MANGAHAO HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER LEAGUE.

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 3 October 1919, Page 3

MANGAHAO HYDRO-ELEC-TRIC POWER LEAGUE.

VIGILANCE COMMITTEE’S REPORT.

| “Following is the report of the Vigilance Committee appointed in connce- | tion with thp above scheme:— ] ‘‘Up to the present contracts have , been let for'■formation of road to tho 1 top of tlie ridge leading to the Manga-

hao dam, a distance of. approximately j five miles. Of this a portion is comj pleted, and the rest is , well under ' way. At the present 45 men arc cm- ! ployed on the work independent of the engineering staff. The contracts for the remainder of the road to the dam in the Mangahao Valley are ready to let; and a second permanent camp is being erected, and 20 more men are to start on balance of road work. The winter season in the mountains has led to considerable loss of time, and the carting in has considerably damaged the road already existing between the Mandwatu jilain and tlie Tokomaru Valley. This constitutes the whole of. the work actually done on the undertaking. “A considerable amount of preparatory work has been done by the engineering staff. Contracts have been let for supply of steam driven electrical plant, for working air compressors for driving the tunnels, but this plant has to come from England, it being impossible to procure it in the Dominion or Australia.

‘‘Further steps are being taken to immediately saw timber required for housing and frames on the ground adjoining the Mangahao dam. and this we hope will soon lie on the way. ‘‘Four vigilance committee is not satisfied with the rate at which the work is being carried out and is taking steps to bring its views before the Minister for i’uldie Works. We trust that the members of the League will assist us by bringing before their local M’s.P. the need of:—

\ ‘‘l. Getting the whole of the money I required for the carrying cut of the work to completion voted this session. ‘‘2. Pressing for the establishment of a non-political board of construction, as set out in Mr Parry’s report of 1918, charged with the duty of constructing the installation with as little delay as'possible. ‘‘Wo feel that if the same methods arc followed as have been the invariable practice with railway construction, wo shall sec six or seven schemes and allowed to proceed leisurely, with none completed for years to come., Mr furry stated repeatedly that given a free hand the scheme could be completed within four years from the time tho preliminary works were started. At tho present rate ii will take ten. We consider this should be altered and the time limit shou/il be adhered to as set out-by one <f the most competent engineers N.Z. ever possessed.”

DR. NEWMAN SPEAKS OUT. Wellington, October 1. Dr. Newman gave the Government a strongly-worded reminder to-day about tlie delay in pushing on the Mangahao electric scheme. At the present rate, he predicted, everybody in Parliament would be dead before the power came from Mangahao. Tcu months ago the House passed a vote for the road from Shannon, but the road had not been completed. The work was going on at a rate which suggested it might be finished ten years hence. He suggested calling separate tenders for the tcunc-1 in the o Tokomaru stream, for the powerhousc, and for the erection of poles along the distributing routes. Under this the work could be done within three years even under the. present labour difficulties. ‘‘The people don’t want a wait-and-see policy,” concluded the speaker, whose criticism fell more heavily as it came from the Government side of the House.