The Gas Question.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXXXIV, Issue 61, 6 July 1908, Page 5

The Gas Question.

MEETING OF RATEPAYERS.

POLL TO BE TAKEN.

. A meeting of ratepayers of the Borough of Milton was held on Saturday night in the Coronation Hall lo con* aider the proposals re starting municipal gas works iu the Borough and to discuss the proposal generally. Mr J. A. Dttthie (Mayor) presided, and with him on the platform were Councillors King, Grey, M'Ciymont, Campbell, Parlane, Henderson, and Jas. Gray. About 100 ratepayers were present. - The Borough Clerk (Mr R. M. Brookes) having read the notice convening the meeting, The Mayor said that considerable misapprehension seemed to be in the minds of ratepayers that the special rate proposed to be levied would be collected. That was not so. The rate'was required to be fixed so that security would be given to the bondholders who would advance the money to erect the gaß works, The gas works would not only pay for themselves, but would leave a profit as well. Thfc corporation by law must give security for the repayment of the debentures, and that could only be done by fixing a special rate. The Council had no other security than a special rate in the remote ohance of them making default. They had the town clerk and the daymen and their tools, but they were hardly likely to be accepted as a security.—(Laughter). The consumers of the gas would pay the cost of the works and those who did not use the gas would not be called on to pay anything. He had been at some trouble to get particulars of the cost of gas plants and the revenue derivable trom them in various towns: He had before him the list of private gas companies and value of their shares and also the latest dividends deolared. None of these eleven private companies whose figures were obtainable paid less than 7 per cent, and some paid as high as 10 per cent and 12 per cent. It might bo' said that the places where these companies operated were not fairly to bo compured with Milton, being larger and mure populous. He would, however, tuke Fielding a place of the same size, and there the profit last year was some £936. He was satisfied from his own calculations and enquiries that the estimate of Mr Chenery Suggate, the expert engineer who had recently given them one was substantially correct, and that showed a profit of L3OO on the year's working. The fact that three different firms had offered to establish and run gas works showed that outside capital was prepared to be invested in the project, with a certuinty that a return would be secured for the investment. If outsiders were prepared to do this, and there was no romance about the thing, surely the Borough Council, could erect, maintain, and run gas works of its own to yield a profit. Surely the ratepayers gave them credit for having sufficient business ability to do that as well as any outside corporation. It would be a mistake to let the matter get into private hands, However, if the Council had not the courage to run the business, or the ratepayers would not sanction it being done, ihey should not- adopt a dog in*themanger attitude, but let others run it. He was quite satisfied if the Council did not run the works themselves it would be a mistake. From a consumer's point uf view ihey all knew what it cost to iignt with keiosene, and he was actually surprised to find in the course of his in* vestigations that gas was cheaper than kerosene, apart altogether from the trouble that kerosene was. He felt sure i hat people would be quite prepared to pay a little more for gas than kerosene, but in collecting material for a comparison he had found to his surprise that the cost of gas was less than that of lighting with kerosene. He had got local fitmß and institutions to give him the oust of their lighting with kerosene per annum, and when these institutions were compared to others oi exactly the same size whero gas was installed, gas was the cheaper light of the two, and infinately better and more convenient. He compared the cost of lighting a four and sixroomed house taking the usual lighting ri quired by kerosene, and compared it wuh a similar state of affairs in a place smaller than Milton where gas was installed, and the result was in favor of gas by a good margin. Gas was a monopoly in a town, if it did not pay there was a screw loose Somewhere, it was recognised still with all their acetylene, and all their electric lights that there was no safer investment than gas shares. He personally felt sure that the project was one which would be in the interests ol the Borough, Their own street lighting and hall cost now a year for lighting, and the light was not satisfactory. He wished the ratepayers present to give expression to their opiuions. Mr A. E. Stewart said he was sorry to be the first to disturb the harmony of the meeting. He would like to see the town of Milton progress, and be well lighted, but that light might be got at .oo great a cost: If they got the consumers, and got the gas at 10s 1000 feet the works should be profitable, but the question was would therp be a sufficient number of consumers, and was not 10s too high a price. He also had some figures, but he might say that he ihought the death knell of gas had been sounded in Milton when the Council killed the acetylene proposals, Kerosene was the cheapest illuminant, but it was dirty and awkward. He then proceeded to give figures showing that acetylene was the cheaper gas of the two, and an illustration from Dunedin, where on account of the poor quality »f ihe gas a firuf were paying 37 per cent, more thai) they formerly did, and jno tenth less overtime to use gas in. Mr Stewart also gave figures to show 'hat kerosene had cost him last year 12 10s in his private house. A voice : Good LordMr JJuthie: You rnußt have lived in the dark all the time.—(Luughter). Mr Stewart: The figures are quite oorreot. Where li cosi him j£2 10s wuh kerosene it would, oost him 16s with, gas, without taking into account the oost of connections, in bis busihesa -preuU". gag he oalottlatfliooftl. mtkwM mi&ll

