HARPER DIVERSION.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17117, 12 April 1921, Page 8

HARPER DIVERSION.

A SUMNEB RESOLUTION. At last night's meeting of the Sumner Borough Council a letter was received from the Public Works Department stating that the current used for power in the borough might be subject to interruptions. The Mayor (Eon. J. Barr) stated •that th« correspondence showed the necessity for an emergency supply. Seme years ago a proposal for a standby plant was discussed, but the matter had dropped. He now thought that it could be brought up again. Cr AV G Black said that, such a statement from the Public Works Department needed an emphatic reply. The Department was now trying to shelve its responsibilities. It had urged the public to obtain the current, and now "it could not keep taith with its original customers. 'J his he attributed to their inability to divert the Harper river. He thought the Council should support the Progress League m its efforts to get this work done. He moved that the Council enter an emphatic protest against the Department's actum in threatening to cut off the electric supply. Cr. Roswell seconded the motion. The Mayor said the trouble was partly due to war conditions, and to the scheme teins: too successful. Cr. Whitfield stated that the method adontod at the intake at Lake Coleridge was antiquated and slow; an old grab dredge was being worked by hand. Cr. Black, in replv, said that the Council should not take the decision of •the Department lying down. The resolution was carried. At a later stage, when a letter from the Progress League was being read, Cr. Black moved that the League be supported in its attempt to get the Government to finish the Harper diversion. '. Cr. Yates moved as an amendment that the Council suggest that the League borrow £SOOO from the business people of the city and finish the job themselves. The Mayor heartily supported the amendment; it was a reasonable one, and the Harper diversion was- a necessity. In other countries the people depended less on the Government. The business people could well afford to shoulder a small burden of £SOOO. The amendment was then carried. WAIMAIRI URGES ACTION. On the motion of Cr. Staples, the Waimairi County Council decided last night to write to the Minister of Public Works and endorse the Progress League's action with reference to the Harper river diversion. Cr. Cross said that that did not go far enough. A deputation should be sent to 'Wellington to press the matter home. He moved that the Progress League should be asked to organise a big deputation from the various local bodies, to .interview the Minister in Wellington, and urge the necessity for carrying out the Harper river diversion Cr. Sisson said that he was ■quite' prepared to nay £lO towards a fund to carry out the work ij other users of current* would pay a proportionate amount. It was a most serious matter for the community, and every effort should be made to ensure the city's ; supply of "juice." Other councillors spoke in favour of the motion, which was carried unanimously. •