ADVANCE CAMBRIDGE!

Waikato Independent, Volume XXII, Issue 2528, 4 April 1922, Page 5

ADVANCE CAMBRIDGE!

STEEET LIGHTING COMPLETE SPECIAL INAUGURAL CEREMONY. An impressivo step in the electrical zidT&ieement of Cambridge was celebrated on Saturday evening by an attractive out-door function in front of the Post office. On a specially . constructed platform were His Worship the Mayor (Mr S. Lewis) and Councillors, Mr Mervyn Wells, chairman of the Cambridge Electric Power Board, and Mr J. ,S. Fisher, Mr J. A. Young, M.P., Mr E. F. Bollard, M.P., and Messrs J. T. Johnson, L. G. Sutherland and D. McArthur, representing the Te Awamutu Electric Power Board. Congratulatory telegrams, together with apologies for absence were received from Messrs J. E. Fow (Mayor of Hamilton), L. G. Armstrong (Mayor of Te Awamutu), F. Shannon and E. C. Banks (Matamata Co/nty Council), \ G. Dickinson (Wai&ato Hospital i Board, W. J. White Town \ Board), W. F. Masjjfe (Hamilton Borolagh Council), Trßobinson (RotO'O\f rangi Eoad Board), and E. J. Wilkinson (late Mayor of Cambridge). A few minutes after the hour of seven had chimed from the Post Office tower, Peter, the Mayor's oldest son, a, little chap of six years, pressed a button and illuminated the streets and the Domain with the new power. The crowd of over six hundred assembled in the vicinity of the platform cheered and applauded lustily and a programme of speeches was then proceeded with. The Hark of Progress.

Mr Lewis opened his remarks by extending the hand of welcome not only to the local residents, but to the visitors from beyond the boundaries of Cambridge. They were showing honour to their neighbours and their presence was particularly appreciated. Mr Lewis recalled the days when gas lamps were in vogue and the light hardly penetrated the darkness. "Tonight, however, we have entered on a new era," he observed amid-applause. 4 'With the turning on of the light there is marked a very definite step in the progress of this beautiful town, •and the Borough Council tenders its appreciation of the way in which Mr Mervyn Wells and Mr H. C. Oaten have executed the scheme. They are entitled, I think, to the highest praise from the citizens. (Applause). The lights in the main streets have not of ■course been fitted with the full candle power which has been proposed and if the appearance of the lights about us is not as bright as you might have

expected that is a state of affairs that be remedied ere long when the fittings come to hand. In regard to the lighting of the residential portion of the Borough and its out-

akirt3 I claim, publicly and without

fear of honest contradiction, that Camhas now become the best lighttown in New Zealand. (ApfPause). I will go further. Cambridge .is ahead of other towns with its natural drainage and water supply and altogether is by far the most, pleasant place in the Dominion in which to reaide, by reason of its climate and exceptional natural advantages on every side." (Cheers). Mr Lewis feelingly referred to Mr J. A. Young, JT.P. for Waikato, and considered it a matter for great regret that he contemplated standing for another electorate at the forthcoming poll. As Hamilton was his place of residence one could scarcely blame him for his decision to offer his services iolsewhere, but it was natural, that pangs of regret would bo felt at the ioss of such a faithful supporter. The Plat Bate Mr Wells congratulated the Mayor .on being in office on such an epochjenaking night and also complimented Jbim on having carried out such important Borough works as the forming of Empire Street into a fine, handsome Cambridge was now in front rank among the residential towns of the country, and its sanitation was an achievement in itself. Speaking on behalf of the Power Board he >aaid that a great deal of thought had been given to the lighting scheme, and Jhe believed the contractors had served the Board faithfully. He felt that no one could charge them with neglecting their duties. They had delivered the goods as a glance at tho installation would show. (Applause). At the conferences he lad attended at Wellington and Hamilton, he had fought for what 3ie believed was the birthright of Cambridge. The departmental idea was to 1 ihavo a flat rate, which meant that the man outside Cambridge would obtain the same power at the same Tato as the consumer here. It simply meant that the power would not be cheap anywhere. At every conference he had ten laughed at when he suggested K H;he Horahora works should be fded over to the five neighbouring power boards—Thames Valley, To Awamutu, Central, Hamilton and Cambridge —but the Ministers had greeted 3iim with "You've got two chances of getting what you want, your own and Buckley's." He knew that the installation was fairly expensive, and that

