The Hokitika Guardian THURSDAY, MAY 25th, 1922. HOKITIKA GAS COMPANY.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 May 1922, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian THURSDAY, MAY 25th, 1922. HOKITIKA GAS COMPANY.

Tub above Omj+xuy is ‘ tie of the oldest establishes! institutions in the town. Next year will see it celebrate its jubilee. It has been ;■ useful selvant to the public th sough the h«!i-e<ntu:.v, and «t seems to he growing more useful n“ the time goes cm. For long yours it was practically indispensihle to the community as the light-giving factor in legat’d to general illumination. Hinny the intlecluetion of electricity it hrs h u a rival, hut < videntlv there is a field for both, for each has its uses in the general welfare ot the town. Tile Gas Company still maintains many advantages which are indispensihle, and exp'eiienee is show.ng that it can still he of great service to the community. The Company so much identifier! with the town, has shared in the measure of local prosperity all through the years. At the outset in the first years of the Company it had sale for about four million feet of gas ininir lly. By 1879 the (Onsiimptioll had risen to six million. Thou i ante a i o i d of slump in the district reflected in the operations of the company, for from 1879 to 1895, there was a steady decrease, and the low water mark was reached in 1902 when the annual make of gas had dropped to two million feet. From then on tin- pendulum began to swing the other way, and the make of gas increased slowly but steadily, until it now stands laetween seven or eight million feet, or double the , make which warranted the starting of the Company nearly fifty years ago. That achievement is worth recording, and shows what useful purpose tile Company continues to serve. The Company has just closed one of its financial periods, and the figures are. very satisfactory. Despite the fact that there lm; le

considerable outlay on the works in repap,'tirs and renewals, attention which has put practically a £IOOO of value into the plant and property of the Company, the directors at the annual meeting called for nex twee 1 ; will he able to announce a devidend to the shareholders. The Company during the next two months will have t’e overhaul of the works, practically completed. When finished everything will be in very satisfactory order, and tho shareholders will find the works more reproductive*. The management, it would appear, has been conducted on economical lines. Various economies have been introduced by the Manager, who is an experienced officer, and. 1 iu> work has saved the Company a good deal while his adviie on all matters pertaining to the welfare of the works has been very sound. The Company is finding much demand of late for heating and cooking purposes, and tho staff has Ix’en kept fully employed in dealing with fresh outlets for consumption. This is further evidence of the continued utility of the local works which all through the years have never failed to perform the service which was undertaken. So fine a record reflects t (5 the credit of all who have been associated with the management of the Company in the past as well as the present. The Company sii|plios a high quality of gas for heating purposes —as high as any in the Dominion—and that fact no doubt accounts for the popularity with housewives in particular who are adapting gas now for so many domestic purposes. It would lie fitting if the jubilee of file company were celebrated in some marked public manner.