"VEILED THREAT."

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 257, 30 October 1928, Page 10

"VEILED THREAT."

OVERCHARGING INSINUATED. POWER FOR TRAMWAYS. COUNCIL'S CONFIDENTIAL REPORT. While the Auckland City Council ia anxious to confer with the Auckland Electric Power Board relative to its charges for tramway purposes, it is reluctant to reveal a report relative to the subject, furnished by executive officers, on the ground that the report was confidential. This is the information, however, that the Power Board desires to see, because the insinuation was made at the recent sitting of the Transport Commission that its charges were too high, and, despite the fact that a statement showing the actual position was prepared, it was uot given an opportunity to present it. When a letter was received at yesterday's meeting of the board from tae Town Clerk (Mr, J. S. Brigham), again refusing to make the report available, members of the board were dissatisfied with the terms of the proposed conference, though they ultimately agreed to discuss tramway charges with council representatives in open board. Attack on Board. Mr. W. J. Holdsworth (chairman) said that -,he board had been attacked for its high charges, but a report prepared for submission to the Transport Commission was not wanted. When he was giving evidence before the Commission he was asked whether the tramway load was a profitable one. He had said it was not, but stated that the general manager (Mr. R. H. Bartley) would place the position before the Commission. However, the board had never been given an opportunity to put its case to the public. 0^ r< A favoured a conference, but doubted the advisability o T " making it public. Mr. M. J. Bennett could not recall lo memory any occasion on which the private and confidential report had been placed before the council. The council collectively had never authorised Mr. Bngham to write any letters about the report, and the Tramways Committee would not let anyone have a look at it, let alona the . board* An

had not been given the board to put its position before the public and it* customers, and he thought it was a wrong attitude to take up. Has Council Been Undercharged? Mr. R. G. Clark described the eouncift letter as a veiled threat, in that it referred to the possibility of litigation. Mr. Holdsworth said it would be interesting to have confirmation of tl» statement of the board's officials thtf the board was charging cost price for power in accordance with the terms of the agreement with the council. Tie board' 6 officers rendered every assistant* to the officials of the council to their investigations, and vet the board was denied any information as to the result of the investigations. Surely insinuations relative to overcharging should either be substatiated or withdrawn. Mr. E. H. Potter: Perhaps we h«« charged them under cost. Mr. Holdsworth: We have charged them on such a basis that if there had been anything in the report to show *• had been overcharging, we would h* v! had the account down here in very quick time. Mr. Potter explained that since it hid ceased to generate power for the tramway a at the Hobson Street plant, th« Tramways Department had saved something like £13,000 to £14.000 a year. Mr. Holdsworth: It is now something like £30.000 or £40.000. Mr. Dempsev asked if there had be* any direct charge made. Looking at it from the business point of view, h*d the council charged the board! Mr. Holdsworth said the board knew the council's representatives visited tie board's offices to see the £15.000 that had been overcharged them. Why was it not stated that after the investigation it was found the board had been charging actual cost price for power, and the council was prepared to meet the board? Instead of that every letter contained an insinuation.

Mr. Dempsey: I don't like the correspondence. Mr. Holdsworth: We have only the correspondence to go on. Mr. Potter did not think the botrt should pursue the matter further in vie* of the probability of the Transport Board coming into operation. Mr. T. Bloodworth said the mere fact that the council would not produce the report was an insinuation tliat there w»s something wrong. He could not see the reason for hesitation over the matter.

It was decided to receive the letter from the Town Clerk, and notify th* council that it was prepared to receive a deputation to discus* charges in