The Timaru Herald. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 1924. THE KEYSTONE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 25 June 1924, Page 8

The Timaru Herald. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 1924. THE KEYSTONE.

"Whilst we> are in entile sympathy whju uie entiiusiasue advocates oi linking' up xtorui and bourn to enatue puolic opiniou m Canterbury to speak wiiii a united voice in support ot a general policy ot progress for the wUole province, \ve> reel bound to say Unit tliere are important domestic problems awaiting solution where the interests of JN oith and South come into conflict, Some time ago the Timaru Harbour Hoard, very properly, we believe, strongly protested against the decision 01 the Minister of Marine to appoint the Engineer to the Lytteiton Harbour Hoard as a member ot the Royal Commission to inquire into the proposals for the improvement of Timaru harbour.. The Hoard believed that a competitive spirit exists between the two ports. It is no use disguising the truth. The people of South Canterbury are no longer apathetic. They realise that this rich and prosperous district, so wonderfully endowed by Nature, is at the dawn of a new era of unprecedented progress. We have in Timaru a city m the making. We have also, as was pointed out im a most interesting- interview we published on Monday, all the ingTedients, if we may put. it that way, to give this district an industrial impetus undreamed of by the earlier residents, save only one. factor. Nature has showered ber gifts richly upon both town and district; but Nature lias left one important duty for human effort to discharge.. The magnet that can draw all thesb ingredients together is power. We must harness the highly _ potential source of hydro-electric, energy almost at our back door. Moreover, though we have such potential riches within our grasp, the keystone, of the stately arch of fuller progress our enterprising citizens would raise in this _ district, is an adequate and Reliable supply of cheap hydro-electric energy. Where then, can South Canterbury obtain this _ supply ? We believe we are right in saying that no hydro-elec trio scheme has such an irresistible appeal to the imagination of the people of a district as the Tckapo proposals have in South Canterbury. No more straightforward development problem has been submitted to the judgment of engineers; and no more readily accessible source of an almost inexhaustible supply of hydro-elec trio energy has*been placed at the disposal of a community. Months oi experience have demonstrated not only the unreliability of Lake Coleridge- supply, but experts now confess that- the generating station is now running quite contrary to the usual practice at ing stations, without one unit, in reserve to meet emergencies, and is becoming seriously overloaded. The demand for current, despite irksome restrictions, has smasned ail estimates, and placed the whole oi the vast area now dependent upon Lake Coleridge as tiie source of hydro-eleetrio energy tor lighting, Heating, and power purposes, in ihe unenviable position of having to sprag the wheels oi progress for two years to permit, supply to overtake demand. Even in two years, our difficulties may not be overcome, since world-wide experience lias shown that the demand for hydroelectric energy invariably outpaces supply, making the imposition of more or less irksome restrictions inevitable. Having regard to all circumstances, then, the progreessivei ambitious people of this district can hope for no substantial progress while the problem of power supply remains unsolved. It is encouraging to note 1 , however, that tne aspirations of both town and district can be expressed in the .slogan which came out of the indignation meeting held recently, namely : ‘‘ W e want lekapo. Hence, it is just as well that the representatives of the Canterbury Hr ogress League, who are interesting themselves in the extension 'of the League's activities, should realise that before very much progress can be attained in negotiations for uniting the two districts under one banner, the League must make a verydefinite pronouncement on the power problem as affecting- South Canterbury. _ The people here have no faith in Lake Coleridge; the great bulk of public opinion has implicit faith in the- lekapo scheme as a reliable source of hydro-electric energy-. _ It is not our intention, at this juncture, to enter into a discussion on tlie pros and cons of the proposals the Canterbury Progress League is submitting through its organiser, to the judgment ot the local governing bodies of lirnaru and South Canterbury: suffice it to say, however, that we strongly support that measure of unity which in no way subordinates the interests of South Canterbury to those of the- move influential portion of the province in the North. yW are satisfied. however, that before negotiations can proceed, the Canterbury League must define its position in relation to tin 1 early development of Tekupo.