THE INVERCARGILL GASWORKS.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 6, Issue 337, 7 March 1884, Page 3

THE INVERCARGILL GASWORKS.

- ' Incipient Dynamiters at Work. Quite: a sensation will be caused in Invercargill when it becomes known how narrow was the escape of its citizens * !V .' from a serious disaster the other day. It : • seems that until recently the gasworks of ' the town were over-manned, and tJtiat the employes were anything but a happy family, so that the Corporation discharged one purely because bis services could be dispensed with without reducing the efficiency, of the. staff, and another partly for " " the sama reason and principally because lie had brought certain charges against the engineer which, though substantially correct, implied more than came out iv '■ evidence.. Our reason for mentioning these facts will be apparent by-and-bye. One of the present employes left the purifier house on Saturday night, and ! • on retuniing on Monday morning to recharge ? > it he found from traces of material and other things that someone had been there during his absence. On careful investigation he found that the main pipe leading into the purifier had teen closely packed and stopped with claj. and other . materials. In addition J:i - r fo- tni&, an'otKer" pipe of importance to thatrpart of the gasworks had been closely packed' with cotton waste. If this had notbeen discoveredbef ore the purifier was recharged,: the consequences would have Veen, serious. i At the very least the gas- •■''?'-' Works' ' would nave been thrown out of . ■1! a oirder fttr a period, ! and for aught we know ;jthere might have been a very serious explosion, .resulting not only in the partial destruction of the works, but in loss of ;*., life,,,, The matter is now in the jhands of '■^'tlie'lnVercarfiill police, and it is to be "hoped the culprits will be discovered. At present there is no clue pointing susEr|!vroeipn'tpra»y particular person ; but from ll^^le^posiliGn.p'f the. pipes and the effect ofvthem wopld nave upon the ¥£ wdrks*the:act /vra's evidently that of some { -»^ ■ on? ; wiili W%brQugli; c Biowle.dge of some ''Looked at" in ; _ the" light 1 ' , at .the works, we to the prethe* works] were diaor- • 'y&£} *^'"^o^§s uncalled for." . "