little b^
presumably M& the fpieceding dull
year.'- /Tbe vjgflance i ^tittev -healtt
authority 'was wefl reiirarded, and Dr.
BortirwlcXs report ; inties :gobd read
tag^ Syet;wnajtic inspection of a house-,
to house '^ra-tor^ and
there were other * investigations,, with
Ui^ifottpiwingT ^'wsute^N^ceB ; Jirew
served liorwio7« 8^845 nisanitarV con
ittim;;W,:h as
uMt for-hu^hVoi^
onlered to be demoilshed;' 1,008 notices
i-^rB«^':&.:.sdeiais^:'VeDti]a^^n.
repair o^erbouscB;,aijd defects in 969
yards ,;»rid right-of-ways, 200^sUWesv
and «»lavatories -wert put.rjghk Bvfc
da^,\Uie a^tbork» are-determined
to:low~n;o^Umefin~'disp/^^
s^gge«^ci^^ti|ere ?.in ;;^umsr» in
Ade^tfThedeaili-rate I'fw'W'jeip
wfi.thelow^fiipce lOO^.'-.w
more-satlBfac^.stUl-the' rate of in
fantile mortality Wo- the kwest;^ re:
cbrlv^ ^^^j^c^;'facts:as; ti^eloquenay
withea :&'\hfytttqfoi ^g^d.Xortoe
of 'Austedta ' in «mparjson'^rith the
ragUig.- . ta.Lbndpn for'spine time pist
the -iirfani dk^ntfl^^b^ doable
that wtikh prevailed' in;the year before
thi;^wiar.'-:': ' \\'! ?//??'''? -v; ' ?' ''- '?';[
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