LIGHTING UP.

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 2550, 25 January 1915, Page 4

LIGHTING UP.

FEILDING'S ELECTRIC SYSTEM

BRILLIANT START ON SATUR- ' DAY NIGHT.

THE 'OFFICIAL OPENING

SOME SPEECHES

On Saturday night the leilchng municipal electrical lighting system was brought into permanent operalii the approved British style, a ceremony, including some speeches, was arranged at the generating station in Eyre street. Numbers oi lights were hung round the buiidmg and along the footpath, and a strong searchlight placed on the roof, to give a good impression of the light, borne hundreds of the residents assembled to cheer the system into practice, and 40 join in the general congratulaHons. ~ nl I * At ! 7.30 o'clock, the Mayor, addressI ing the people, drew a parallel be--1 tween the Germans' Day, the BritishI era' Day, and Feilding's Night. Iho Germans, he said, had been toasting their day for-vears, and now it had come. It was altogether different from what they expected. It was now the British who were looking torward to the day when the Prussian power and spirit would be broken for ever, and the proud Prussians humbled to the dust. Feilding people, continued Mr Ougley, had been looking for the night when their town would be served with a lighting system commensurate with its importance, when they would no longer have to depend upon a private proprietary company wliicli liad been providing an inadequate, inefficient lighting system—a concern which refused to extend its system, which never thought of tlie progress of the town, but only of pro•fits. It had been a drawback to the .town. In saying this, the Mayor remarked he wished it to be understood he made no 1 reflection upon Mr Healev, the present manager of the Gas Company. Mr Hoaley had done everything in his power to make the lighting adequate, and had only failed to do the impossible. For many years there had be'eii complaints about the lighting. The Council some years ago considered' the question of purchasing the gasworks, but when the company was approached they said the bedrock price was £21,000—that was the modest sum asked for a plant which badly lighted one-fifth of the borough I A valuer was engaged by the Council to put a price on the gas plant, and he had stated £5000 was its outside value. "To-niglit," said the" Mayor, "we have a plant of our own which lights the whole borough, and it cost only £11,000." A little over twelve months ago the Council had asked the Gas Company for 14 new lights, where they were badly needed, but, though they offered, to give the company 5 per cent, for five years on the necessary outlay as weli as paying the annual fee for the lights, the company _ refused to make the necessary additions. Now the town had a completed plant. TheCouncil's Electric Light Committee had,., before taking the poll last year, gone to towns in Taranaki where they had electric light, and-there were present at this demonstration some gentlemen from Taranaki to whom.they owed many thanks for advice received The i ate-*a\ er„ lad ciiiied

uuu lA'/uiauoi. J i.>o oOOIH.I uau Li loan been appro*, ed than the Council found that material had increased in price. Ironbark poles had gone up very much, for instance. Then the war broke out, causing many delays. The machinery would, in ordinary circumstances, have dome out from the Old Country in one ship, but it had actually come out in nine. That would give- them some idea of the trouble to which the contractors had been put. The light had been promised by •. Christmas, and in spite of the delays they were only a month late. (Cheers.) Makino road and Aorangi road were not yet lighted, but that was because thej; had not yet a sufficient number of insulators, and he thought -Jjoth these streets would be includea in a fortnight. The Council's staff would commence on Monday morning to make connections for private lighting. At present the *plant! would run from sunset to sunrise, and later on, as soon as it was warranted, the engines would be going continuously the whole 24 hours. The Mayor said they must give great praise to the electrical engineer, Mr Millar. (Cheers.) With the worries and delays and, inconveni/ences caused by the war and other things, Mr Millar had occupied a very unenviable and -.unsatisfactory position, and any mail with less tenacity and less determination-., would have given up the fight. Mr Millar had come through with flying- colours. (Loud cheers.) Ho had made the .scheme an absolute success. '(Cheers.) He had sufficient reward in seeing the light running successfully—(applause) —but the ratepayers woxi'ld like to show their appreciation. (Cheers.) There was another man who coiild not be overlooked in connection with the electric light, and that was Cr. Harford. (Applause.) Ho had been its champion tor many years, and it was not (Jr. Harford's fault they had not the light two years ago. . When the previous .poll was taken, Cr. Harford was left by himself to whip up. tlie ratepayers to vote, for it. Ho had failed to get it carried then. But two years ago a new Council was elected, also a new Mayor—much against the wishes of Cr. Harford — (loud laughter)—and Cr. Harford had started once again to fight for the electric light. This night must lie the proudest in Cr. Harford's municipal life. (Cheers.)

Or. G. J. Harford said his first words' must be thanks to the Mayor for the very generous tribute Jie had made to him (the speaker) for the work he had done in connection with the liglit. It was not everybody who would have given the cre-dit-to someone else, and not rather have taken it to themselves. He (Cr. Harford) had learnt to respect tho Mayor both for himself and for what ho was doing for the town. (Hear, hear.) "I haye-had a good deal to do with the scheme," said Cr. Harford. He repeated the history of the previous poll f taken on the report* of Mr Tolley's committee, and the action he himself had taken in travelling round the North Island at his own expense getting information. When '"that poll was taken he had to fight the Gas Co., its employees, and some prominent business men in Feilding, yet it was only lost by 45 votes. One ratepayer had got him three cars, and the Feilding ,S'r.vii had consistently supported the scheme. That was all the help he had. If the ratepayers had carried the proposal then, they would have had a scheme identical with tho present one for £2000 less. When the members of the new Council had gone to Taranaki they found ho had underrated rather than overrated the light scheme. He heartily congratulated Mr Millar for making such a success of the scheme, after | surmounting difficulties under which any other man would have broken down. He gave credit to the town clerk (Mr Geary) for valuable advice given tho committee, and he assured the people that this was really the proudest moment of his municipal life. (Cheers.)

The doore were then flung open,

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