uued at present. That would make his own lighting j£l6 per annum dearer, If coal gas could not bo p'-'-pHod f>r Irss than 10s they would hj..» .« sti Ku> k cosene. If the Oornymou Ha!. s *-50 a year to light up now, under coul gas it would be nearer £7O. Mr Duthie: Oh, no, it will not, Mr Stewart said bis figures were based on the price of 10* per 1000 ft of coal gas. If they left out the consumers of acetylene gas in Milton as being non-consumers of coal gas there would not be enough consumption of coal gas to make it pay, Mr Duthie said if Mr Stewart had not bad an acetylene plant fixed up there would have beon no stronger advooate of coal gas, Mr Donald Reid said the question was an old friend. The gas question had been discussed for the last 15 or 20 years. Mr Stewart was completely out in bis advocacy of acetylene. It was arrant nonsense to compare coal gas and acetylene. The light from the latter might be lovely, but the gas was limited in its uses* There was waste by leakage, and in his own building next door his. tenants complained of the cost, Mr Stewart was one oi the progressives in the Borough—one of the young business men who wanted to push things along, and ho (Mr Reid) was surprised to hear him talk as ho had done. The rate to bo levied would not be collected. It had to be struck in accordance with law and was there to protect the bondholders in the event of such a contingency as a Borough making default. While he was Mayor he had three offerers from private individuals to instal and run coal gas works for five, ten, or fifteen years with the right oi the Borough to purchase during that time: If it was likely to pay others it would pay them. 83 out of every 100 municipalites or town boards in Scotland ran their own gas works. Scotchmen were shrewd and canny, and they knew what they were doing. In Ireland 46 out of every 100 municipalities owned their own works. In England the proportion was smaller, viz., 31, the people there being quite content to let private enterprise make the money, In Milton there was nothing to prevent the Council being master of its own industries. The gas must be made at such a price that the public would take it, and at what the people were willing to pay, If you didn't want it don't take it, and there was no cost to you. The business was a perfectly legitimate one. It was not an experiment. It was not started as a tentative measure. There was nothing speculative about it. All the Council would do would be to charge consumers just- a shade over cost of production of the gas. It would be a standing disgrace to let outsiders come in and scoop tbe pool. He hoped they would all roll up at the poll and plump for more and better light and progress for Milton. Mr Duthie said acetylene gas was in theory cheaper than coal gas. In practise it was all the other way. He was sure Mr Stewart was raally sorry he ever put an acetylone plant in his premises, and he (Mr Dutbie) was sorry for Mr Stewart too. He had only to ask one or two present their experience of acptylene, and their own experience of it in the hall was not a happy one. There was no use putting the two together. Coal gas could be run profitably. Ho was perfectly satisfied about that. In fact he would undertake to run it to clear a profit out oi it,—(Applause.) Mr D. Reid moved that the Mayor and Council be authorised to take a poll of ratepayers on the question. Mr A. E. Stewart seconded tbe motion which was carried almost unanimously. Mr M'Gilp was understood to say he would vote for the gas, but there waß plenty of good coal for heating and cooking- .

Mr Parlane said there appeared to be some misapprehension in peoples' minds that non users of the gas would have to pay half the rates levied. Mr Duthie said he had made it clear that those only who used the gaß would be called on to pay for it. There was no compulsion to take the gas, and those who did not take it would not be asked to pay for it. This closed the meeting.