ARAPUNI.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19971, 4 July 1930, Page 21

ARAPUNI.

COST OF RESTORATION. OPINIONS AS tO WHO SHOULD PAY.

Whether Arapuni is restored of abari' doned in fAvour of another liydro-ele6-tric sthenic, the COflt may be counted lil IhillioriS, ahd the question arises, Who shall payt fieprCsentatltS Opiflions gleaned by a reporter yesterday Suggested that the Arapuni failtife ia the North Wub, In some of its aspedtSy comparable to the earthquake dlSastor in the South. The cost of the reconstruction of the roads in the earthquake itrfia Was being charged against the South Island aecOUrtt of the Main Highways Board. Thus this cost was being borne entirely by South Island motorists, and this being so those interviewed Were Uot anxious thdt th 6 South Island should be called on to pay for the troubles of the Ndfth.

Mr Arnaud licKellar, who was chairman of the Electricity Committee of the City Council When the contract for the supply of current frtim Lake Coleridge was made with the Government, said that lie con&laered the earthquake a national disaster, Whereas the failure of Afapiini Wis oiily a local disaster. The cost of restoring it Should certainly be charged dgainSt the Scheme itself. This, so far as he knew, had always been the Government's policy, for when Mr Coates was Minister for Public Works lie gave a definite undertaking that each Scheme would Stttfid on its owilj This W&s borne Ottt bf the Publid Wor&S r«; poftS, whefe the accounts of the fichfeHiei Wore all kept septate. lie did Met think that the <JoVeinm6lit tfould at Would aepaft from this prdetiee Withoiit liotifie.

Tile idea In keeping the schefrigd separate waS that the profits from eaeh should be usod to develop theifi. In this way tho Coleridge scheme had been able to expand. It. would be manifestly unfair for a Sehome iiite Coleridge, where the cost of instillation had be6ii relatively small, to have to bear the same proportion Of the Capital «*peil(litnfe as Arapurii, fdr example, Where the cost of Installation per horSS-pOtfe# had been liltfh. lie knew that ih idflie 6&seS the fratefi of interest had been made into a flat rate. For instance, assuming that the money for the Coleridge scheme had been borrowed at 4 per cent, and that for Aftlpuni at 6 per cent., the Government had Struck an interest fitte of 6 pei? eeiit, payable by both. To this extent the mote coStly schemes had benefited at the expanse of the others. The Argument about the restoration of the West Coast roads he considered quite sound when it eftifee to fee decided Who should pay & WcOnd time for Arapuni. In any CaSe the action of the Government iii ittafeifig thfeße a charge on the Sonth island Main Highways account wouid not bear scrutiny. flit BAta idt Current.

Mr MrfSelkr explained that the contest existing hfetwfeSfl the City cil and the Government for the Siibpiy of (torrent did not expii'O till so he dtiiild not See that there IMUF any opening for the Gloveffiiaent to intfO l fitice a flat fate toi current before therij tiid Still keefi the terms of the corittfact, Bttt Governments liVcd fef ever, a fid frhen the contract e&riie to be feVieifrfca iil si* years' time this might Mfeoffie A burning qtiestioii. He understood that Wellington and Aticftiand paid & little higher pri<se ti the Government for their current than did Chriptcliureh and Dunedin,. because 'it the greater cost of the northern schemes. Any suggestion of « fiat rate was not in keeping with the exposed "policy that every Jiydro-elfcc-trie scheme should stand on its own. Mr F. W. Johnston, a prominent member of the South Island Motor Unioi. and of the Canterbury Automobile Association, remarked that South Island motorists had taken strong exception against haviag to pay fd? the feeen* Struction of the West Coast roads Stroyed by the earthquake. Thift should, have t(3en regarded as a nt* tional flatter. Now, however, with the adVftfit of tfti Arapuni trouble, what was ''Sftiifie iot the goose was sanei for th« gander." Mr J. 8. Hawkes, secretary of Canterbury Automobile suggeited that it would not be advi4< able, to play off South against North ifi deciding the question. Certainly the Sdntfe ftland was paying for the reeonstfaetifrs ti the West Coast rdads, btil thefe tras A difference between rdfldS and hydro-ele6tfl§ sdhemea. For one thin#, the latter Wefe revchUe-prodtie-ing. What if this doleridge or thtt peeted to pay ttiesf JfottttfiiftWVttt' fiWt

"dteftatiiy the Kerth filattd shfttda pay its Shft»6 d 1 tbi edits el the earthquake. whidh WftS ftfl ft«t df Ood, Mt the Ifttefldehwld net he Mpwtia to pay ihd tdtt 6i the dftfMge M AfiptihL whieh seems te be the fesujt «f nflem'i ffiletlfe#!," M* it* ley, Mafaeliste past prtJildeflt of the Cantefbttf* AM6Bi&tißfl, urgiflf thflt this w&i Mather iastew* of the aeeeniiy the Ssath t6 tout# a ttavetataeat of its <>m, /'The (Soveifisffleflt hfii its headciaanei'i Ko#th frknd, and the Nerth Maftd dofhinfliee it, while the loath Mead Btfffefi," added 11* B#adle?» Mr" BVftdley mentioned thftt Wnfefl tnfl tiafee calflirldge «he«ie Ml flfit >- p&sed it was flroftdsed as a CfhriStfihiirch echetfie. Whin the Goirerfl&iettt took It oat of the hands, together With all the Teports that hftd been made upoii it, the £SOOO which was the colt of those reports had fidvfif feipii fifunded. AS fftt aS the Trtaii«fafltufe* M§ cotteemedj if the Government wished to put electricity on the srtme footing it should also put the delivery of goods on the same footing, and deliver good 3 from Christchurch free to Lytteltota. It charged the Christchurch manufacturer ns much as the North Island manufacturer, although his electricity cost more to pfluce, ftftd then ftddM tp the dhrtstehnroh eh&rge eae ef «r most e*flensive delivery ehafgei ift the Be? mlfiiaflu If fihfisteiaipeh w&e eh&rgoa fftilftfj#) thea its eieetfifeity sheaia be «he6p€».