GREY POWER BOARD

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 May 1925, Page 3

GREY POWER BOARD

EX-CHAIRMAN’S VIEWS. - / “The Board intends to carry out , the policy originally laid down by the •ex-Chairman (Air H. E, Doogan)j who initiated the movement lor tne formation. of the Board/’ said Mr D; Tennent, Chairman ol the Grey District Electric Power' Board) wlieu discussing ■'its affairs to-day» Ml‘ Tenrient added that he did not think! Air Doogan had received a fair deal at the recent election when he was defeated, mainly as a result oii propaganda. Diirlhg recent molithS; tile subject of L the provision of electric,light aiid. pow- | er for the Gre.y district, has been the U main subject of discussion locally, and I the atmosphere has, on numerous occasions, become extremely electrical. About five years ago, Air Doogan, who realised keenly the need for power in the district, placed the matter before the Greymduth Borough Council. This •led to a conference of delegates from various local bodies, and ultimately I •a Power Board was formelo The initial decision in favour of a hydroelectric plant at the River Arnold, and the later alteration to a steam plant at Dobson, have been a prolific source of controversy, too recent to need recapitulation. Mr' Doogan still takes a keen interest in the scheme, which he founded and fostered. Some of his views upon the matter were expressed to-day as follow : — “I have no regrets for anything I have done, and I believe that all the original members of the Board have every r’eason to be satisfied with the results of their work. Electricity will I be available before the end of this year, at a price which will compare favourably with the rates ruling in any other part of the Dominion. For instance, the charge at Westport is lOd per unit, while that at Greymouth will be only 6d per unit.” Referring to the happenings prior to the recent election,- Mr Doogan said that for a very considerable time the members of the Board were subjected, to continued carping criticism by a section of the Press and a few individuals. “I was honoured (?) by being made the special target, and had to stand the brunt of a persecution more audacious, more persevering, and more inveterately malignant than any other person, public or private, had to encounter in this district for very many years. The reason/ for this most envenomed hostility to everything I said or did; this pronounced animosity to, and outrageous vilification of me, I know not," since I am not conscious ' of having done an injury to any of the men concerned in / the attack. Statements were circulated to the effect that I had been given 500 shares in the Dobson. Coal Company, that I was being given a motor car, that I was iieqeiding £3OO per annum as . Chairman of the Board, etc. Those and all other similar statements I absolutely deny, and definitely affirm that there is not an atom of truth in • them. The annual payment to the . Chairman was fixed by the Board, with the approval of the Minister of - Public Works, >at £loo—not £3OO. AH electric power Boards are local authorities, and, as such, the books and re. 1 counts are audited by the Audit Department. ‘‘The Press is very poweidul, and can be very useful. It has—as it should have—the privilege of criticising fairlv. the act'on of members of

local bodies in public transactions, but when any section of the Press uses its columns or allows theifi to be used, for the making of horrible and baseless accusations and insinuations, it abuses the privilege, ceases to be a moral benefit, and becomes a. mischievous machine at the beck and influence of unscrupulous persons who are in a position to control and use it lor purposes of personal, spite and aggrandisev ment. There dan be no true prosperity until the Press and pub ll '’ unite to put down the baseless vilification <-: men aspiring to public positions, in whatever guise or under whatever banner ‘such vilification rears its unseemly front. By a campaign of insinuations and untruthful statements, these vilifiers, assisted by the apathy of .the electois, succeeded in their set programme of preventing me from retaining membership of the Power Board. A victory obtained by such means is on a par with that obtained by a boxer on a pronounced and shame, ful foul.. “Personally, I do not aspire to greater honour or to a higher ambition than to have played honestly my part in bringing about something which will be of great and lasting benefit to the district and community. I started the ball’ rolling some years ago, and have consistently and persistently assisted, so far as I could, in the introduction of electricity, which, in the expressed opinion of the Minister oi Public Works (Hon. J. G. Coates), is the greatest thing this district ever had. Our traducers —a portion of the Press, assisted by a few individuals equally ignorant, equally selfish, and equally stupid—did not help in any way whatever, but spent their time in abuse and insult, just to gratify their own malignant feelings. The first members of the Grey Electric Power Board have every reason to be pleased with the result of their work; ’notwithstanding the fact that they were doing the pioneering work, they have not the guilt of even one serious mistake to answer for. •‘Being a firm believer in the potentialities of this district, and the possibilities for development opened rip by the introduction'of ami being convinced that the. best security for progress is ever found in the united energies of a united people, I sincerely trust that the whole of the members of the Board, eschewing all captious criticism ami bickering, will proceed with the management of the affairs of the Board with firmness and unanimity, and that the people will at all times assist the Board with, but no more than, fair, honest and helpful criticism.”