PURCHASE INDICATED

Taranaki Daily News, 28 May 1929, Page 5

PURCHASE INDICATED

POWER BOARD’S PROPOSALS

HAWERA COMPANY’S CONCERN. CONFIDENCE OF THE CHAIRMAN. Intention to purchase the Hawera County Electric 'Company d undertaking is indicated in the annual report of the chairman (Mr. L. A. Bone), which was unanimously adopted at the annual meeting of the South Taranaki Electric Power Board in 'Hawera last night. Loan proposals will be considered early, says the report. The board's proposals indicated are:- — (a) Purchase of the company at £125,682 a« a going concern. (b) Extension jn certain areas at •present not served with power. (c) Making present reticulation more efficient where necessary. (d) Providing loan money to prospective consumers to assist installations. A full explanation for the ratepayers is promised by the report. It will be issued in the form of a pamphlet. The whole of the past year’s activities had “been directed to an endeavour to arrive at an amicable agreement to save fairly heavy costs to both parties upon arbitration," said the report. The en-d-nyours had been unsuccessful . The reason for inability to arrive at agree--ment was given as that the company •was not prepared at that stage to give full access to the books, papers and document-? which •fhe board’s advisers desired to enable them to arrive at a price. The continuous negotiations from August, 1926, already described in -the Daily News’ columns from time to time,' were sketched by 'Mr. Bone. Discovery of books, documents ana papers :had not 'been given by the company until the. preliminary sitting of the arbitration at Wellington in November. •The tribunal had sat then to deal with that question and to make arrangements for the hearing. Mr. R. Kennedy (now . Mr. Justice Kennedy.) had laid on the; table a full list of all books and deeds, the company was prepared to make. available then. The arbitrators had sat at Hawera and Wellington seventeen days, over 30 witnesses being called for both sides.: The company sought to -prove its un-j dertaking to be worth £230,000 as a o-oiim concern. The board sought to i prove that £lOO,OOO was ample for the: purchase price. The award had been’ for £125„682, -excluding book debts,': liquid assets and inscribed stock. The offers of the company formed in-! teresting material for comparison, cop- • gidered Mr. Bone. The first offer had been in 1926 of £162,206, with -a note ; that mnless the board accepted the price: would be much greater 'later on. After, spending about £20,000, claimed Mr. Bone, the company had reduced -the original price to £145,000 approximately.

GENERAL ITEMS.

The Maiigatoki ;h.oekey team do. play Qtakehe .at Otak.eho to-morrow -will be a? fallows:: Bennie, •.Genihoefer, Sheerin, McGuinness ;(.2i)„ -.Cleaver (2), Do'lsqu, Schmid, Pai'ker, Towmend; .emergencies, Sclucker, Wiliam.

.'Saturday members of the Ha-wera Golf Club took part on Saturday afternoon -in a one-club match of 1-8 holes. Each player was entitled to make ids own choice of a club, and in most cases the iron was used and some good scores were returned. The match will be completed to-morrow, When the Wednesday players will have their

Among the working exhibits at the South Taranaki winter show at Hawera next month .will be a new’ churn, .which is sure to interest ’large -numbers .of visitors, ,as iit is .said to be capable of .pro-’ dueing tatter in three minutes. An-, other working exhibit will probably -be provided ,by the Railway Department, winch will fill a substantial space with; a comprehensive .display. Three other, Government departments — Publicity, • Forestry and Agriculture—will also be represented by characteristic exhibits.; With its posters, photographs ..and booklets, -fully illustrating the wide extent of the field it covers, the Publicity Department will stage one of the most attractive displays Taranaki has seen, .and the publicity fihns that are being used abroad will* be screened in the picture theatre at the winter .show. The demand for space at the show is very keen. The euchre party 'held at Alokoia on Friday evening attracted a large number of card players, and after an enjoyable evening’s play the prizes went to Mrs. Brown and Mr. H. Bell. Mrs, B. Lee supplied the .music 'for the .dance Which followed. -Gups and trophies won last season by members of the Hawera Amateur Swimming Club will -be presented to-morrow evening at the club’s dance in St. Joseph’s Hall, Hawera. The secretary o.f the Hawera Aero Club, .Mr. W. Cl. Walkley, has received a donation of £3 3s from the Firestone Tyre Distributors, Wanganui. The Hawera Fire Brigade held a dinner in the Carlton rooms last night, about 30 firemen and -their -friends attending. Superintendent A. Morrison presided. The toast list honoured was as Follows:—The King; The Firemen’s Wives, proposed by Fireman T. Bowdle and responded to by Mrs. Zinsli; The Hawera Fire Brigade (Mr. J. E. Campbell—Superintendent Morrison). During the evening items were contributed by’ Mrs. C. Twaddle, Miss G. Dunn and Mr. J. E. Campbell. Mrs. A. Bonetti played 'the accompaniments. A pleasant evening was concluded with the singing of Auld Lang Syne.