CORRESPONDENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 August 1921, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

HYDRO-ELECTRIC SUPPLY.

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—As a member of the recent depu- | tation to wait on the Borough Council.' requesting that an engineering survey, of a reconnaissance nature, be made over the higher catchment, areas of the Waiwakaiho and adjacent rivers, with a view of satisfying the general public tha t ; additional power can, or cannot, he oh- ' tained for the present hydro-electric j scheme, I wish to enter a decided pro- ! test to your attack on the Mayor and '• councillors, hut primarily against the ’ former, that appears in this morning’--. ? issue of your paper. At the preliminary ’ meeting called to make arrangements for f a deputation, I was present at the invi- ! t-at.'on of the chairman of the Ratepav- >’ era- Association. It was there unani- ; mously agreed that only one question was to be discussed before the council, the expediency of obtaining the survey mentioned above. No personalities were to be indulged in on any pretext whatever. As regards the latter part of the decision, you sailed, it appeared to me, very close to the wind in your concludr ing remarks tn the council. Be that as it may, your criticism of the Mayor, as .set out in the newspaper article men- I tioned, shows a strong personal bias. However much members of the deputation might wish to disassociate the chief speaker on Monday evening from the writer of the article complained of. the plain fact remains that the President of the Chamber of* Commerce, and leader of the deputation, are one and the same with the proprietor and editor of the Taranaki News. With regard to the question under dispute, I expressed my views to those present at the preliminary meeting. They lean decidedly towards those of the Borough Council and

its electrical expert, but in view of the opinion said to be held by a section of lhe ratepayers, to the effect that the council were not taking steps to secure the extra power believed to exist on the slopes of the ranges (an opinion, by the way, cultivated to a great extent by your paper), I decided to join with others in the deputation. As you. have not waited to receive the reply of the council to the deputation’s suggestions, hut have set out to adversely criticise practically the whole policy of that body in

connection with this business, I feel that I cannot do otherwise than publicly disassociate myself with your action as leader of the deputation in rushing into a Press attack on the Mayor and councillors, without first extending at least the usual courtesy observed on such occasions, of awaiting a reply. I am only one, of course, of a large deputation in this business, but I feel that, in all justice to the Mayor, it would not be an honorable thing for mo to remain silent under the circumstances.—l am, etc., W. H. SKINNER. New Plymouth, August 25, 1921.

(Our correspondent is entirely mistaken in his assumption that the article in question was personal, or was actuated by other than a desire to serve the public. The matter is far too important to be made a personal one between the Mayor and ourselves. The Mayor and present writer are .here to-day and away tomorrow, but the hydro-electric works are here for all time, and any decision arrived at now in respect to them may have serious consequences in the future. Conscious of this fact, we have taken the trouble to deal with the reply to the deputation and set out the general position as fully and fairly as possible,, so that councillors particularly, and the ratepayers generally, may be in ■ possession of the facts before a final decision in regard to the survey asked foils come to. Does Mr. Skinner seriously contend that the News should remain dumb on such a vital matter, and that I the Mayor’s statements are not to be i traversed or criticised ? We feel sure that; His Worship himself would make no i such (-’aim, for he. like other public men. will realise that his actions and views are open to criticism, and it is good for wholesome civic rule that it is so. It

is different, of course, when the criticism is unfounded or unfair. But we don’t think our correspondent has shown or can prove that of the article he alludes to, or the article that appears elsewhere in this issue. We feel strongly on this question because of the great, ‘issues at stake, involving- even the retention of the control of the works by the borough of New Plymouth, and mean to place the whole of the facts before the council' and ratepayers, .so that they can judge the position for themselves, and, in the

case of the council, take action with their eyes fully open. In regard to our correspondent’s reference to “the opinion cultivated by your paper” respecting the advisability of making a survey of the upper reaches, let us point out that

the cultivation of public opinion on a matter of such supreme importance to the welfare of the town and province, is not merely the privilege of the Press, but its manifest duty, and one we have no intention of shirking, with, all due deference to Mr. Skinner.—. Ed.)