THE Temuka Leader THURSDAY, AUGUST 31st, 1922. HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER.

Temuka Leader, Issue 10359, 31 August 1922, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader THURSDAY, AUGUST 31st, 1922. HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER.

Things go awry sometimes. In the same twenty hours of our lives we have two descriptive pictures in words, which if pourtrayed in colours, would wake men up, more especially men in Son Mi Canterbury. The first picture is that of His "Worship the Mayor of Timaru solemnly dissociating himself of all connection and responsibility so far as the creation of an Electric Power Board in South Canterbury is concerned. He employs no candle, bell, or book, but he begs and prays that every man with a soul to be doomed—we j nearly used the other word—should immediately petition [Car-J 1 lament not to grout, lire request of the petitioners who have prayI ed the Covernor-Oeueral for tin; j creation of a South Canterbury Electric Power Hoard. The Mayor I of Timaru is absolutely sane, but [obsessed with the idea of money responsibility. He lacks vision, bid to fortify bis case ((notes the pb-lure of Southland, for which I be details some ligures, which | arc ex parte—and lie knows be is ! pleading as a lawyer an ex parte ] ease. To the credit of the Timaru j ; Horoutdt ('oiincd the .Mayor is in j j a m iuorii y of his ('ouiiei!. 1 1 i.; j Gilb is (bat no Power Hoard [ should In- formed, and that (be I ’Tekapii scheme is years before! its time. , Sn ifiuen for the .Mayor' of Ti- j i»aru ; but what of Christchurch/)

In the same reading of the Press, we find that' the Christchurch City Council agreed to spend over £SOOO to obtain a report and plans front an American engineer to get hydro-electricity power from the. Wi'iiiiakariri River for Christchurch. And the reason of the Christ.clu.irch Council is that they have an absence of faith in the Coleridge scheme to supply the whole of the needs of North Can-' terbury, and also that the Government may increase the charge for power after the ■'agreement has expired in 1925, but mainly for the formei' reason. We wonder what His Worship the Mayor thought after his reading of his solemn abjuration alongside of the report of a meeting being held at the same hour in Christchurch, when the opinions of Coleridge were diametrically opposite. The people of Christchurch are no fools. They are looking for more power, and are willing to spend £SOOO for a report as to its possibility. What is the answer of His Worship the. Mayor to that question? Citizens from Temuka, Geraldine, and Timaru, at their own time and cost, have gone as laymen to Coleridge to investigate this question, and their opinion is identical with that of the Christchurch City Council.