WAIPORI POWER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13857, 21 March 1907, Page 3

WAIPORI POWER.

Sir,—'Your correspondent , "Disgusted" brings to light a very important matter in connection with the above scheme—namely, (ho retention by the City Council of one firm of electrical contractors to report cn the value and stability of the work of another firm. Presuming that there is a genuine desire for an export and impartial report on tlio Waipori installation, then it would eeoin to have'been the plain duty of the authorities to engage the services of some consulting engineer of high standing, experienced in works of similar magnitude, and absolutely unconnected with any contracting interests. Such engineers are obtainable, both here and in other centres in New Zealand, and the fee provided for a few weeks' work should have been sufficient to secure a first-class man.

As the matter now stands, we iiavo in Messrs Noyos Bros, a firm of eleotrical contractors who liavo in 'the past done a fair amount of work in New Zealand, and may bo expected to bo keenly on the lookout for more in (ho future. Messrs A. and T. Burt are practically in the same position; and t.horo is little doubt that oiiould the Duncdin Corporation itself have any moro electrical contracts at their disposal, both firms would bo keen competitors for them. To add to the difficulty of (ho situation, Messrs A. and T. Butt, in being so called upon to criticise the work cf a

rival firm, havo to criticise that of the present city electrical engineer, wiio supervised tho installation for Mcaw Noyos Bros. Tliero can bo no doubt that tho situation so created should never have been allowed to ariso in connection with municipal work.

As to the question of the qualiKeations of the experts raised by your correspondent, no 'doubt the City Council has considered this. In whatever fashion Messrs Noyos on their work would seem to require contract, they must at least bo credited with having experience enough to know how such a contract ought to be. carried out. and at what cost; and to bo able to report on their work would seem to require considerable experience in the design or superintendence of modern works of similar magnitudel am, etc., City.

THE INITIATION OF THE NEW ZEALAND FROZEN MEAT TRADE. Sin,—l have only lately seen in the Christchurcli Weekly Press of February 27 ■vyhat is apparently a summary of Mr John Roberts's speech, wlion he informed the interesting eej'cmony of unveiling, at Totar», a cairn creetccl to the memory of the laio Mr Thomas Brydone, and I read with much sympathy the remarks made regarding the leading part 31r Brydone took in all matters connected with the agricultural and pastoral affairs of this colony during tho long period he was

associated tvilh ilie Nmv Zealand ami Aav tralinn Land Company. There is mm matter, however, specially referred to by Mr Roberts in which ho has gone somewhat astray, ami as it is it point in connection with an interesting episode in the life of Iho colony, and may ha si ill of some interest to the many who have profited .by the frozen meal trade, it is as well that rhe history of the event bo correctly recorded. The lato Mr Brydone is in no need of any undue crcdit to justify the high esteem lie hits left behind in the minds of his fellow colonists. ' According to' the report of Mr Roberto's speech before me, ho says,'_ that, while somo Canterbury friends consider that Mr John Grigg, of Longbcdeh, was " the father of the industry, ar.d although the New Zealand and Australian Land Company is entitled to every credit for finding the needful for tho experiment, to Jlr Brydono undoubtedly belongs the honour of successfully starting tho work in connection with the frozen meat trade from New Zealand." As compared with this latter statement, and while X cannot from memory ami without reference to the letter-books of the Now Zcaalnd and Australian Land Company in Edinburgh, give tho prcoisc dales of tho different steps taken, tho following' is practically the truo and somewhat detailed history of the initiation of tho New Zealand frozen meat, trado in the year 1882 by tho importation of the first cargo of mutton to London in the ship Duncdin. As genoral manager of tho Land Com pany, I was naturally eloscly watching t-h< actions of the frozen meat pioneers ir Australia, and when they had established the possibility of bringing meat in a frozen condition from that country to England 1. brought the. matter before my board iir 1881, and it cordially supported my sup gestion that, wo should attempt- to oper *ho door to a trfidc from New Zealand My next business was to inquire as to what refrigerating engine promised the best chance of success, and I visited engi nccring works in England to see one or two engines recommended, but in tho end felt quite dceidod that the Bell-Coleman engine bad bolter bo adopted; as it was well tested in tho carrying of chilled mea' from America to England, about whiei trade I had thoroughly informed myself. At this stage I oonsulted Mr Coleman (who gavo his name to the engines), and asked him to solve the problem f<?r us as to how wo were to bring Home the frozen carcases of 6hecp without steamships to shorten tho long voyage from tho Antipodes; without refrigerating works on shore to freeze t|ie sheep; and with the knowledgo that, if tho carcases were all hung up separately, as in the ease of the quarters of chillcd beef Drought in the Atlantic steamers from America, tho spacc required, and the consequent high freight par carcase, would kill the whole business. I was delighted when, after somo consideration, Mr Coleman said that ho had no doubt all tho difficulties I named ccald be overcome, and to him is largely due the success of tho experiment, as it was under his able supervision and advice that the ship was fitted up. Ho informed mo that- if the carcascs were hard frozen they would suffer no deterioration in tho long, voyage of 100 days or more in a sailing ship; that they could be frozen on board tho ship itself without any refrigerating works on shore to assist; and, to my astonishment, assured mc that, with thorough insulation of the chambers in tho ship, and with a proper circulation of tho cold air, the carcases, when frozen solid, might bo stowed a 6 closely a« they could be paeked. After this .great encouragement, tho next step was to find a first-rate sailing ship, and I commenced negotiations with Messrs Patrick Henderson and Co., whose vessels then carried most of the Land Company's produce from New Zealand, and after attending one or two meetings of that company's board in Glasgow, and ■ discussing the "whole question with the i directors, thev finally consented to join in : the venture under the conditions offered I by the board of the New Zealand and . Australian Land Company—viz.. that the [ Shipping Company should equip a ship , under Mr Coleman's supervision, and that t the Land Company should find sheep to [ fill the chambers, and take the risk of loss, which unknown risk—wonderful to relate— ; tho Land Company's underwriters agreed to"> cover at a reasonable premium. As j regards tho ship, the most kind assistance 3 was rendered by Mr James Galbraith, a . director o£ the Shipping Company, who , took a keen interest in tho experiment, . and personally interested himself in the selection of one of the best sailing ships j! available, the Ditnedin, commanded by a . specially -smart and capable officer, Captain Whitson. r Wo wore also, as it turned' out,' most fortunate in the selection made of the chief engineer to take charge of the refrigerating engine, as he proved himself to be very efficient and reliable during the voyage. ; When these arrangements were completed I sent instructions to the late Mr Brydone, I in New Zealand, to prepare for the killing ! and careful butchering of tho sheep, wliicl' ' were specially selected by him, and did the company infinite credit when eventu •' ally exposed for sale on the Smithfiek 0 Market in London. Mr Brydono alsc 0 made excellent arrangements with the 9 authorities for tho railage of the carcase) from the killing shod at Totara to th< * ship's sido at Port Chalmers. 1

