South Canterbury Times. FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1889.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 4980, 12 April 1889, Page 2

South Canterbury Times. FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1889.

New Zealand is still a great missionary field, but the missionaries do not come to us with “ the old old story,” but with all sorts of stories. We have had the man whose mission was to teach our farmers how badly they madebutter and cheese; some whose mission was to see if the land was fat enough to please some of their farmer friends at Home; lately we had the peace-at-any price man; before him Mrs Gordon Baillie, the Ishmaelitess; and so on through a long string if we could but remember them all. The latest man with a mission was recently in Auckland and he announced that he was going to “ do ” the colony, “ to advance the cause of Imperial Federation.” His mission is two-fold, and the folds match in a very curious way. He is come to find out what the colonists think of Imperial Federation, and to tell them what to think of it; but we are not clearly informed which he proposes to do first. He will surely find it necessary to play the instructor first, and when he plays the examiner he may find very crooked answers given to his queries. As a general thing the colonists do not think anything about Imperial Federation,and they are not likely to think much about it after hearing Mr Parkins, of Canada. He has no scheme to lay before us ; says his mission is not to propound schemes. Bis mission is “ to arouse public interest in the question,” and,it is to be supposed, public interest will evolve a scheme. Really he is coming to try to frighten us into Federation by preaching that we must either Federate or Separate, Why can’t we rub along as we arc P

We publish to-day an interesting article on “ Water Gas,” a new process of making which recently excited so much interest at Home that the news agents J caught the infection and cabled out the I nows that gas tad been made at Leeds |

Forge at 4d (or was it 7d P) per 1000 feet. Water gas is not exactly a new thing. It was made in laboratory experiments many years ago. As a commercial article it was being supplied to general consumers in New York, if not also in other American towns, months before the Leeds Forge Company’s engineer perfected his apparatus. He appears to have bit upon certain improvements which gives his system an advantage over others. It is claimed that water gas is to be a powerful competitor with electricity and ordinary gas in furnishing the light of the future, both on account of the superiority of the light and its cheapness. Compared with ordinary gas it is not perfectly clear where the extraordinary cheapness comes in. A ton of fuel is stated to yield 30,000 to 36,000 feet of water gas. A ton of good gas coal will yield one-third as much, and when the extra appliances—some of them costly are taken into account it is not easy to see how water gas can be made for 4d a 1000 as is stated. Fuel is quoted at 8s per ton. This at 30,000 feet per ton gives a cost of 3|d per 1000. The value of the “producer gas ” is not given ; of course that may have been reckoned to reduce tbe cost of tbe superior gas. On the face of it, tbe present system of tbe gas making is a clumsy one, there is so much of the coal used that does not become gas at all, tons of]coke and tar are left over. For beating purposes where an intense temperature is required, the water gas is evidently an important invention. With a blast of compressed oxygen — these are now in tbe market at Home — one could melt a hole through tbe side of the Orlando. The Forge Company wanted a heating gas. They have got it. The world wants a superior illumination gas people will not be bothered with magnesian “ combs,” — the world will probably get it by a second treatment of water gas, as by passing it through some carburetting .substance which will give it an illuminating power as superior to that of common gas as is its heating power.