GAS CUT OFF
DURING THE NIGHT
A COAL CARGO HELD UP
AUTHORITIES ASKED TO ACT
There were important developments yesterday in connection with tho stoppage of work on the part of tho retoit hands .it tho Miramar works of tho Wellington Gtus Compcny. The company annouuceil that there were some thirty hands available. for the work, Riul they were rapidly qualifying under expert instruction. Still tho "now hands could Dot natuially compete wiftthose who had been stoking, etc., for years past, and tho output of gas was reduced considerably during the day compared with the norma 1 , output. In tniit predicament the company had to take drastic measures to curtail the dennuid upon the limited supply of gas. In oru's: , to conserve supplies for the ordinary I working-hours from S a.m. to G p.m., it was decided .by the company to cut oil all eu-pplies from G o'clock last evening until b , a.m. to-riay. Whilst this curt-ul-ment would necessarily inconvenience- a great many people, particularly these working in certain industries and those who depended solely on gas for their heating ami cooking, it v.as thought that it would bo N bettor to flit oil tlie supply (luring the-hours v-f
darkness than deprive a great many people of their means of livelihood in il.e daytime. That was the issue at stake, which explains tho company's action. Consequently nil those shops wliieh deii»'ul mi tho big globular lamps for the
lighting of their windows from under the verandah outside and those promises which deponded solely on coal gas as a lighting medium had to manage as best they could on kerosene lamps, motor lamps, luwtylene, extension, electric lights, and the homely but never-failing candle. Such pwple will have ample caiiso to remember the occasion for some time to come. Some of the Tostaiirants. on -which the itinerant people depend for sustenance of an evening, liad to close, and such places of Throat as lounges, marble bare, etc, had to considerably curtail their scales of .diet. Even m the newspaper offices the absence of gas mad J trouble. In the case of the linotype the metal used for casting the type-lines is kept molten by ,a gas jot. Other'means hut to be devised last evening to keep the metal in a fluid state in order to allow of any sotting o_i the machines. In respect to those people who depend on "as as a general thing for their cooking many have- coal-burning ranges in reserve, which will help them out. There are however, many wjio have scrapped their ranges in favour of gas stoves, who have to tako to the oil stove and spirit lamps to prepare their food, and in many cases .the cold collation has had to bo resorted to. In view of the possibility of further »asle.S3 hours, there is almost sure to be a big demand for coal to-dny. It was rumoured that the Wellington Hospital was solely dependent on gas for cooking, but an inquiry elicited the tact that the kitchen is equipped with a very largo coal-burning rangu that will meet all the demands likely to be made upon it. Gas rings arc used in the wards to warm up tho patients' food during the r.i"ht hours, which, of course, had to be dispensed with last evening, bonij s other institutions were not so fortunate and had to inalte emergency arrangement, as best they could. 'WHARVES CLOSED lIP. Since tho wharvM are partly lit by eas stoppage of the supply at night has compelled the Harbour Board, to mate special arrangements. Until further notice the general public wi 1 be excluded between 6 p.m. and daylight, from the wharves from Taranaki Street to a point south of tho suburban terry wharf, M t not including that wharf. Tho Public will bo admitted as usual to tho suburban ferry wharf, the LytteUon ferry wharf, tho .ICing's wharf, and the G *>- row wharf, all of which are lit by electric light. ■ Exclusion of the piblic from the wharves which are dependent upon gas- lighting is, of course, chiefly a precaution against accident.
THE MEN'S DEMANDS IN DETAIL. The following are the full details of the men's demands as submitted to tho Gas Company a fortnight ago-.—; Stokers. ' Wages—To bo paid for at tho rate of Ins leading stokers, and ordinary stokers Us 6cl. per shift of eight hours. Work.—To 'be four doubles or under; anything over that amount to bo termed "extra." Extras.—To be paid for at trie rate ot 2s each; five retorts in old house or nine retorts in new house to be termed ono extra. . Breakdowns.—To be paid for at tho rate of time and a half for any breakdown which causes retorts to be dropped on floor, or breakdown of hydraulic when doors have to be lifted by hand; also one extra man to be supplied as usual on each shift. ' . Clog-money.—To be increased from 3d. per shift per man. Holidays.—To be twelve days on full pay for twelve months' stoking; over the above, all statutory holidays, which are to be paid for at tho rate of double time. Fan.—Fan blower to Iμ completed as soon us possible.
Pipe-jumpers' and Pitch-pans. Pipe-jumpers.—Leading hand to be paid 15s. and other hands to be paid Us. Gd. per shift of eight hours. ' Pilch-pans.—To be paid at the rate ot Us. Gd. per shift of eight hours per man. Sunday Work.—All Sunday work to bo paid for at the rate of double time for all time worked. 4 Breakdowns.—Td be paid for at the rate of time ami a half when stokers are required to drop retorts on floor. Holidays—To be paid at tho same rate as stokers. Firo Cleaners. I In the event of us coming to a'satisfactory working arrangement and continuing in the company's employ; we ask that the following suggestions bo given effect to:-(l) Skylight over fires working to be made watertight. (2) To be relieved of the care of lunmqnia plant, as very often a man is detained getting it in working order at the expense of his fires, hence the charge of deliberately introducing the go-slow policy. (3) As the wages received at present, including bonus, amount to 3d. less than the ordinary stoker's rate, we. ask to be granted the same in proportion as that granted to ordinary stokers. (+) Holidays to bo at the same rate as stokers. . The men in submitting the above claims stated that the terms were the lowest they could see their way to accept. KITTAWA'S COAL UNTOUCHED VESSEL IDLE AT MIRAMAR, At noon yesterday the Union S.S. Company's collier Kittawa, with a load c-f Westport coal for the Wellington Gas Company, went alongside the MiraJiiar wharf to discharge. Some forty men were engaged to. shift the steamer's coal, but wlien all was made Teady only four men turned up. Under the circumstances no work could bo done during tho day, nnd in order to insure full information us to persons visiting the colliers, tho Mirainar wharf was picketed by those" interested in preventing tli.o discharge of con!. U mny be that menus will be tnken to discharge tha Kittawa s ooal todny. _ . , . Tii the meantime oßmal innmnes are being made, and it would not be surprisini ivero early action of a definite nature taken. NO NIGHT GAS PROBABLY FOR '" r E P>ESl\ OF THE • WEEK. In reply to an inquiry made last evening, it was stated that the gas i would probablv bo cut off from G p.m. until S a.m. for the whole of the, present week. ' Several new hands havn been taken nu. but it will take them until the end of the week to get "fit" for the work, which is new to them. It will be of interest to 'the public to Jean; that the Gas Company iias never aimed at storing gas to last for any time. That is to say, the gasometers at Mirawar aud in Tory Street are
simply mediums into which Hie gus is forced in order that the weight of the lioidor will give the pressure that is ■ desired to force (he gu.s through the mains at a business-liko rate. The consumption of gas in 'Wellington per day amounts to 1,300,000 feet (which uses up 130 tons of coal per day), but the big , holder at Miraniar only hoids 1,500,000 feet (a little more than ono day's supply), and the one in Tnrannki Street 250,000. feet, so that there is practically no gas' held in store from day to day. SPIRIT LAMPS IN DEMAND. As the result of the stoppage of gas last night resort was made fn many instances to oil and spirit stoves, and it goes without saying that there will bo a lively demand for such stoves m Wellington for the next day or two.
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Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3132, 10 July 1917, Page 6
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1,470GAS CUT OFF Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3132, 10 July 1917, Page 6
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