After all details for the experiment were concluded at Homo I came out to meet the Dunedin in New Zealand, thoroughly Foiled by Mr Coleman as to how the loading was to 1)0 managed, and, with our own hands, Mr Brydone and I stowed 'away tho first frozen sheep ever loaded in a ship in this colony, and little did we think at that time that tlio foundation of the present huge and important trade was being laid. There was no practical difficulty iu the freezing ami loading of tho ship as the sheep were hung on hooks in the 'tween decks until they were hard frozen, when they were pissed down to bo closely stowed away in tho hold below. The only trouble came when tho 'tween decks itself had to be loadod. and when tho stowage there interfered with the hanging and freezing of the carcases, and prngrras was very slow _ during the manipulation of tho Inst portion of the cargo. Mr. Roberts mentions the only contretemps in New Zealand, when tlio crunlc shaft of the engine broke, and a number of frozen carcase*-about 1500. if I remember rightly—had to be taken out of tho ship and sold in Dunedin, Uius making New Zealanders themselves tho first consumers of their frozen meat. ' After the mishap to the engine, and before the new shaft was completed, I sailed for England,- and later on Mr Bp-done got the ship away safely and without trouble, with its important cargo of about 4300 sheep, 600 lambs, and 22 pigs. Arrangements had been made with Captain Whitson to report as to the conditions of tho cargo when he made a signalling station on the Engljsh coast, and I was full of anxiety when he only reported his ship without mentioning the cargo. However, ho came on ahead of his ship in a I pilot boat, and I met him looking very ' strained and careworn as lie entered the Shipping Company's office in London, and ho then told me that he was not absolutely j certain about tho condition of the cargo. : but- thought that, most of it was sound. I must not occupy more of your valuable space by alluding to all the great anxieties Captain Whitson experienced in connection with the carnage of such a new and perishable cargo, and what, with his sails catching fire on several occasions from the sparks of the engine funnel, and an alarming rise of ; temperature in the meat chambers in tho j tropics, when ho personally, at no small . risk to himself, saved much of the meal, bv ■ crawling down the air trunk and cutting fresh outlets for tho better circulation of the oold air—this,officer's lot during that voyage was anything but. a happy one, but he was the right man in the right place, and with his pluck and abilily lie surmounted' all difficulties, well backed up as he "■•as by the engineer. When the Duiicrlin reached tlio dock in London I crawled down such spaces as •>:;istcd amongst the carcases, and satisfied myself that, practically the whole - of the cargo was in sound condition, and might with safety !>e exposed for sale. Headed : >.v tho London Times, which devoted a 'o-at'.er to the subject, tile nc\repa.pcre then "•rote much about tlio success of the venture, and referred to the excellent nualitv of •«> mutton, which astonished tho Smithiield '!os men. Tlio meat sold remarkably well, and s regards tile outcome of the sales, I ''oto a letter to New Zealand, which was uhliched in your paper about August or •!ijember, 1882, I think. Tile foregoing is a rough, but correct, _ -connt of tlie first shipment of frozen meat rom Now Zealand, and, contrary io the - Toct statement made by Mr Roberts, the ■I? Mr Brydone was in no way responsible, y suggestion or otherwise, for the initiation •••' the experiment, or for the arrangements hich brought it, to a successful issue, "voiid the part I have stated be took in -oparing and supervising tho shipping of '0 sl:e?,p in the colony, the control of the on! ure having been from first to la.=t in tho inds of the Edinburgh office of the N'ew Zealand and Australian Land Company. In publishing this account, I certainly do not for ono moment desire to reduce by tho

smallest pubblo i'no height of the cairn raised lo tlie "laio Mr Brydone. a.->, quite irrespective of l.lip actual initiation, ho rtMidcrcd such valuable services in dcvelopintr t.ho frozen meat trado in iiio colony thai: ho well deserves all the credit- lie barf received f»om }lis fcllow-colonists, and towards the suoccssful and rapid foundation of refrigerating works in the colony, doubtless the voyage of inquiry road-o by Mr 75rydono to Australia, to which Mr Roberts refers, must have brought much assistance. —I am, etc., W. S. Davidson, General Manager, Tlio New Zealand and Australian Land Co. Auckland, Mstcli 13.

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