CITY COUNCIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3757, 16 March 1926, Page 8

CITY COUNCIL.

The fortnightly meeting of the City Council was held on Wednesday night, and was attended by Crs W. B. Taverner (Deputy Mayor), E. Sincock, D. Larnach, J. 11. Hancock. J. 13. Shacklock, J. Wilson, J. J 5. MacManus, J. -S. Douglas, J. J. Clark, W. A. Scott, C. H. Hayward, and YV. Begg. DAYLIGHT SAVING.

The General Secretary of the New Zealand Sports Protection League wrote asking the council to express its views on the question of “daylight saving,” and to forward the same to the Government, the members for the district, and to the press. Cr Clark moved—“ That this council expresses its approval of the movement.” The council, he said, had expressed its approval of the movement on previous occasions. He presumed that the council had not changed its mind since then. Cr Scott seconded the motion. The council had always shown its approval of the project, and he could not see why their legislators stood out against it. He thought it was a personal matter, and not a matter of principle, so far as their legislators were concerned. Cr MacManus said tye intended to oppose the proposal. It would affect very seriously some of the farming work. It was one of those double edged weapons £kat would act like a boomerang! Cr Wilson said he could not possibly •ce any objection to the movement. There was nothing in the bogey raised by Cr MacManus regarding farmers being detrimentally affected in their work.

Cr Hayward said he could not understand why the Daylight Saving Bill hud

never been made into law. There was something about it, holding it back, of which they knew nothing. Cr Scott: It’s a personal objection. Cr Sincock said he heartily approved of the motion.

Cr Hancock also supported the motion. Dairy farmers would not be placed in. any difficult position as regarded the supply of milk if the clock were put forward an hour.

The Deputy-Mayor said that if they could strengthen the movement they should do so. Tlie motion was carried. • MUSEUM GRANT.

The Deputy Mayor said that the committee recommended a payment of £SOOO to the Museum Extension Committee, the gift to be spread over a period of five years. The objeotive of theeommittee was £50,000, £25,000 of which would be given by the Government by way of subsidy.

Cr Scott agreed that although the Museum was a great benefit to the city of Dunedin, yet he was exceedingly careful of the thin edge of the wedge getting into the trading concerns. Ho thought the Museum v/ns a good thing, but they should not set up the precedent that their trading concorns should bo always dipped into for these purposes.

Cr MacManus said he thought the council would have a useful purpose if they could have some of the councillors stuffed and placed in the Museum. They would provide some anthropological data for the future.—(Laughter.) His proposal would also do away with the necessity of placing unsightly statues in the city, and also with the need of naming streets after councillors.. He was going to oppose the grant apart from the educational value. If, ns it was stated, the Museum was to be opened to all citizens why should the City Council only be called on? The Govern-

ment should assist, and also other outside boroughs. He would move as an amendment that the matter be referred back to the committee with the request that the Government contribute the necessary money. He had visited the museums, and had seen a lot of interesting things, and also smelt a series of smells. —(Laughter.) The amendment lapsed for want of a seconder. Cr Hayward said that the museum was not for the benefit of any class. It'was for the benefit of all. Cr Wilson said he did not think any apology was required for taking this money from the trading concerns. It was for the use of the people as a whole. The people were really making the profits for the trading departments.' Cr Clark said the functions of the council were laid down by statute. One of the functions was to provide for the upkeep of museums. The Government was doing its full share in assisting the museum project. Trading concerns should always be called on to meet requests like this one. As regarded the recommendation for a large extension in Waipori it thought the proposals should be considered at a special meeting of the council at whicht he tw6 engineers should be present to give them full details.

Cr Begg agreed with Cr Scott that the trading departments should not be called on always to provide such grants as that asked for by the Museum. The grants should be tranoferred, and made to appear as from the general rates. The library grant, for instance, was represented as from the rates. The Musetira was erected upon what was originally marked as a reserve of the city. A portion had been. taken by the old stone school, the Police Department had taken part, and the Museum had a part, and an addition had been placed to the Musuem. He presumed that the new wing

