The Waipa Post. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 1913. A SETTLEMENT.

Waipa Post, Volume V, Issue 219, 10 June 1913, Page 2

The Waipa Post. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 1913. A SETTLEMENT.

A SETTLEMENT of the.much debated question of municipal lighting and consideration of. the respective values —both as a means of lighting and as a commercial undertaking —of rival lighting systems is the purpose for which the Town Board summons ratepayers to attend a meeting at the Town Hall tomorrow evening. True to the promise given some months ago to those petitioners who urged upon the Board the advisability of considering an electric lighting system, the Board has obtained from a reliable source a detailed report setting out the probable capital cost and maintenance charges of such installation. But the Board has gone further than to merely obtain this information ; it has had all three reports on coal gas, electricity, and acetylene printed, and to every ratepayer has furnished all the data available in the desire that the decision of ratepayers will be arrived at only after consideration of the facts set out in the reports. Nor is it a question of lighting only. Both coal gas and electricity are adaptable to commercial enterprise by supplying power and make possible the introduction of many conveniences to the home, and these facts must be taken into account before a definite settlement is arrived at. One system attracts attention on account of its useful by-products, but as a set-off against this, there is the constant necessity to open up trenches in the streets and footpaths for repair work or* new connections. With the other system no entrenchments, and the consequent damage to the streets and footpaths, are necessary, yet matters are equalised through there being no by-products. Truly the exponents of either system have ample scope for debate, and the average ratepayer, whose knowledge of lighting systems is only superficial, must become more

and more confused at hearing of the many good qualities each system offers. But public lighting is no new thing, and it is well to look to those towns where public lighting systems are installed. Te Awamutu can have nothing to lose if the experience gained in those towns is taken into account. What is possibly the first consideration of the ratepayer is the amount of capital required in the first instance, and by comparison of the reports it is seen that the capital expenditure for the installation of either coal gas or electricity are the same —approximately £7OOO. Further consideration of the earning powers of each system shows but little difference, as by comparison both, based on the figures contained in the reports, give a net return of about 7 per cent, on the capital expenditure. Therefore the respective values, viewed from a financial standpoint, are so nearly identical that the only question for consideration becomes one of general utility, for lighting, heating, and power purposes. At to-morrow’s meeting this matter will be finally considered, and failing an expression of opinion in favour of an electric lighting system the Town Board will forthwith proceed with the installation of the coal-gas plant already authorised. Should, however, the decision of the pebple revert to electricity, the board will immediately take a poll cm- ! powering the raising of the neces. ! sary loan for the stated purpose.!

We hope that the decision arrived at will be borne of a desire to bring about the installation of that system calculated to be of greatest benefit to the whole community. Ratepayers have had full opportunity to guage the respective values of each method of lighting, and if the board’s action in publishing these reports has been properly appreciated, the decision arrived at to-morrow evening will be the result of a reasonable knowledge of the various systems offering.