THE GAS CONTROVERSY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 584, 12 August 1909, Page 6

THE GAS CONTROVERSY.

FURTHER LICHT ON THE SUBJECT. MORE CORRESPONDENCE. The recent correspondence which has passed between the Gas Company and ; the City Council in reference to the matter of !tho right of the company 1 to lay mains from Constable Street to Miramar throws further light on the negotiations, which have been going on between tho parties for some time past. In a • letter forwarded to the town clerk, under date August 4, Mr. W. Ferguson, managing director for the Gas Company, says:—"l am in receipt of yourß of July 29, purporting to be a reply to my letter of the 27th idem, and stating that the: Gas Committee is prepared to resume negotiations when it receives a letter inquiring upon what terms the council is willing to grant a concession to be asked for by the company, and .also stating that the members of the Gas Committee understood at the laßt meeting, on July 23, that such a letter of application was. .to be sent in by the company. : I regret that there should have been' any misunderstanding in'the matter. I"loft the meeting under, the apprehension that I had been promised by the Mayor, in the presence of the committee, a reply to. my letters of July 21 and 22, also that tho city solicitor, was to consult with the solicitor to the company, with a view to convinoe bim that (based upon a Christehurch decision as to a hawker's licenso) a license from the Corporation could be drawn up,, so as to pro-vide-for the . laying of the connecting main between' Wellington and Miramar, in a Wanner that would' give to the company what it requires and boTnnding on t.hc corporation. I certainly understood that such- form of licenso was to. be submitted by you to tho company for its consideration." After dealing at length with various details of the negotiations, the letter continues "The directors are still waiting the receipt from the council, either directly or through its solicitors, of a draft of .the recentl»suggcstcd license, so that the council's proposal may be considered by the company's advisers, and so that they can be assured that the expedient designed' by the City Solicitor is one • that, if adopted, will protect the company as fully as it would be protected by the consent'of' the Governor; under - tho Gas Supply Act." The.. letter ata> points out that the company has never disputed, the ownership of the streets of tho city. "On the contrary, it had striven to meet the committee's views and had not only, asked the Government to ;add to the proposed Order provisoes—(l).that :the consent of the Govemor-in-Council is given subject to the pipe-main being laid under the same control -and restriction by jtho corporation as, are all the other mains •laid by the company, and (2), that the laying of: tho main shall not give any additional 'rights roticulation within the Melrosa area without the corporation's consent^—but has also, with a view to meeting the council, offered a very liberal sum to cover its costs of supervision during the time of pipe-laying, and a small sum thereafter:to cover any subsequent supervision in respect thereto. Tho Council's Position. In the course of a lengthy reply sent to the company yesterday, the town clerk fully traverses' the negotiations between the parties, and answers various arguments raised by :the: company. In reference to the statement that the oompany had never disputed the city's ownership of the streets of the city, tho letter points out that this admission acknowledges the very principle the council is contending for. ■ If the city's ownership of tho streets is admitted, the 'argument of :the town clerk is that it must logically follow thati' the rights of ownership embrace the _ right of negotiation 'for use. ' In conclusion, the letter runs: "I am directed to 'state, most emphatically, that whatever may be the final decision of the Courts (by which, of' course, they must abide) the council will not of its own initiative grant the use of any thoroughfare or area outside the area already granted to the company by Act of Parliament some forty years ago, without some adequate quid pro quo from tho company for %uch valuable concession, which concession, it is obvious, will enable the • company to almost indefinitely extend its enterprise, treble its < business, reduce its. expenses, effect an appreciation of its: share capital (and this without. any proposal by tho company of a reduction in the cost of gas to the consumer)- thereby immensely adding to the value of an undertaking which must sooner or later'become public property. In. taking this stand, the council is doing so (without any hostility tQ the company as such) solely in tho. mterests of: local government generally j and for the preservation of x municipal control; thus avoiding a precedent which would very seriously: hamper future purchasing negotiations, and eventually prejudicially affect every borough in the Dominion.".!