FIFTY YEARS AGO

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 49, 26 August 1939, Page 17

FIFTY YEARS AGO

■j. ITEMS FROM THE

"POST"

*' '* THE ELECTRIC LIGHT

"The electric light has now been long enough in use. in this, city to enable a reliable opinion. to be formed regarding its merits- as a street illuminant," remarks "The Post" of. this date fifty years ago. "The -. electric light is certainly an improvement upon gas, both in its intensity ' ahd- diffusion, while for less money we "get a great deal more light. Perhaps sortie of the lamps are not placed ih the best possible situations, and in some parts of the town a few more lamps would be an improvement; but on the whole every thoroughfare dn the ; city "is now fairly well lighted, and if the. "Corporation authorities will trusts,rather less to the almanac than to - their: eyesight las to when it is moonlight; there will 'be nothing to. complain of,/ ."Probably the street lighting is only the first of the benefits likely -to result from the introduction of electricity 'as an illuminant. Before long we niay. hope to see our churches, theatres, and other public buildings, if: not private houses as well, lighted ;by the same means. It will be noticed that Sydney is following the example .of Wellington and is calling for tenders at Home for street lighting by electricity. We

can scarcely doubt that, .other towns both in Australia and New Zealand will do the same. There is Hot, however, the slightest reason to feair that the adoption of the electric light will injuriously affect .the interests- of gas companies to any appreciable extent. As gas is superseded by electricity in one direction, new openings. * for its employment will almost certainly be found in other directions. This has been the experience in other places, and no doubt it will be the. same here. In the meantime, we .feel it due to all those to whom Wellington is indebted for its present system , 'ot electric lighting to heartily congratulate them upon the successful accomplishment of the undertaking. We must ..not omit to mention Dr. Lemon, Superintendent of Telegraphs, whose scientific knowledge, placed freely at the -disposal of the Corporation, proved of such practical value. No doubt there-have been hitches in the functioning^ :the light, but such things occur at the initiation of almost every new scheme. We have known the whole _.-city : yto be plunged in darkness through-a sudden failure at- the gasworks. The hitches in connection, with the. electric installation in Wellington have been neither serious nor numerous,- and -the city is now undoubtedly the best lighted in the colonies, instead of being, as it was formerly, the darkest and murkiest." • '. ■ CITY'S DIRTY MILK. "It is terrible to think that so. large a number of establishments froni which the city obtains its milk supply are in such a condition that the milk from them must be more or less tainted and unhealthy. Milk necessarily, forms a large proportion of the . food of the youthful and of the. weak,-.and it makes one shudder to think that when we imagine we are giving' them sustenance and nourishment, we are in reality introducing poison- into the-^eins and disease germs to their constitution. In view of the facts that-have .recently been disclosed ..about -the v-city% milk supply, it can scarcely--be -. wbndered at that the death-rate in Wellington is so abnormally* high,.-The question now is, how can this state .of.things be remedied? Remedied irt some":way it must be, and if the Jaw at present does not provide the necessary means', then even the present demoralised Parliament could scarcely refuse - ; or delay such legislation as will ensure a clean and pure milk supply. * There must surely exist authority somewhere which can be invoked to put-*a summary stop to the selling of milk from diseased cows. Wellington is probably not the only city thus affected;, and the subject is really one of greater practical importance to the community than most of those* over which-Parliament has been wrangling for the last twe months." ..."?■:' CABLE MENDED.: "At a late hour yesterday afternoon we received a notification from the Telegraph Department stating that cable communication with Sydney had been restored. The interruption took place last Wednesday week,* so "we have been without direct telegrams for twelve days. This is the longest break that has occurred since the- laying of the cable. As we have already said, it constitutes a potent argument in favour of a duplicate cable being laid without delay." HAWAIIAN INSURRECTION. "Full details are just to hand, of a somewhat extraordinary occurrence at Honolulu. It appears that "two halfwhite Hawaiians named Robert W. Wilcox and Robert Boyd, who had beea sent at Government expense "to an Italian military school, had on their return been for some .time plotting an insurrection, and about 4 aim. on July 30 they got together 150 natives at Palama, two miles out of Honolulu, and marched on the city, actually, taking possession of the palace grounds, where their numbers; were speedily. augmented to 250. The King was. not hi the palace at the time.- Wilco*x -demanded the surrender of the palace,/, but Lieutenant Parker, who was in charge, refused to allow them to enter, although he had only about half a dozen men under his command." The Honolulu Rifles were called, out, and .shots were exchanged with the rebels, and several field pieces were also called into requisition, as well as two Gatling guns. Several of the rioters were badly wounded, eight meri were killed, and at about 1 p.m. 30 surrendered, The rioters were regularly bombarded, and at 7 p.m. the whole of them.surrendered, Boyd being severely wounded. It is said that the object of the rioters was to gain possession of the King's person, compel him to abdicate in favour of his sister, Lilinokalani, and demand a hew Constitution and "a newCabinet. There was great consternation in Honolulu throughout-the day.1"