LIGHT IN DARKNESS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 463, 23 March 1909, Page 7

LIGHT IN DARKNESS.

WELLINGTON CAS. COMPLAINTS AS TO QUALITY. THE COMPANY IN 11EPLY. ( "A dimness which gives everybody the i bines" this is Wellington gas, as described i b.v a correspondent, who signs -himself ■ "More Light," Ho says the gas is an : abomination .. . . this in spite of complaints galore . . . going oil for weeks and months . . no decent light until about 10 p.m., when most peoplo are off to bed . . . for a night or two this week tho light improved, but now it is again the snmo old Egyptian dimness suffered for a long time. And bo' oil. "More Light" is not alone'in his discomfort, to judge from some recent criticisms on tho quality of the illuminant supplied by the Gas Company, and with a view of ascertaining tho cause of the "dim religious light" which, according to our correspondent, has "debarred mother from sewing, and made reading or writing a severe strain on the eve," our representative interviewed Mr. William Ferguson, general manager of tho company, yesterday, and submitted, for elucidation, the main points of dissatisfaction. Mr. Fergusson admitted that, in certain localities, tho.gas'had not been all that might have been desired. Recently, thero had been numerous complaints from Kiibirnie, and at present' the company's staff of workmen wero employed night and day in an endeavour to trace the source of some trouble which ivas causing annoyance to the consumers at Island Bay and Berhampore. The cross which gas suppliers throughout the civilised world have to bear is naphthalene, an essential of coal-gas. If, from any cause, an excess of naphthalene is present in tho gas, tho surplus is precipitated in the form of crystals, in the interior of the pipes, and this precipitate, once begun, develops so rapidly that a pipe has been known to have been blocked up in tho course of a single night. Much depends on the nature of the coal employed m the manufacture of the. gas, as some coals generate moro naphthalene than others, tho gas produced having moro_ heating properties, and therefore of superior value as a cooking medium. "The gas we supply is too rich," said Mr. Ferguson, with a smile. . He wont on to say that the troublo in the Kilbirnie mains was duo to tho presence of naphthalene in the pipes. The seat of the trouble was exceedingly difficult to locate, and in somecasoa two or three miles of pipe-mains had to be opened up in the process, which was necessarily a somewhat protracted one. The block might bo in one prpo only, and war, easily remedied when discovered. The difficulty was to discover which pipe; was blocked. In tho case of the Island Bay blockj the repairing gang expected to locate tho trouble last night; residents of Island Bay and Berha-m----pore may now take heart of grace. . Naphthalene, continued Mr. Ferguson, had peculiar propensities. It had been known to afflict a consumer and block his pipes time after time, while his neighbours escaped. Then it would suddenly leave him, p-nd visit his neighbours. It was not to be imagined that .naphthalene was responsible for all the troubles which afflicted th<t consumer. Wellinton, from its configuration, was a difficult city to administer, and especially was this so in tho higher levels, where itlm meters had to_ be specially_ "packed." Countless complaints, when investigated, had been traced to bad installations and cheap pioes— false economy on the part of consumers," who' employed aai outsider to do a chean' job. ■ Again, some, people grumbled alwut their gas, talked about it, wrote about it, hut never troubled their heads to acquaint the company with their trials. "Naturally," said Mr. Ferguson, "if-any-thing goes wrontj we like to hear of it. for it is not the policy of the company to have such complaints gning about-. Let, 'them notify us, and we will find out what is wronc, and rectify it." /