The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, JULY 8, 1893. Electricity v. Gas.

Feilding Star, Volume XV, Issue 7, 8 July 1893, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, JULY 8, 1893. Electricity v. Gas.

Wk notice with some degree of pleasure that the committee appointed to | enquire into the feasibility of lighting the Borough by means of the electric j light have postponed the completion of their report. They frankly own that the information they .have up to ! the present time been able to obtain is insufficient to guide them in either forming an opinion for themselves or adopting one which has been deemed a good and sufficient reason for the ratepayers in other Boroughs in the Colony for undertaking this rather risky expenditure. We use the term risky advisedly because really there are very few people who understand the power of electricity sufficiently to be able to control and direct it for common use, because a special education is required iv the manipulations. Most people of thi9 generation are familiar with tho production and use of coal gas. They know that it may be applied to many other purposes than that of mere illumination, such as in driving of machinery, the heating of stoves for cooking, the vanning of rooms in the winter season and so on, while the electric light only serves one purpose, and that one purpose not always well. We quite recognise that electricity for domestic uses is just as much in its infancy as coal gas was fifty years ago, and that it is getting out of " swaddling clothes " now, and will grow into a lusty manhood which will astonish the world with its vigor. But the question we have to deal with is whether we should not use the power and vigor of the grown man — coal gas, or employ the youthful and inexperienced electricity. We know what coal gas can, and cannot do, while we neither know, nor can even conjecture the possible marvellous developments of the unknown power of electricity. Practically what we want is to supply our present necessities. The future can take care of itself so far as lighting is concerned. The Borough is not rich enough to go in for experiment**. Let other and larger centres of population do that and let us benefit by their experience. For example, electric lighting iv Wellington with its population of thirty thousand, and ltceftoii with its popu-

lation of one-tenth of that number, has failed in both instances, to give any thinglike complete sasisf action, and we have no reason to believe that since the time that electric light "was established in those towns the practical knowledge on its use and application has extended in the Colony. Of course we know what we have written may appear conservative. Well, it is in- : tended so to appear ; we believe in conserving the money of the ratepayers, or, if it bb expended, in giving them value for it. If they buy coal gas they purchase a directly market- | able commodity, which so far, is not the case as regards the electric light. The first is comparatively cheap and " is understood by the people " while 1 tho latter is expensive and the people know nothing about it. Whatever the recommendation may be of the committee, it can only be a reflection of the desires of those who aro interested in the extension of the business of the companies they have invited to advise and instruct them, and therefore cannot be accepted as unbiased, although as far as the members of the Committee are individually concerned, perfectly honest and well meaning. In the ordinary routine of such matters a vote of the ratepayers of the Borough would be taken should the Council think fit to adopt the report of the Committee, assuming that such Committee recommended electric lighting, to authorise the raising of the money required by loan (of course the borrowing principle always appears in such cases). We would suggest that the usual course be departed from and a plebiscite taken so that those in favor of either electricity or gas might bo enabled to record their votes in favor of the system which appeared to them the more suitable for the present requirements of the Borough. It is possible, of course, that tho vote might be against either or both, but still tho experiment appears to us worth trying. The expense would be a n-.ere bagatelle in comparison with the knowledge thus gained of the wishes of the people on the subject.