HOSPITAL LIGHTING.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24, 30 January 1911, Page 8

HOSPITAL LIGHTING.

« TO THE EIHTOR. Sir, — I desire to allude to the report of a discussion by the City Council relative to the proposal to supply electrical eaHttgy to. the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board at 3d per unit for lighting and l£d per unit for other purposes. In the report, of the Hospital Lighting i Committee, published on 2ist December last, it was stated that the proposal is to supply current for light and other purposes at the special rat© to all tho institutions in the city under the board's control. The report laid before the council by the Mayor deals only with tlie estimate of energy to be supplied to the main Hospital, a-nd ignores, as does ihe resolution passed by the council, the current to be supplied to the Benevolent Home, new Fever Hospital, offices and other buildings that are under the control of the board, and for w'hkh buildings fnll rates have "hitherto presumably been paid. Presuming the price to be charged is to bo decreased from, say, 7d, or even 6d, per unit, to 3d per unit on the supply to the buildings which are already^ electrically lit. other than the main Hospital, there will be a. vesry considearable loss. Has this serious reduc - tion in revenue- been disclosed to the couacil and considered in its calculations? It can scarcely be argued that there Js anything special in the houfs during which lighting will be wanted at the -Ohiro Home, and it would therefore seem that if the Hospital Board is correct in its view that it is to obtain all current it requires at special rates, the reduction in income by the council consequent thereon should have been taken into consideration a-nd announced. The Mayor is reported in Hansard to hay« stated in Parliament that there is a loss in Wellington of 30 per cent, in distribution. He said : "Wo find that in producing 100 units we get paid for seventy." In the statement made to thecouncil no allowance is apparently mad© for this loss in transmission. Ought not the 22,000 units to be sold to the Hospital to he therefore increased to some 31,400 unite in order to cover this loss? At the figure stated (0.94 d per unit) the cost of generation at the station woold be increased from £86 (tho figure quoted by the Mayor) to £123, thus turning the alleged credit of £33 16s 8d into a deficit. In a report presented to the City Council on sth May Ja-st, for the year ended the previous March, it was stated that the expenses of generation amounted to £17,408, whilst the distribution expenses 1 amounted to £4112, or 23.6 per cent, thereof; and the general expenses amounted to £4414, or 25.3 per cent, of the genea'ation cost — together nearly 49 per cent, of the then costs of generation of current. If the costs of generation have fallen since that date, it is clear that these ratios have risen, but, so far as can be gathered irom the published statement of theMayor, no aflowaiice has been made so that the Hospital supply shall bear any j share of the general expenses of the station and cost of management, and the 'cost of distribution is dismissed by a statement that the mains are already down and that £20 would probably 'cover the outlay. This is a-n admission that, no charge its to be made for the us© of the capital required to convey the current from the works at Harrisstreet to the points, of consompvion at Adelaide-road, at Coromandel-street, at the Ohiro-road, and elsewhere, or for the depreciation of services. The statement laid before the council is based on a sale of 22,000 units at 3d per unit, amounting to £275 ; but the heating is only to be paid for at l^d. Either that estimate miuet be reduced, or, if it be correct that 22,000 units are to be used for lighting, then some account should be taken, of the units to be used for heating' (if any_). The Mayor is reported to have stated at tl^e council meeting that there is in the, estimate a credit balance of £35 16s 8d — a return of £11 3s 2d per cent, on the outlay on the station plant, which ha gave as £1550. Ought not this amount to have been £2 3s 8d per cent. ? I trust that I have pointed out enough to throw serious doubts on the accuracy of the argument used, and which was adopted by the council, as the basis on which the council is tendering. If I am right in my contentions, then there must adse a doubt in the minds of the ratepayers whether the estimate of 22,000 units consumption, with a maximum demand of 25 kilowatts, is a reliable one, and, if not absolutely accurate, the special method of determining the cost per unit of supply to the board completely fails. — I am. etc., - "WILLIAM FERGUSON, Managing Director, Wellington Gas Company, Ltd. Wellington, 30th January, 1911.

Captains of vessels leaving port are complaining that the searchlights playing on them as they go out of the Heads— especially the new one at the Headsare very embarrassing, although, no doubt, very interesting to the ptussengers. Lately th* .lights have been kept on the vessels eohunuously until they | got out of range. Owing to this the captain cannot sea anything except the modt prominent objects, and ivh^n the light is directed ahead of the course it is impossible to hes anything b-eyond the glare. Considerable difficulty is being experienced in obtaining, the four or live tiiouLsand necessary signatures to the petition I now in circulation in connection with the Saturday half-holiday movement. The Trades Council employed "a canvasser during the past week to beat up tie forces, but the result was not very encouraging, and altogether it looks as though a special effort will have to be made, if the petition is to contain the number of names requisite to ensure a poll being taken. Mr. F. Reyling, secretary of the Trades Hall Council, has so tar received a very poor response tv the petition forms ho sent oui to various business firms, asking for their co-opeiation in the movement. Up to dale about 500 signatures have been*obtained. At the quarterly council meeting of the IS'ew Zealand Lawn Tennis Association the following motion, notice ot which has been given by Mr. H. M. Gore, will be discussed : "Every delegate ehall vote- according to his discretion on questions upon which he has received no instructions from the' association which he represents. When such instructions hava been given, each delegate must adhere strictly to his instructions." Reference to the "Sedgwick boys" was made at St. Peter's Church yesterday morning by Archdeacon Harper, who declared that all difficulties in the scheme so far hart disappeared. Jlr. Sedgwick had every confidence in the boys proving iood men. The New Zealand Government had done all in its power to help, and now all the boys were serving under approved masters. Mr. Sedgwick felt that God's blessing has been co clearly manifested and bestowed that he desired now that thanksgiving should be oiiered publicly. t The Ilorowhenua Annual A. imd P. 'Show is to bo held ai Levin on Wednesday next, and, excursion fares will be issued on _ that day. Record entricb liu\e been received, and v large iittend.iiico v expected. Some 300 borcto arc taking part in their classes and competitions, of which there are thirteen, including four jumping events and two boys' puny rucc^. Given fine -,\eothei' k larpo number of visitors are expected to pay a visit to this progressing district.