PROSPECTS OF A THAW,

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16895, 6 July 1918, Page 8

PROSPECTS OF A THAW,

OUTLOOK IN CANTERBURY. ELECTRIC POWER RESTORED. TELEGRAPHS INTERRUPTED. ! [iTf telegraph.—own COHRESPONDECT.] I CHRISTCHURCH. Friday. 'J The outlook in Canterbury is belter to-day, for there are indications of a warm north-west wind setting in, in which case the snow-bound areas will have a ilanco to thaw. In some districts to-day about a foot of snow disappeared under the influence of the warm sunshine and wind. The electric supply is again available from Lake Coleridge, one transmission lino having been restored late Inst night. Telegraphic communication with the North Island is confined to one line on the West Coast route, and there is no hopeful news concerning the East Coast lines. Deep as has been the snow through which the repair - gangs from tho city end of the Lake Coleridge electric transmission lines have bad to work, it must be admitted that the worst is near the lake itself. An emergency gang, under Mr. A. R. Blackwood, power house superintendent, left the lake on Tuesday morning, taking a dray with two horses. Tho snow was throe feet deep in places, and on tho 1 Chrisiohurch side of the Acheron River, where tho road runs along tho side of tho I hill, it was four feet deep. Drifts were . right out over the edge of the road and 1 ' as a result of this the dray went over tho edge of the cutting. The men, although , thrown out, wero uninjured, and succeeded in getting the horses back on the road, but the dray had to bo left. The horses were ridden on to tho Snowden Hut, about ci.'ht miles from tho lake, where camp was made for the night. A start was made at daylight next morning, and by noon the additional five miles to the point hut | had been covered, a rate of progress that ' fives some indication of what difficulties , lad to be overcome. A broken insulator ,' near the hut was replaced and it was hero j that Boris Daniel, the ski runner, who 'went through from Christchurch, met Mr. i j Blackwood. South Canterbury lies under a depth of snow which varies from a few inches near i tho town of Gera'.dine to I6in at Upper I Kakahu, and about tho same amount near ' j Woodbury. On the open plains, near ' I Arundel, tho depth of snow was Bin or J 9in, while 20in was measured on parts of I tho Tripp settlement and elsewhere. I Along tho foothills on tho higher level, which are generally considered safe winter country, about 3ft of snow has fallen, and, according to the owner of one of the largest runs, it is tho worst storm in his long experience on the hill runs. It is uufortunitely almost certain that the loss of sheep wui be severo, and there will bo employment for all available hands in the ■ arduous business of snow-raking. There | is added difficulty in the outlying neighi bourhood, owing to the roads being nearly impassablo, except in places where a makeshift snow plough has been at work.

EFFECT ON INDUSTRIES.

FACTORIES CLOSED DOWN-

CONSERVATION OF POWER.

[TIT TELECBAPH.—

CHRISTCrroKCH, 'Wednesday (Delayed).

Tho greater portion of Canterbury is still snow-bound, and communications be-1 yond a comparatively small radius of tho city, westward and northward, aie abso- j lutely cut off. Heavy damage has been j occasioned to telegraph and telephone! wires, but tho full extent of it is not ascertainable. Losses of stock are also inevitable. Railways, roads, and rivers arc impassable in many places. The Lako Coleridge electric power supply is still cut off, and the power-house is isolated from tho city, 25 miles of roads being snowbound. Industries and tho life of 'ho city generally arc still affected seriously. The city drainage system has not been affected, as the board's pumping-station plant was brought into action and proved quite capable of coping with the drainage. Disaster has undoubtedly overtaken the back country; yot here it is only possiblo to build surmises on what has happened. In most parts of North Canterbury it is impossible to approach the immediate foothill districts, owing to the impassablo barrier of snow, whilst the telegraph and telephone systems in many ■ places are a tangle of jumbled Mires and poles. Tho storm is possibly the worst within memory of tho present generation. Even the historic initial fall of 1895 is claimed by many not to have approached this in intensity. Then, for the- purpose of comparison, only two train services were temporarily affected. Unless a warm rain sets in in the back country, the losses in stock will be enormous.

Emergency Supplies of Power. The continued isolation of the city from Lake Coleridge is causing the greatest anxiety to the City Council and the manufacturers in the city whom it supplies with power. Constant representations are being made to the city electrical engineer about the loss b»ing sustained by the proprietors of foundries, whose moulds are beginning to cave in, and of other industrial plants requiring a constant supply of power. In view of the seriousness of the position, a conference of the C'ty Council Electrical Committee, the city electrical engineer, and the chief Government electrical engineer in Canterbury, was held this morning. Mr. A. S. Taylor, chairman of the Council's Electrical Committee, speaking later, said the City Council electrical department at its best could only supply tho direct current area from its own station. For the rest it was dependent on tho Tramways Board, which had its own d'fflculties to contend with, and was supplying less than 500 kilowatts. Last evening it bad managed for a period to light tho whole of the city and suburban streets, hut the Tramways Board had found itself, for some reason, unable to carry the load, and all street lights, with the exception of those, in tho central area, had gone out again. Tram Service Curtailed.

In order to ease down the extra demand which is made on tho city's electrical supply about 5 p.m., the Tramways Board has decided to stop, until conditions are restored to normal, the extra cars which usually run at that part of the day, to cope with the homeward rush from offices and shops. No cars beyond tho ordinary time table ones will be run, and these also will be reduced if possible. Arrangements have also been made with the freezing companies for an i casing-up of their demand, and at midday to-day it was anticipated that there would bo 1000 kilowatts available from the tramways plant to supplement .the current Generated at the City Council's n'nnt. The general conditions in the city toHay are the sumo ns for the previous two days. Factories are closed down, employees have been sent home, picture theatres aro closed, lifts are not working, and clerks and salesmen are working by the dim light of candles. The city electrical engineer has entered into arrangements with the large consumers of City Council current, that where such arrangement, is desirable or practicable they shall receive the " current alternately, Such reports as are coming through show that the snow is still falling in the out-districts. The Peninsula Hills have not suffered to any extent. Snow is lying in most cases 600 ft to 800 ft up, and is not more than 2ft deep on the tope. But skirting the back hills the fall i$

phenomenal. Thus 4ft of snow ruled at latest advices yesterday, at Oxford, the flats near Mount Hutt claimed the same, whilst in Upper Afhburtou and South Canterbury the situation is almost as bad. It is in North Canterbury, however, that the fall has been the worst, brought up by north-westerly winds. The comparative immunity 'which Canterbury has enjoyed in recent years has rather caused a relaxation of the- precautions taken usually in the back country. The oldtime- snow muster, which was a feature in the early parts of the winter, in many cases is "practically abandoned. Thus more sheep are in the exposed positions than used to he the case. Fortunately the flocks are generally in splendid condition. They havo enjoyed a pood season, and the country is understocked. The latter condition is in spito of the fact that tentative reports state that the increase in the flocks in Canterbury is nearly 1,000,000 over the figures of the previous year. Tims, if there is a heavy mortality, there may 'bo no actual alarming shortage. Kaiapoi hew experienced a watery visitation, conditions more approximating those I ruling here. But several of tho low-lying I arena have been inundated. Floods, too, are reported between Flaxton and the Cam, through the main drain overflowing. The line and main road in consequence suffered, and motor-cart were unable to pet through. On the flooded areas stock had to be shifted. The immediate concern now is to secure the necessary feed for the stock.