ELECTRICITY AND SETTLEMENT

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1536, 7 August 1901, Page 52

ELECTRICITY AND SETTLEMENT

“If the country will make the railways, the railways will make the country.” This axiomatic truth, uttered many years ago by George Stephenson, is as applicable to-day as it was when railways were in their infancy. It is brought to recollection by the fact that a deputation from Pahiatua yesterday waited upon the head of the Government to beseech his assistance in having legislation passed that will enable the settlers of a rich but undeveloped district to help themselves and lh© country at large on the road to prosperity by constructing an electric tramway. The proposal to make a tram-line from Pahiatua to Pongoroa, with possible further extension, as necessity arises, has much to commend it; and if the Government is net prepared to make a light line of railway, connected with the State system, to open up the country in that district, it is but reasonable to ask that it should give every assistance to the local bodies who are prepared to do the work. An electric tramway thirty miles in length will prove an inestimable boon to many scores of settlers who now find themselves shut off from the outside

world and unable to make dray roads because of the absence of road metal- By utilising the water now running to waste through the Makuri Gorge, it is estimated that at least fifty thousand horse power of electric energy will he made available for traction, for motive power, for heating and lighting over a wido area of country. The scheme may seem an ambitious one for a newly settled district to embark upon, hut the experience of other countries show it to be perfectly feasible.

The construction of the tram-line, providing easy means of transit for goods and passengers, will only be one of the many benefits that would flow from the project. There is no reason why Masterton, Pahi-

atua and other places should not he supplied with electric light from tbe works established to provide energy for the tramway. As has been remarked, the development of electric power in the country will be peculiarly to the advantage of the small manufacturer and settler. “It will put him at once nearer the level great manufacturer, for it will enable him to increase nis out-

put many times. The country smith, the joiner, the small builder, and all that class of men, will have a new agent put into their hands, and will be able to attempt jobs that wero impossible to them before. Each village and country town will become more self-sustaining, and will not b« dependent on outside assistance for the small requirements of life. An outlet will be opened to the young people who now emigrate to the large towns; and we shall see a reproduction of the old conditions when the water-mill fostered the growth of small communities in surroundings more healthy, both physically and morally, than the city slum. The town-bred man will seek his home beyond the limits of the suburb, and the country man will find a wider interest and a better living in the place which gave him birth.”

This is the ideal that the Pahiatua settlers have set themselves to realise, and it must be apparent that the starting of electric works near the Makuri Gorge, as contemplated, would give a tremendous impetus to the property of a wide district. In the United States, it has been found that electric energy and light can be transmitted for quite a hundred miles, without any great loss —it is stated at only ten per cent, in recent works ; and no difficulty need be experienced in converting the Makuri water power into electricity which should flow in a stream all over the country-side. The cost of electricity for traction and motive power is found to be only one-third of steam, when water power is available for its generation. As the local bodjeg, concerned are earnestly desirous of enfiring into a combination to make the PahiatuaPongoroa tram line and operating it by electricity, w e trust that the Government and Parliament will extend every facility to them, by passing the necessary enabling legislation. A general measure, that might be taken advantage of by local bodies all over the country, would be preferable. In any case, whether a general or Local Bill is promoted,, it is to be hoped that before the present session, of Parliament is over, power will b© given to the local bodies around Pahiatua to raise the necessary loan, and to proceed with the highly practicable and beneficial project they have in hand. Electricity, properly applied, should prove a powerful aid and adjunct to successful settlement in nearly every part of N©w Zealand.