CANTERBURY'S LONG START.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17696, 3 February 1921, Page 5

CANTERBURY'S LONG START.

I — ■«&— j OTHER CLAIMS FOR POWER j Having conjured up visions of a rosy hydro-electric future the Minister for Public Works brought his hearers at Lake Coleridge down to earth rather suddenly on Saturday. "We have to provide for all New Zealand," he said. Caaiterbury is not a pocket borough, and we must make conditions equitable everywhere. You have heard of a place j called Auckland, I suppose." The Hinis- ; ter then enumerated the power schemes which the Government is preparing to • develop— Arapuni (Auckland), Mangahao (Wellington), and Monowai (Otago). "In- ! dustries have grown up in Canterbury in I anticipation of power," he went on. " May I say that you have a very long start on the rest of New Zealand? As far , as possible, I will see that the available 1 money is wisely and well spent. If the | power from Lake Coleridge were doubled, j we could sell it to-morrow, but we must see that other places have t£e same ad- , vantages as Christchurch." Owing to its natural advantages, Oiristcburch, and Canterbury with it, had a tremendous future in industry, but the Government's duty was to look at New Zealand as a whole. So far as he could see, there was nothing to prevent the development of 40,000-h.p. in the province. The only qnestir/n was how much money was available. It wap for the people of Canterbury to assist by helping the Minister for Finance.