would also be in the reserve. He asked if the University Council had authority to use this additional area. Cr Clark: Yes. Cr Begg said that sooner or later there would be further extensions, and the question was whether they would have the land for the further extensions. How far could the present holders extend on to this land? , _. Cr Clark: Right down to King street. Cr Begg said if that were so then they should take steps to restrict the extensions. The reserve there was a thing of beauty’, and it was going to be all built on in the near future. He approved of the new wing, but the building should be then self-contained. If they could not bring this matter before the authorities what were they there for? Cr Shacklock said the council would have to consider seriously’ the draw-off on their trading concerns. The come when the council would have to watch these things much more closely than it had done. Cr Sincock wanted to know what the council was doing in regard to casuals employed in the office. Some time ago the council had decideu to reduce the casuals as much as possible and to fill their places with cadets. If casuals were going to affect the younger employees obtaining promotion there was something wrong with the control. He hoped the decision come to by the council some time ago would he observed. The Deputy Mayor said that the trading departments had a clear duty to perform, and that was being done in the present case. As regarded the statement by Cr Sincock, no recommendation had come before the committee. The committee had always endeavoured to carry out the decision of the council in regard to the promotion of cadets. WAIPORI POWER STATION. Cr Shacklock moved the adoption of the Electric Power and Lighting Committee’s report, in conjunction with a clause in the Finance Committee’s report. He referred to the proposed extensions at Waipori. He did not think it was necessary to hold a special meeting of the council to discuss the proposals. Each member of the committee had the minutes from the electric power and the city engineers. In the early history of the department their rights had been restricted and they had had some difficulty in knowing how far they could get in obtaining the necessary water rights. The restrictions had caused them to build two small reservoirs. The site of the new dam had always been looked on as the correct place to store the water. Had they been able to get the rights they now had the probabilities were that the station would not be where it was. It would have been at Berwick. At that time, however, they had no practical experience. They had full rights on the river now, and their limit was bounded only by the quantity of water available and the fall. From the dam at Lake Mahinerangi to Berwick they had a fall of 1224 ft. The average flow in the river was 220 cubic feet per second, that was so far as their measurements had shown. They felt that the 220 ft was under rather than over the average flow in the river. In March, 1924, the electrical engineer had suggested that it was an opportune time to develop a proposition and build a new station at Berwick and to the advantages of this (all a tunnel of four and a-lmlf miles long would have been required. No doubt it would have been a splendid proposition. A good deal of investigation had been made, but so far they could not get any expert to agree that the long tunnel required to carry the water to the proposed station at Berwick—that was the major scheme—could be constructed at a less cost than £500,000. It would take four or five years to carry it out, and there could be no financial return until it was absolutely ready for running. In consequence the committee had been forced to think that the alternative proposal was the correct one. Some 1080 ft of the available fall would be utilised in the alternative scheme, or only a loss of 12 per cent, on the 1224 ft fall. The alternative scheme could be carried on in accordance with the requirements of the lead. No matter which scheme was adopted the dam would be raised to 110 ft. That was absolutely necessary. The work could be carried on over a series of years, and a generator would be placed immediately under the dam. This generator, in conjunction with the Diesel engines in the city, would enable them to carry on without much inconvenience to the consumers while the new work was being linked up with the present power. The speaker referred to the opening of 3000 kilowatt units in the power station in place of the present 1000 kilowatt units. That would fill the present station. Further details of the new alternative scheme were given, and Cr Shacklock said the great advantage was that as the load grew they could increase their plant, and each addition would become revenue-producing. The £ roposition was important because they now ad to adopt a scheme under which they would harness the whole of the available water in the river. It might be 25 or 30 years before they built the second station down the river. The council must remember that they were going to adopt a policy from which there was no turning back. The maior scheme, although a very fine One, could not be considered as an economic proposition, and therefore the committee had dropped it. Thev came to the council now with every confidence that the alternative scheme was the right one. They would obtain a total power capacity of at least 27,000 kilowatts. Cr Scott seconded the motion.

Cr Clark said he was perfectly satisfied that the council would have to abide by the expert advice of their engineers. He would, however, havo liked to have had tho report explained by some expert. . The clause was adopted without further diseussi6n.

The Finance Committee’s report dealing with the matter was also adopted. It read as follows: “The report of the Electric Power and Light Committeo with respect to the proposal to incur further caprtal expenditure at Waipori on extensions to the power plant, had been remitted to tho Finance Committee for a report in terms of the Standing Orders. Committee has to report that any further capital outlay required by this department would need to be provided by the raising of a further loan. When the total sum required by the department shall have been determined, the matter cf finance will receive consideration and a report thereon he presented to the council at a later data.”

TENDERS. The tender of C. T. Price for the purchase of one ton of scrap copper and half a ton of scrap brass (Tramways Department), at s£d per pound for the former and 5d per pound for the latter was accepted. The same tenderer also offered 4 3-8 d per pound for two tons of scrap copper (E.P. and 1,. Department), arid cis offer was accepted.