HOROWHENUA POWER DISTRICT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 2371, 22 December 1921, Page 3

HOROWHENUA POWER DISTRICT.

LAST MEETING OF PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE.

The final meeting of the Provisional Committee of the Horowhenua Electric Poiver District was held on Tuesday, the delegates present being Messrs G. A. Monk and C. I. Harkness (Horowhenua County Council), A. McKay (Hutt County), J. Chrystall (Foxton Borough Council), C. Kilsby (Otaki Borough Council), and D. W. Matheson (Levin Borough Council). Mr Monk presided. SECRETARY’S REPORT.

The secretary (Mr P. W. Goldsmith) reported: Since the last meeting of the committee, which took place on August 27th, 1921, the Electric-Power district of Horowhenua has become an actual fact. The signatures to the petition were obtained under the authority of the various local bodies of the district, and the thanks of the committee are due to those town and county clerks who assisted in bringing about the,, successful canvass for signatures, and for furnishing the necessary certificates relating thereto. The last of the constituent district petitions reached me on October 21sl, and the next day the petition-in-ch ioJ' was duly advertised, as required hy the provisions of the El-ectric-Power Boards Act, and one month had to elapse before it coukl he presented. On November 24th, in company with the chairman of the Provisional Committee (Mr G. A. Monk), I took the petititfh with the accompanying declarations, also the throe maps which had been prepared, and left the same with the Under-Secretary for Public Works. The petition evidently proved to he in order, as in terms of the Electric Power Boards Act, 1918, the Horowhenua Electric-Power District was constituted hy proclamation dated November 29th, and published in the New Zealand Gazette on the Ist instant. After consulting as many of the local authorities as I could, Wednesday, February Ist, 1922, was the date suggested for the eleclion (if a power hoard. This, I understand, will he the actual date of Ihe elect ion. Owing to the holidays, to the necessary attention to the electoral rolls in the various constituent districts, and to the time required under the Local Elections and Polls Act to carry out an election, it 'was not feasible to fix the date earlier. The preliminary expenses incurred (which have been paid by the Horowhenua County Council, and will in due course he refunded by the Board) will not amount to more than .€SO, a statement is furnished with this report. There Ims been a considerable amount of voluntary work done hy various members of the committee, which has helped to keep down the expenditure. No legal expenses have been incurred, and the hoard when elected will have a perfectly free hand in selecting its engineer, as the committee has not called in engineering assistance, and is under no obligation to anyone. In conclusion, I wish to convey to the members of the committee, and to the officers of the various local authorities, and to the officers of the Public \Vorks Department, my sincere thanks for courtesy and assistance in bringing about the formation of the Horowhenua Electric Power District.

The secretary added that the actual expense so far involved in the constitution of the district was £4l 19s fid, and there may he a few small additional accounts.

POWER BOARD PERSONNEL.

Before moving the adoption of, the report, the chairman said thenduty as a provisional, committee was now complete. The next duty was the election of a power hoard for the sale of power to those requiring it. That brought him to the personnel of the hoard, which had to he a purely business concern, and they wanted men with business experience. It was the duty of the constituents of the district, therefore, to see that they returned as members of the hoard the very host men in their districts. It was no use if the hoard was unfortunate enough not to run the business successfully to blame the board—the electors must see that the best men were, elected to make a success of the business. A very important point was for the Board to have its plans completed for the sale of the power when the power was turned on. Having the whole of the power disposed of meant that they were going to start off under the best conditions, and with a good income. Any power that remained unsold meant a loss. • Mr Chrystall said he agreed with the statements made in regard to the personnel of the Power Board. The greatest schemes in the world might he spoiled by bad management, and they should strive to get the best men on the hoard, tie congratulated the secretary on his excellent work, which should be fittingly recognised. Mr Matheson stressed tire necessity of getting the best men elected to the hoard, but he thought the trouble would be to get the men who had both the ability and time to devote to the job. It was a new undertaking, and the board would be starting from scratch, and had the opportunity of making good. ' In reply to Mr Chrystall, the chairman said the local bodies would conduct the board election in their districts. The secretary added that the nominations would close a week before the election, which was fixed for February Ist.