the financial strain had prevented many from installing power, but he hoped that the prospects would be brighter in the future, and instead of the percentage being 40, as at present, the demand would bring the figures to 70, an average which it was at first thought no difficulty would be experienced in reaching. A Well-Governed Municipality. Mr Young, after facetiously touching on the Mayor's recent addition to his family, warmly congratulated the citizens 1 on the installation and paid a great tribute to the progress displayed in the lovely gardens of the town, the homes and the streets. Referring to Mr Wells and his contention regarding the flat rate, Mr Young said he thought the Power Board chairman was quite right as far as his own people were concerned and he hoped his ideal would be achieved. Mr Young thanked His Worship for the kind remarks he had passed on his behalf. It was common knowledge that the increase of the population in the north had necessitated the establishment of one new seat for the North Island, and the loss of one for the South, and if he was lucky enough to be returned for the new Hamilton seat, he hoped he would still have the confidence of the people of Cambridge. "With your excellent Mayor, an excellent Council and an excellent Power Board you will only have yourselves to blame if you allow things to drift," he added in conclusion. "Every success, then, for the future." (Sustained applause). Mr Bollard said that he was proud to be present on an occasion of such importance. After hearing the remarks of the other speakers ho would advise every householder to install the new light, whether it was obtainable at a flat rate or any other rate. He congratulated the Mayor and Mr Wells on the success of the scheme, and jocularly predicted that '' the sparks will be flying" with some heat at election time, when the two Power Board candidates begin moving in earnest. Tribute to Mr H. Roche. Mr Johnson expressed pleasure at being associated with the parliamentary representatives in celebrating the occasion. In some form or another electricity was now being utilised in most homes and offices because of its extreme convenience and possibly many in Cambridge had not realised the anxiety that must have rested on the Borough Council while it was dependent on a coal supply for lighting. With the advent of hydro-electric power the people had been virtually rendered independent of all these industrial troubles. "When I first came to Now Zealand fifteen years ago," remarked the speaker, "a friend living 400 miles from here described Cambridge as the healthiest town in the North Island. Sinco then scores have said the same thing. No inland town has a more beautiful asset than your own Domain." (Applause). Mr Johnson referred in eulogistic terms to the active part Mr H. Roche had played in the construction of- the works at Horahora and thought he should be a proud member of the gathering that « night. (Applause). Hearty cheers for the success of the electrical scheme and for the Mayor preceded the singing of the National Anthem. The Invitation List. The invitation list contained ninetyseven names as follows: Messrs H. A. Bell, C. H. Bycroft, G. Calvert, A. H. Gascoigne, E. James, W. Moore, H. Roche, and A. and W. Wilkinson (Cambridge Borough Council), J. S. Fisher, J. W. Garland, W. Harbutt, T. Martin, G. M. Watt and W. J. White (Cambridge Electric Power Board), W. White, A. Denton, W. Harris, J. T. Jarrett, James and L. T. Keeley, F. Mack, and W. Stopford (Leamington Town Board), J. W. Anderson, W. H. Allen, E. C. Banks, R. A. Dent, S. H. Judd, J. P. Keeley, H. Eollett, C. A. Stopford, J. F. West, H. Lewis, and F. Shannon (Matamata County Council), J. T. Entvvisle, H. C. Wallace and E. Veale (Cambridge Road Board), R. G. Speake, R. Reynolds and A. R. Cox (Pukekura Road Board), T. Robinson, EL W. Mackereth and A. J. Marx (Eoto-o-rangi Road Board), C. Miller, C. H. Priestley, D. Congalton and G. H. Wallace (Cambridge Chamber of Commerce), J. Ferguson and E. N. Souter (Cambridge Domain Board), J. R. Fow, W. F. Mason, E. J. Davey, W. H. Stevens and E. Reeve (Hamilton Borough Council), L. G. Armstrong and D. Boekett (Te Awamutu Borough Council), J. P. Bailey and T. B. Insoll (Waikato County Council), Stuart E-eid and Charles Bowden (Waipa County Council), Norman Banks and G. H. Bellamy (Waikato Central Agricultural Association), T. Hinton, H. J. Beeche and T. R. Overton (Central Power Board), J. T. Johnson and D. McArthur (Te Awamutu Power Board), F. Lye, Edward Allen, E. H. Anderson and P. G. Harvey (Cambridge Co-op-Dairy Co., Ltd.), W. P. Gauvain (Thames Valley Power Board), S. Louis, Mervyn Wells, J. A. Young, M.l\, R. F. Bollard, M.P., E. J. Wilkinson, G. Dickinson, W. McAllister, B. G.

Stevens, C. H. Marriott, H. D. Dallimorc, W. H. Vickers, W. V. Grummett, \V. IC Watson, L. G. An sell, F. C. Bunyard, G. H. Ollard, E. L. Hardy, G. E. Clark, D. J. Lundon, F. J. Brooks, W. Vosper, Frank Penn, V. G. Boulton and D. Geaney.