BROUGHAM STREET HAIL LIGHTING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 11 June 1907, Page 2

BROUGHAM STREET HAIL LIGHTING.

At the liorough Council meeting last night, Ah lihtck. the borough electrician, forwarded a special report on the complaint made in Saturday's "News" that delay occurred in passing Hie electric light installation at the above hull, lie explained that on Tuesday morning lie attended to test work done by the contractor, but had 1o request him to make some! alterations. On Friday morning he received a telephone message to the eU'eet that the work was ready, also tn it the light was required that evening, "liy special request we had started a job that morning which necessitated the moving of some poles and wires, and when we got Air Trask's message the poles were down and the job could not be left. 1 informed Air Trask that. - . T could not be sure of getting connected, but would try. Air Messenger rang up a little later, and got the same reply, willi which lie apparently was not sat-J

isfied, us ha went to Councillor Collis, to whom I could only give the same renly. It was, of course, a very irregular thing for Mr Messenger tii do. 1 have written lo him on the subject. As soon as (be testing instruments were available (iihont three o'clock or 11 little later) I went round and took a lest but found several matters still requiring lo l«i ptit right. Kaiher than disappoint a large number of people I had the hall temporarily connected, the work being completed in the dark about 5.110 p.m. It. was disconnected at 7.30 a.m. the following day. . . . Had I not taken (he precaution (0 run the wires outside on Thursday the work could not have been completed for Friday night." The .Mayor said (hat if there were any complaint about the electrical engineer it should be made to the Council or to a councillor. He thought the matter could lie passed over. IN". Mills thought, (he engineer need not have reported until some complaint hud been made to the Council. He would find before lie had been here very long he was bound to find a certain percentage of the public ready to '"have a slap

(V. lli-llringcr failed to see where (here wii- any harm or anv breach of etiipielte hi Mr Mosscii'-er approachine l'r. Collie, Mr Mills 11i.m-.rlit the archileel should have if,,,,,, direct to the chairman of Ihe committer. The Mavor could not see anv h-irm in that. lint it was ipiiti; evident thai in Ibis case if |)„.,-,. were a grievance it was against Ihe conlraeior not against the ollgill-el'. Or. lie II rill inn- again asked where there was nnylhing very "irregular" in u ratepayer approaching a councillor, and said be feared that he might Ret inlo someone's had books if a ratepayer came to him.

Cr. Ilrowne, chairman of Ihe Mlectrie Ligbl Committee, said he had been away that, day. hence the archileel had "come foul" of the first member of the commit-l-e he could see. He I bought, however, there was no need to discuss the matter further. 'lhe mailer then dropped.

Air K 11. Trash, Ihe contractor for the work, has also written to us pointing out thai the delay in the finishing of the work was ipilte unavoidable, and neither In- nor ihe borough engineer was responsible for it,