ELECTRIC LIGHTING.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXI, Issue 7932, 14 December 1909, Page 4

ELECTRIC LIGHTING.

At last night's meeting of tho Bor^ ough Council the following letter was received from Messrs Craddock and Co. :

"From enquiries we have made, we understand that it will be still about twelve months before the power to ba put in by the borough will be available for driving our electric plant, and, as the lighting season does not begin till some months after that, it follows that it will be nearly eighteen months before the full working conditions provided for in our agreement with the, Council are obtained. We are, of course, running a temporary plant in the meantime, but, as anyone acquainted with such matters will recognise, at a great disadvantage. At the time, however, when this agreement was framed, circumstances were very different from what they have since become. The stipulations that we must take our power from the Council's plant, and must have a continuous and satisfactory supply available on. and after November. 1 of this year, liad no app.earance of undue severity at that.time, when everyone confidently anticipated tha,t the Council's waterworks system would be in full operation before November 1 ; but, as matters in this connection have turned out, the fulfilment of this condition has been a very onerous task. It is not, however, our intention to complain of this matter at present, but to ask that another condition of the agreement, which was also framed under the same expectation, as to the date of the commencement of the Council's supply, may be varied, now that this date has been so seriously postponed. This condition is that the duration of the fixed, term of the succession be seten years from August 16, 1907. We should like to ask, in view of all the circumstances as viewed from the present standpoint, that this period date not from August 16, 1907,' but from the date of the commencement of the Council's supply. We are aware that the period above-mentioned was fixed after very full consideration; but we think we are right in saying that two circumstances had great weight with the Council at that time, which have a different aspect now. The first was the probability, as mentioned above, of the Council" having their plant ready in the near future, and the second was the uncertainty in the minds of the Council whether the concessionaires would, after all, deal adequately with the concession in the way of providing an up-to-date plant and good service, so as to entitle them to a reasonably long term. Doubtless the somewhat flimsy nature of the temporary installation that was first made, and the somewhat spasmodic efforts at supnly, were sufficient to give grounds for that idea, but whatever the justification or blame . attaching to these early efforts, we think that it is sufficiently clear now that the concessionaires are doing all that can be reasonably expected to provide the residents of Ashburton with satisfactory electric supply." On the motion of Or Nicoll, the letter was referred. to the Lighting Committee to report upon at the next meeting of the Council.