HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 99, 19 January 1918, Page 8

HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER

LAKE COLERIDGE SCHEME SOUTH CANTERBURY'S CASE DEPUTATION TO MINISTERS For 6ome time the people of South Canterbury have been urging that tho Government should go on with the projected extension of the Lake Coleridge hydro-electric scheme to supply current to their towns and country districts, and especially to the town of Timaru. Recently a conference of representatives of local bodies from the Rakaia to Waimate was held in Timaru, at which it was decided to wait as a deputation upon members of the Ministry, and lay their claims before the Government. This deputation came to Wellington yesterday, and they were hoard at noon ,by the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, and the Minister of Public Works. Mr. J. Craigie, member for Timaru, introduced the deputation. The several speakers all urged that there was need for cheap electric power in their districts, for use in industries and for labour-saving machinery in rural pursuits. Mr. Craigie and others pointed out to the Government that at the time the Coleridge scheme was embarked upon, a ;.romise was made that the scheme wculd be for the whole of Canterbury, and not simply for the Christchurch neighbourhood, and that as soon as possible after the establishment of the scheme the lines would be led down to Tioiaru. In anticipation of this the people c.f Timaru had bought out the cotn.any which had been supplying Timaru r.ilii elcctric light, and had borrowed a sufficient sum of money to convert the company's plant to yoke it up with tho Lake Coleridge power. The South Canterbury people did not grudge theso advantages to other parts of the country, but they thought that as the fromiso had been given that 'lie Coleridge power should bo brought down to Timaru, this promise should be fulfilled before other schemes were embarked upon. War Causes Delay. Sir William Fraser, Minister of Public Works, said he wished to say to the deputation at the outset that but for tho war the line would have been taken down to Timaru long! ago. Tho work had been stopped for a dozen reasons, but tho principal one was that it was impossible ati tho present time to get any wiro or any transformers. Ho would not refer to tho enormous importance of the development of hydroelectric power to this country, because lie believed that everybody was agreed upon it. He would draw attention to the reasons why Christchurch was chosen as tho place in which this power should be first tried. At the time it was first mooted, Sir Joseph Ward brought down a scheme for the establishment of five separate, works, for five localities, and the estimated cost was fivo millions. Parliament discussed the matter, and it was then considered that as this was more or less an experiment, it would be wise to go on with Christchurch first, as Lake Coleridge was a place from which the nower could be taken easily. Then having brought the power into Christchurch the Government was anxious to know how much it was going to benefit the neople, how much it would be used by them, and how much it would cost to fake the nower so far afield as Timaru, in relation to the amount of revenue the Government would be likelv to derive from it. Tn the countrv districts none, could gauge bow much the nower would be used throughout the Dominion, but it was quite true that in Christchurch tho demand was almost exceeding the stmplv, and he believed that this would be tb« experience wherever power was made available.

Poles to bo Purchased. The people of South Canterbury need not fear that the Government would spend all tho money in increasing tiic . facilities round about Christchurch to j the prejudice of the people of Timaru. He would givo the assurance that as soon as the wire was available—and not less than 300 miles of wire would be required—the power would be brought to Timaru. For the present the only preparation ho could make for tliat time would be in procuring poles to carry tho lines. He did not think they would erect the poles at once because it might not be advisable to do this work too much in advance of the rest. Thirteen poles would he needed to tho mile, and the total number of poles required would be about 1250. If any members of the deputation knew anything about getting hardwood poles from Australia, they would know that this represented a considerable undertaking. Ho had been advised against the use of concrete poles, for the reason that they did not hoar lateral strains, such as would be imposed by road accidents, collisions, and so on, so well as hardwood poles. A Warning. Referring to the claim made for preference for South Canterbury oyer all the rest of the Dominion, lie said that he did not think it was wise for the people there to set the rest. of tne Dominion against them by asking that no other work should he started until this thin" was done. So far as he was concerned, he could givo no undertaking that this extension would be made before any other work was done. ..But the work done at other places would be of a totally different character. There were no headworks to be erected for Timaru, and in all other places the first work would bo the construction ot headworks. The thing would have to receive the assent of Parliament,-- auo if the Timaru people succeeded in setting the rest of tho country against themselves Parliament might not he disposed to agree to their proposals. Even the Government might not be able to help them. His own idea was that as soon as possible Timaru should be connected up with tho Lake Coleridge scheme. A suggestion was made that the Government" had been employing engineers on the surveys .of other lines in preferonce to this South Canterbury line. But this South Canterbury line did not need surveying. The line would follow roads, whereas In the Auckland and Wellington schemes surveys were necessary to discover routes for the 1 lines. The estimated cost of taking tne line to Timaru was £60,000. At every place at which tho current would be tapped the current would have to be broken down by transformers and distributed. The cost of theso transformers and distribution lines would be £46,000, but the i whole of this latter cost would not have to be incurred at once.

About Money, Sir Joseph Ward referred to tho promises of which the Government had been reminded. It was true that the promise had been made in the • form mentioned, but the war had come along since then, and the war had altered the aspect of everything in this country. No work of this kind carried on until tho war was ovei. jho Government could not obtain tho material for it for love or money. For tho last twelve mouths the Telegraph Department had been declining applications for telephones by ordinary subscribers, although in ordinary circumstances it would be sound busines* to take every one of thorn who offored. It was not possible for the Government to allow such largo expenditure

I as would lie required for it until tha war needs of the country in regard to finance were assured. That day he bad Imd to refuse an application on behalf of a public body to borrow only £10,000 for a work which the local body considered of the greatest urgency. And this proposal was not that they should borrow from the Government; he had refused to allow the local body to borrow it from some other person. / Mr. Ilassey had nothing to say on the subject matter of tlio deputation. He referred only to one statement regarding the drift of people from the South Island to the North, and he gava the deputation an assurance that the Government would not for this reason give preference to clai'ims from the North over those from the South Island.

Mr. Craigie, on behalf of the deputation, expressed sat'snction with the full explanations given to them and with the assurance that after the war the claim of Soiu'v Canterbury would have attention.