The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7,1909. ELECTRIC LIGHT FOR GISBORNE

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2626, 7 October 1909, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7,1909. ELECTRIC LIGHT FOR GISBORNE

The report furnished by Messrs J. J. Niven and Co. on the proposed installation of an electricity plant by the Borough Council is one that should make very pleasant reading for that large section of the public which has become heartily dissatisfied with the service supplied by the local gas company. The figures we publish elsewhere fully confirm the rough estimates submitted a few weeks ago by Mr. J. R. Jones, and demonstrate quite satisfactorily- that the municipality can confidently undertake the work of supplying electric light and power for its own needs and for the u4e of private consumers. Such an undertaking is not necessarily antagonistic to the present gas company, which will, in all probability, have ample scope for its operations despite the business done by the purveyors of electricity, but there is no gainsaying the fact that the presence of another competitor in the town will prove a very useful factor in compelling the existing company to improve its relations with the public, both in regard to the price charged for gas and the service provided. So long as Gisborne folks are satisfied to be entirely dependent upon a private monopoly for their light, heat, and power, so long must they rest content with a very inferior service. The scheme embodied in Messrs Niven and Co.’s report is one that we can confidently recommend as being within the scope of the borough’s resources, and as filling a greatly felt want. The fact that it will also work in admirably with the drainage scheme that has already been adopted by the Borough Council is an additional factor in its favor.

Unfortunately for those of us who desire that these necessary works shall be taken in hand shortly, the Borough Council seems as far off as ever from arriving at a satisfactory solution of the metal problem. Mr. Marchant may be able to find some other way out of the difficulty, but our own view is that the rejection of the Patutahi tramway scheme by the ratepayers put an effectual deadlock on the situation. We shall be quite prepared to find that the laying of a tramway either to Gentle Annie or to Patutahi quarries will yet be found necessary in order to arrange an economical system of metal supply, both for borough and county roads. If it be proved that the amount of metal necessary the roads of the borough and county cannot be obtained at a reasonable figure, except by tramway, then it is to be hoped that the two -local bodies will not hesitate to once more co-operate and place the matter before the ratepayers. Were the members of both Councils unanimously in favor of a tramway loan and the ratepayers were made thoroughly aware of the position, we have little fear that they would repeat the disastrous error they committed in rejecting the Patutahi tramway scheme. .*