FOR JOHNSONVILLE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 47, 24 August 1911, Page 2

FOR JOHNSONVILLE.

-...-in. i i mmm LIGHTING AND BUILDING PROPOSALS.

FAVOURED BY RATEPAYERS' MEETING, About forty-tbrcft resident attended a statutory meeting of ratepayers which Wfts held in the Rechabite Hall, Jrohneonvillc, last evening in connection with the lighting and building proposals of the local Town Board. The board pfeposes-(l) To borrow the sum of £3500 for the purposeof purchasing aDa Laitto petrol g af . plant, for the lighting of the town, togethet with the materiftjs and fitting, and land re±,Boo for the purchase or Requisition of land and the erection of board offices, Tho proposals were outlined by tho clmirman of the board (Mr. W. L. Thompson), who stated that he supposed lighting was one of the moal cssuntinl requirements of the township. When the present board took office, the question was ohe of the nrst to be taken in hand. ,G&b had been put out of the question by the deadlock that had ensued through the Onslow Borough Council refusing to concede the right to the Gas Company to trec't works within its oonfln63, should it ever wish to do so. Electricity had been put oub of court owing to the high charges ensiled even after 6d per unit had been paid for the light to the council. All thb citjcould undertake would be to BUpply eleO« tricity, in bulk, reticulation, supply of all materials, lampß, gear, «nd nerviM>» ©J supervising engineers— all would have te be provided for by the board iteelf. Un. der the otreumitanoes, if the eounoil's offer was accepted the cost to the consumers could not possibly be less than Is per unit. When the board had almost reaohed the end of its tether, an offer was received from a Wellington company in reference to the BUpply of ft. petrol gas pknt. Rather than rush blindly into the matter the board had decided to give the gas ft trial for a few weeks, both for lighting fend cookmg. Thiß they had done, and frho results were eminently eattefaotorv. The m&ih question was that of fltiahoe. In Waipukurau a petrol gas installation was to-day giving every satisfaction from that point of view. There year by year ft profit was being made. The gas was being sold at 5s joer 1000 feet for lightjng. with a reduction to 4s fed when over 6000 feet were consumed. In the case of gas for cooking, 3s 6d per 1000 feet waf charged. There- wag no reason— as hud been proved by the demonstration—why the gas could not be supplied tit just as cheap rates at Johnaohvfllo. An instance was afforded by the fact that last ' Saturday a cooking-range had been tun for throe and a half hours, and tho petrol used only cost Jid. The speaker estimated that, including all capital charges, the coat would in event of a scheme being adoptpd be c-my 4d per hour. The range utilised tot tho purpose of the experiments was a Very largo one, being rapable of cooking fo"r fifteen persons. Touching on anothet poiht, chairman pointed out that, a« at Waipukurau, the gas could be utilised for ironing and vulcanising, ac well as for cooking and lighting A point lo be considered waß that at Johniohville thorn were at present thirteen aoetylene gnu in' Btalffttions, all of which could at eompftrn tively little trouble and expense be fcrahsformed so as to burn petrol gas, ,Denlihn with the estimated receipts and e*pehd£ ture, Mr. Thompson <mid that if ohe huti< tired consumers used about £5 of g&s per year, it would bring in a revenue of about £326. It was m-oposed to debit the general account to the efctont of £150 p«?r ypßt for fifty street lamps each of shty candlepower. Those two Bourcos would produce a revenue of £4?6, as against which there wore charges estimated at £425. This'-left a balance of £51 estimated profit on n years working, wbuld obviate the necessity of striking a, rate. In affirming that the proposals wero a gond bu-»ine»s proposition, the speaker Baid that tho figures he had tjuoted corresponded with the ftctual working of a petrol gas plant^not as up-to-date as that under review— at Waipukurau. Mr. Thompson formally moved that ihp poll be taken for a loan of £3500 to install the schema. The motion was neconded by Mr. W. Jn «? h - o',o ', to £ett»j>r with Memt*. J. Rod, T. W. Kirk, G. T. tthil, ahd W. Wallis. strongly supported the proposition In answering several .questions, the CJhatrmah said that there were no patent "ffhtj! involved in the De Laitte system. "We buy the thing," he said, "and there's an end of it. We are pledged to it ivs lons as we 4 like to hold it— no longer.' 1 T The motion wbi Chfried, e-hly one per> son voting afcninst it,. Mt, Th6friti«6tl rheft Jqtmallj moved v motion in connection with th& proposal tv borrow £800 for land and new offices, it was, he explained, probably common knowledge that the present building had already laoen twice cohdemned, and the board might any day /ecoive marching orders. A* things were there wai no room to stoic the valuable popers and document* fn the possession of the board. The jjioMon, which was seconded by Mr., W. Wfcllis, was carried by a majority of forty ot wrorft to one. The t meetin£? throughout was of a very enthusiastic character, and at ite conoluSjOfi a Vole of thanks was accorded the cli&irmah (Mr. W. L. Thomrfee-n) and the other members of the board for the fcroubls they had gone to in thf> rnHtfer. The poll will be held on Wednesday, lh& oth September.