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49
ELECTRIC LIGHTING.
The special Committee (referred to in the last annual report)
which was appointed by the Vestry to investigate the various systems
of electric lighting the probable cost of introducing the same into
some of the main thoroughfares of the parish the relative cost of gas
and electricity and other points in connection therewith, completed its
labours in March last and submitted a voluminous report to the Vestry, a
copy of which will be found as an appendix to these pages. The Vestry
had previously decided, on the recommendation of the Committee, to
apply to the Board of Trade for a Provisional Order under the Electric
Lighting Acts, and the Vestry's application was under the consideration
of the Board at the termination of the year with which this report deals.
It will be seen from the report referred to—which was unanimously
approved and adopted by the Vestry with a few slight modifications
—that the Committee came to the conclusion that the interests of the
parishioners would be best served by the Vestry undertaking the supply
of electricity in the parish rather than allowing such supply to fall into
the hands of a private company.
The Committee recommended that the high-tension alternating
current transformer system should be adopted for private lighting, and
the high-tension continuous current for arc lighting in the public
streets. By this system the Vestry will be in a position to supply any
part of the parish where a demand arises, instead of being confined to
a particular area close to the generating station as would have
been the case had the low-tension system been adopted. The Vestry
decided to raise a loan of £60,000 to cover the cost of a site erection of
building and provision of the necessary plant and mains, and referred
it to the Committee to take the necessary steps for carrying out the
works.
The Committee's labours were exceedingly arduous and intricate,
and the Vestry showed its appreciation of them by the unanimous vote
with which it adopted the report, a report so complete as to render it
unnecessary to further refer to the details of the scheme proposed to
be carried out. Suffice it to say, that the importance of the step
p