SHOPS "BLACK-OUT" IN CHRISTCHURCH

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 120, 7 June 1937, Page 6

SHOPS "BLACK-OUT" IN CHRISTCHURCH

Prese Assocmtion.)

Protest at CouneiFs Charge For Power REDUCTION WANTED

(H* Tele&rauh

CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. A partial " black-dut i ' of lighting iii •the shops in the City on Saturday night was Staged as aii feffeetive opening to a protest by Christchurch retailers against the eharges made to commercial users of electricity by'the Munieipal Electricity Department. Even greater darkness is expected in the city to-night when further shops will probabiy tutil out their lights, but there are, howeVer, some firms which liave given their siippdrt to the Ohamber of Commerce which pfoposes to pro^ test by cdnVefitional methods as to its attitude, and Who afe hdt joinittg in the pfotest in ith pfeseht fdrm. There are also other firms Who are tinable td faltd any action since they afe Cohtrdlled from Wellington.

The organiser of the ' 4black-out ' ' is Mr Ri B. Owen, who explained tjiat the idea was to make a ' 1 gentlemen 's protest against ungentlemaniy profiteefing" On the part of the council. TWo df the lafgest city dr&pfefy festablishmeiits, acting indepeiidently df protests and simply fconsidefiiig thdit dwn costs, hfive deciddd td tiifh off thfeif lights at riiglit for the rest df the winter. The wliold sitliatidn is a part df a diSpute which has been carried dh for Sever ai years, ColleCtively and ins dividually, sometimes mildly ahd soinetimes vigoroilsiy, between tkd Cdm1 mefeial consumers ahd the City Council. "The council iS profiteefing at diir expense," Mr Oweh said; "There is hearly £250,000 lying in the bank to the credit of the Munieipal Electricity Department, yet the council continues to charge an exdrbitant fate to tidim mei'Cial usefs. We have protCsted tiliie and agairi and by iheahs df the 'bladki out1 we hope to bfing the situatidh forcibly beford the Couricil and the pulibc."

Chamber's Attitude. The Chambef of Commerce haB an electricity committee Which is Wdfking in cdnjunction With the Canterbury Manufacturers' Assdciatidn and othor bodies. Mr Y. E. Hamiltbn, pfeSident df the chambef, said that sever al deputations had Waited oh the counCil's electricity committee and CCrtain cdhcessions had been hi&de, but it Was thought that these were not as great aS they should be. It hkd beeh khdWn, however, that the council had been faced for the last 12 months with a hew Contract with the Public Works Departmeut and was therefore in a difficult position, not knowing what its costs would be in the future. "It is understood now, however," said Mr Hamilton, "that the council has negotiated a new contract, hnd with a higher consumption and better times it is hoped there will still be the usual substantial sUfplus in the Electricity Department funds. This should help the Council td reduce the commercial .Users' rate. It is pfopdsed iii the near future for the chamber's Cdmmittee to Confer again with the council 's cdmmittee and I hdpe that SatifefaCtory ra* sults can be obtained." Mr Hamilton opposed the "blackout" boyCott. He said he hoped it Would not take place. It would not Stfetigthdn the retailefs' I?ase, and it had alSo to be remembefed that shops iit ftt tlight brought business and there would bb a cdftain loss if a "biack-dutr' policy Was followed. He agreed that the city streets in many places wefe not as Well lighted as thdse of dthdr CitidS, and that a "black=out'' Would perhaps bring this hdme to the City Cdiificil, but the Jack df stfeet lighting Was not riecessarily the fault of the council 's ilectfiCity cdniffiittee.