The Evening Star TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1874

Evening Star, Issue 3620, 29 September 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1874

It is not often that opportunity is afforded to non-professional men to obtain correct estimates of the cost of articles involving scientific processes in their manufacture. As an instance in point, notwithstanding the controversies thac have taken place on the subject in Dunedin, and the reduction made a few years ago in the price of gas, no adequate idea of its cost has been formed by the community or the Corporation. An article is devoted to this subject in ‘ The English Mechanic and World of Science,’ under date July 3, in which it is shown that there are “ good reasons why the manufacture should be taken from the hands of companies, and an inevitable monopoly worked for the benefit of the public at large.” The example has been set here by the purchase of the property of the Waterworks Company, and the next step seems to be to take over the gas supply on equally equitable terms. It appears that in London an increase in the price charged by some companies has taken place, and in consequence a proposal has been made to the Commissioner of Works to manufacture the gas required for the public offees in Westminster. It appears that the sum now paid for lighting the Houses of Parliament, the neighboring Public Offices, and the Royal Parks, amounts to about L 30,000 a year, and it is clearly shown in the proposal that a very considerable saving can be effected by manufacturing the best quality of gas at works to be constructed at a convenient locality, and supplying it to the Houses of Parliament, the Government Offices the Parks, South Kensington Museum, Buckingham Palace, the District Post-office, and sundry other places in the neighborhood

We gather from the article that in consequence of the additional price demanded by the “ Chartered Company,” Commissioners were appointed to settle the matter with them. “ There is no reason to doubt ” that, “so far as they were able to judge, they have done their duty honestly;” but “an opinion gains ground that they were not so competent to settle the points in dispute as they would have been had a man practically conversant with the manufacture of gas formed one of their body.” In this sentence lies a truth which points to the practical difficulty of dealing with such subjects by Corporations and the public. The Commissioners consented to an advance in the price of gas, because it was shown that the Chartered Gas Company estimated their deficiency for 1874 at £263,038, They therefore consented to common gas being charged 5s per 1,000 cubic feet, and canuel 6s 3d. Commenting upon these prices, the writer of the article in the magazine proceeds to state, on the authority of Eewbiggin’s ‘Gas Manager’s Handbook,’ that the average production of Wigan cannel is 10,900 cubic feet per ton, and of coal 9,980 cubic feet; and the Commissioners estimate the “ cost of producing 1,000 feet of 16-candle gas, including distribution and general expenses, at rather less than 3s 4d ; but the same Commissioners estimate the cost of another company’s gas (the Imperial), 14-candle, at 2s ll|d. It appears that, in the opinion of several, the estimates are too high. Mr Arthur Silverthorne, C.E., in a pamphlet divides the cost of gas as follows :

l=Net cost of raw material 2=Cost of working, 3=Amount required to pay interest and dividend. Mr Silverthorne does not place the cost of raw material as the chief consideration in his estimate of expenses, as he considers the value of the residual products will rise or fall according to the price of coal. Whether his views are equally applicable to England and the Colonies may perhaps be doubtful, for at Home many products are utilised that there is no market for here. The conclusion arrived at is that instead of the prices agreed to, 4s 4d per 1,000, “notwithstanding the accumulating burden of the company’s capital,” would be “ sufficient to cover I all legitimate expenses,” From the'

evidence laid before the Commissioners, they accepted the company’s estimate of the working expenses of 18-69 d per 1,000 cubic feet; but it would appear an error had been committed, and that it was placed too low. It should have been 21.44 d. This is considered to be excessive or fair, in proportion to the quality of the gas, as it costs more to produce a large yield of good than of inferior gas. The quantity sold by different companies appears to vary. The Imperial sold 8,600 ft per ton of sixteencandle gas; the South Metropolitan produced 9,760 cubic feet per ton, and actually sold 9,170 cubic feet. It is considered that the latter was a high average, as waste and leakage generally equal to 12 per cent, are calculated upon:—

Mr Silverthorne concludes bis pamphlet with statements of the cost of the gas as made from the raw material*, comparing the known figures of 1873 and those estimated for 1874, with the well-known estimate made on the experience of 1866, which was signed by the enthe five principal works in London. According to that estimate the sost of I,oooft of 12-candle gas was ll£d, obtained by adding together the cost of the coal and the fuel to carbonise it, and deducting the amount for which the residual products were sold. In 1873 the cost was 1.4 Td, and in 1874 it is estimated at 13'ld per 1,000 cubic feet,-charging 22s 4d per ton for coal. The results brought out by these comparisons are that the cost of the raw material from 1866 to 1873 had advanced which, according to the estimate, will fall to' 2£d in 1874.

What difference the cost of labor and material may make between Great Britain and Dunedin we cannot say. At any rate, there is a very wide margin between 4s 4d per thousand feet and the price to consumers in this City.