HYDRO-ELECTRICAL WORKS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2317, 26 November 1914, Page 7

HYDRO-ELECTRICAL WORKS

CEREMONY AT LAKE COLERIDGE. NORTH ISLAND PROSPECTS. (By Tclcftraph— Proas Association.) Ghristchurch, November 25. To-day the Prime Minister tho Right Hon.. W. F. Massey visited the Lake Coleridg*e Hydro Electrical Works, and performed tho ceremony of opening them before a representative gathering of citizens, who had journeyed out by motor-car for the occasion. Mr. Maesoy said this was the .first time that the State had undertaken anything in the way of generating electrical energy. The matter was beyond the experimental stage, even in Now Zealand, for local bodies and some business firms had gone in successfully for hydro-electric plants. Hβ could mention Waipori, Wailu, Whangarei, and Akaroa as illustrations- of this fact. "There is no doubt as to the success of this sort of work now," said Mr. Massey, "and we can predict with the utmost confidence that in time to come nearly all the power used in tho Dominion will be generated from our ample rivers and streams." (Applause.) The speaker went en to say that tho Coleridge Bcheme had been introduced during a time when the Hon. R. M'Kenzie was Minister of Public Works. Personally, he did not want to claim undue credit with regard to it, but he could say that the present Government fully recognised the value of hydro-electno systems, and did not mean to lay be-' hind in such an important matter. Demands and inquiries were already being received from the North Island, Mr. Massey said, and the Government had two Bills under consideration designed expressly for the purpose of furthering the interests of this undertaking. One Bill was designed to enable a responsible Department to conduct the undertaking strictly on business linos. The other Bill was designed to assist local authorities in financing and raising money for necessary reticulation. Tho policy of the Government had been to develop one schemo first in .order to test its applicability to conditions as they exist in «ew Zealand, and for this purpose,-Canter-bury was selected as being in sundry respects most favourably situated for tile purpose. "Having satisfied ourselves that this scheme is going to bo a-suc-cess," said Mr. Massey, "we shall next turn our attention to the North Island, where the Department has been considering the development of _ a large scheme which will put electricity within the reach of all settled districts in the North Island, and- render it available to all power-usere, and particularly with a view to developing industries and running light agricultural railways. (Applause.) .