Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, APRIL 27. 1899. What Might be Done.

Manawatu Herald, 27 April 1899, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, APRIL 27. 1899. What Might be Done.

It is impossible for any town or district to remain stagnant and the representatives should bestir themselves so as to secure to the inhabitants the utmost of comfort at the minimum of cost. Not one of our City Fathers can gaze upon the lamps with which our streets are provided, with either pride or satisfaction, as their only use appears to be a warning for the passerbye, as he nears the pist, not to run against it, they cannot be considered to scatter light around. Yet, odd as it may seem, there have been members of the Borough Council whose great and apparently only object ;bas beefli

in seeking a seat on our local governing body, to have one of these antiquated pillars erected near unto where they resided. As the lamps afe placed and lighted they are of the smallest use, and hardly justify the cost of their existence. We ar< mt prepared, at present, with reliable data for another kind of lighting, but from what is occurring the world ai'ound it appears that electricity is the coming light and power, more especially for small t.Tivns. Soiric yenfo ago wo were :old that for the outlay of £1500 only, a plant for an electric light, could be erected to do a great deal more than is now done to throw light upon our movements. Supposing that this sum is not tar out we are inclined to think that our Council have men of sufficient business knowledge to make such an expenditure reproductivei Thefe would be not only the interest on the cost but also an annual expenditure in coal and wages, which would be much more than the local body could expend on light alone. The advantage of electricity over gas is shown by the inexpensive way of conducting it, a wire, insulated, as against pipes. There are many business establishments who would be glad to use such a clean light so that it seems possible that the cost could be covered. It is, however, more the part of our public men to follow up suggestions, if {hey look upon them as at all reasonable, than for private people, and the Council has the great advantage of having an engineer as their Town Clerk, who could easily understand and work out technical questions. What may make this proposal appear better would be working in the water supply question at the same time, as the one motive power and the one superintendent could attend to both. That a water supply is important for both health and comfort is becoming each day more apparent, and without going; into an expenditure of £50,000 to bring water from the ranges there is a plan which would answer for a few years, cheaper and close at hand. If power is obI tamed to drive the dynamo for the making of electricity, that power could be used in the day time for pumping water, and we have in the ferry hill a j splendid site, close to the river, in which the water from the river could be raised to, and filtered, and from which it would flow by gravitation to all parts of the town. A loan, that much dreaded bugbear of the inhabitants, would be necessary, should the work be recommended, but only the area served by light and water would be rateable. This is fair, and we believe the advantages to be gained would a long way outweigh the cost. Of course to bring these proposals into the area of common discussion, estimates of costs and revenue would be necessary. As this town has .an attraction to outsiders greater than what many imagined, it behoves all who have its best interests at heart to leave no stone unturned to keep its healthfulness and its conveniences well before the public, and to do this we must adopt as many of the advantages of civilization as are within our reach.