HUTT VALLEY GAS

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 104, 4 May 1935, Page 10

HUTT VALLEY GAS

"MORE MISSTATEMENTS:

REPLY TO MR. CAMPBELL

A further reply to the statements made by Mr. D. W. Campbell, a member of the Petone, and Lower Hutt Ge(s Lighting Board, was made today by the chairman of Ihe board (Mr. W. G. Lodder).

Mr. Lodder said that he made the statement that was published on Thursday on his own responsibility as chairman, and with the concurrence of members, to refute the misstatements made by Mr. Campbell who, said the chairman, was still continuing his misstatements. .

Mr. Lodder said that what Mr. Campbell calls "the second hand water-gas plant worth £2800" was not second hand at all, but was imported direct through E. Rabbidge and Co., Ltd., Wellington, from Humphreys,Glasgow. The reason lor purchasing the water-gas, plant at the time was the Australian coal strike. Because of the increased demand for gas owing to the Hutt Valley development scheme, the works could not supply the demand by using New Zealand coal, and to keep the works going the Government during the strike made available to the board a certain amount of their reserved Australian coal. To supplement the supply the water-gas plant was imported as stated above, and worked for seven months while the new retort house was being built. ' " :

— In reply to Mr.. Campbell's remarks about the new retort house, E. Rabbidge and Co. built the' new retort house according to plans and specifications, but the ends were left open so that further additions could be made if necessary

The mains taken up from Belmont (57 chains) were on account of the increased consumption of gas in the Belmont district and were replaced by larger ones. The 3-inch mains had since been cleaned,' and no sign of chemical action', of .any description could be seen in them. Thirty chains of the pipes were at the works ■ cleaned ' and .ready • for : re-laying when• required, and v could be seen by .any. person capable of .judging their condition.

With' reference' to the water-gas plant, Mr. Campbell said' that the chairman asked the electors to spend several hundred pounds on. the same water-gas, plant. No such request was ever made by the chairman, said Mr. Lodder. What was proposed in connection, with the chamber oven plant that was put before the electors was that a Lowe's . automatic water-gas plant was to be installed. The whole of this was included in the £16,000 loan.

The "second-hand purifiers" mentioned by Mr. Campbell were solid cast iron, with the exception of the covers, which were of steeL These purifiers were bought without any covers from the Dunedin City Council, and the covers were fitted on arrival here. These steel covers only last a limited time, and were now being renewed in the usual course of events. The secondhand' meter referred to by Mr. Campbell was bought from the Dunedin Gas Concern and was of cast iron, with the exception of the. drum. A new drum was fitted to the meter before being shipped from Dunedin. The recent overhaul of the governor was needed because the bearings had worn down slightly and had to be relined.

The "second-hand booster" that Mr. Campbell referred to was purchased through E. Rabbidge and Co., Wellington, from Bryan Donkin and Co., Ltd., Glasgow, and was brand new. As for the coal cartage "contract, the "reputable firm"- that Mr. Campbell mentioned never put in a tender when tenders were called. The Government contract for the cartage of coal expired on March 31,1935, said Mr. Lodder, and the new contractor started on April 1, so he failed to see how the board carried on for several months, as stated by Mr. Campbell, at the higher rate.

"The board," concluded Mr. Lodder, "is fully aware that the plant is out of date, but it will compare more than favourably with any other wprks of a similar type in New Zealand, and to prove this the board's supply is the seventh cheapest selling gas in the Dominion, including the four main centres, If it had not been for Mr. Campbell and his friends the board'would by this time have been well under way with the most up-to-date plant available at a total cost of £16,000, using all New Zealand coal, and giving 23,000 feet of gas per ton, as against the 19,000 feet of any other known type in New Zealand using 75 per cent Australian coaL You can see from the above facts that Mr. Campbell's statements are totally unreliable, and it is to be hoped that the ratepayers will not be misled by them."