The Press. Tuesday, August 21, 1906. LIGHTING.

Waipukurau Press, Volume I, 21 August 1906, Page 2

The Press. Tuesday, August 21, 1906. LIGHTING.

The satisfactory statement made by the. Chairman of the Town Board on Wednesday evening last has had the effect of forming public opinion on the question of town lighting under the control of the Town Board. We gave expression to the opinion that there was a demand for a more up-to-date method of lighting the town, and felt assured that the proposal to instal lighting by the Town Board would be acceptable to the ratepayers. The canvas which Mr Chambers has made reveals the fact that there is an almost unanimous feeling in favour of the instalation of the 20th Century Gas light. It was openly stated when the poll was taken on the Kitson lights that those who opposed that proposal did so because they favored a more general system, and this fact is now borne out by the result of the canvas.

Lighting is one of the functions belonging to controlling bodies, and our Town Board have been alive to this fact, and are unanimously of opinion that if the town is to be lit by gas it

must be under the control of the Town Board.; There are' many corporations. in New Zealand that regret the day when they allowed outside companies to come in mid usurp their privileges, and in the long run have had to pay a big figure to get rid of the monopoly. It is gratifying to find that the ratepayers of Waipukurau are prepared to keep abreast of the progressive movement in the district, and take upon themselves the responsibility of installing the light.

There is every reason to believe that the step will prove a wise one, and as time goes on become a valuable asset to the ratepayers, not only in the way of cheap light, but also by the assistance it should give to the general revenue in the way of profits. Alar ton is about the only place in New Zealand where lighting by the local corporation did not succeed at the start. In the first instance, the movement was received in an hostile manner by the business people, and only 12 consumers took the gas installed, but local prejudice has been broken down, and after three years’ working good profits are being made on the undertaking.

The ratepayers of Waipukurau will, no doubt, be called together at an early date and a full statement of the case laid before them, when they will be in a position to judge of the wisdom d>f taking further action in the matter of the installation of gas lighting.