MUNICIPAL COUNCIL.

Southland Times, Issue 1690, 17 January 1873, Page 2

MUNICIPAL COUNCIL.

RECEIPTS.

The Municipal Council held its usual weekly meeting last night. The Mayor and all the Councillors .were present. A letter was read from the Provincial Under Secretary, offering on behalf of the Government to survey 18datutn points for reference in ascertaining the position of sections in the town, on condition of the Corporation supplying the necessary stones for permaneut marks, and the labor for fixing the same. It waa resolved to accept the offer. The following report from Mr E. Q-enever, Consulting (ras Engineer, relative to the establishment of gasworks in Invercargill, was read, but tha Council, having been occupied up to li p.m. in the transaction of routiae business, did not proceed to its consideration : — Gas Works, Dunedtn, 27fch Dec, 1872. To His Worship the Major and City Council of Invercargill. Bra ahd Gbntiembn, — I have the honor to report as follows :— ■ I hare attended to your. request that I should visit Invercargill, for the purpose of ascertaining sufficient facts and figures to enable me, on my return to Dunedin, to give you a report as to th© probable cost and the beat means of erecting gat works, suitable for the public and private lighting of your town. In company with His Worship the Mayor, and your engineer, Mr Dawson, I examined several sites which are at the disposal of the Council, or whioh could be obtained for a nominal sum. In the choosing of a site for gas works, there are many points to consider. In the first place, it is well to be as central as possible, in order that * the trunk mains may ramify in the required directions from the works ; which arrangement is better than that of having only one long leading main from the works to the town, whertby a great deal more pressure is required, in order to over* come the friction caused by tha flow of gas through the long main. - Secondly. — It is well to bf> on tha same level as the lowest point of supply, or, at all events; within 3 or 4 feet of that point. Gas naturally has a tende'ney to rise, and consequently very little pressure is needed to send it fo any moderate elevation ; while on the other hand, considerable extra pressure is requisite to supply points 10 or more feet below the level of the gasholder curb, and I need scarcely tell you that extra pressuremeans extra leakage. . . Thirdly.— ln the construction of gas works, the great item of expense is tke excavation and

building of the gasholder tank, and it is necessary to avoid, if possible, »andy or gravelly strata; the preference is given in favor of strong clay, aa beinp readily- excavated, easily kept up, and not requiring much puddle. Fourthly. — The distance of the site from railway or water communioaiion. If on the rails, a siding can be laid on and the coals delivered out of the waggons into your stores. If on the water, side, and coals are water borne, the same facility exists. But if such a 6ite is not to be obtained, then the; item on the balance sheet, of coal cartage, if a very heavy one, even in small works. .•Fifthly.-r-Proximity to dwelling houses. In. many towns, the majority of people are preju dicedT, against gas works on the ground that a Terr disagreeable smell •ometimea emanates from the premises ; but I can assure you that the only sirell which is likely to be found outside the works i* that of the spent lime, and we halve the highest medical authority in England — v«., Dr Leth'ieby— to prove that the vapor so sent off is P' ore of tbe most powerful disinfectants known,— butrHowever, with a moderate amount of care in changfDg the purifying material, no smell can be found outside tbe premiss*. . Hating taken aH the foregoißg points into consideration, I come to the conclusion that the J beet site is at the junction of Gala and Dee streets, on the Town Belt. Another site looked at was one pointed out by Mr Lumsden, and aituated in Block 43, on the opposite side of Puni Creek, and adjoining the proposed Mataura line. Looked at on the plan, there appeared no fault whatever to be found with it ; but on visiting the apot grave •bjections arise,.th« principal one being the variation of the levels in so short a distance, to that tbe laying of a trunk main from the works would entail a heavy expenditure of money, »nd eventually— should anything happen to the main, such aa sinking, breakage, or leakage— again a heavy outlay to lay it bar* for repairs. The difference between the two sites in cost of construction n hht not be great, providing that the roadway was formed j but even then I have doubts as to its suitability, on account of the Tery low levd and chance of flooding out during •teetion. Amongst the sites pointed out by His Worship the Mayor, one is situated in Block 6, Annan •tree^alongside the railway, and above the cutt ing. Tbe only lerious objection to the site is, that it would necessitate the laying of some 33 chains of what is termed dead main, i.e., main without » consumer on it, and as the price of iron has advanced some 90 per cent, on prices quoted six months ago, »uch a length of leading main (and it must be th» largest main laid) would add very considerably to the cost of your works. No. 3 site, beyond the railway, and between the Station and the Gaol, is also out of th« question, on account of its low level, liability to flood, and very bad ground for excavation. No. 4 site, at the back of the Hospital, on the Reserve ; but there again, although the situation is good, the foundation is very bad indeed. The sth site has similar objections. The «th, and by far the best, is, as I have already stated, at the junction of Gala and Dee «treet«, on the Town Btlt. Directly the trunk main leaves the yard a consumer appears, or four private houses being exactly opposite to the works. Advancing along Dee street, consumers or probable consumers are dotted here and there until the busy centre blooks are reached, where they may be counted by the score. Although not alongside the railway, a short siding can connect, and as the prevailing winds blow from the s town to the works, there is little danger of them being indicted as a nuisance. Again, I am informed by Mr Dawson that as great a thickness 'of clay exists there as in any other part of the town-, and should the works be erected on this spot, a good finish will be mode to the finest street in the town, the Hospital being on one ride and your works opposite, — the entrance gates, foreman's house, retort bouse, gas holder, &c, forming a fine block, and the lamps on the premises a good terminus to lire of lamps in the street. So that Everything being considered, the last named site is by far the best, aad therefore the estimate I give you assumes the leading main to start from Gala street. j Mr Dawcon and I proceeded towards the town frcm the Gala street site, counting the number of probable consumers, and in Dee street, Esk street, nnd two blocks of lay street, we found that at least 70 very likely consumers occurred, so I get at the annual consumption, in the following manner*-. — . 70 consumers, average 3 lights each = 210 lights. 210 lights x by 4 cub. ft., thequantity each light will burn = 840 cub. ft. per hr. 840 ft. x 4 brs., aver, duration of burning each night = 3360 cub. ft. per night. 3360 cub. ft. x 365 days in year = 1,226,400 cub. feet per annum, private consumption ... ... 1,226,400 20 lamps x 4 cub. ft. = 30 ft. per hr. 1 80 ft. x 6 hours, aver, burning each night = 480 ft. 480 ft. x 300 nights =144,000 say * 150,000 per annum 150,000 Total consumption 1,376,400 But as of necessity a certain portion of gas is lost in leakage, Ac., -I will put on a large margin, say 15 per ceU. = 203,400 Total gas to be made = 1,584,800 Bay, 1,600,000 oubic feet. To produce the above quantity of gas, 266 tons of coal must be used, together with lime, labor, 4c, and I give you a revenue account balance sheet, showing one year's working on the average which I har» given you. As I suggested to the Council, it would be advisable to canvass the town and ascertain for certain the number of persons who would be willing to take. gas at 16* per 1000, and the average number of lights, &o. Then of course you can, knowing what figures my calculations are based upon, make jour own deductions or additions with perfect , accuracy. Now with reference to cost of construction. The whole of the plant directly imported to your harbor from the best makers in England, and according to all latest improvements in gas manufacture, consisting of retort purifiers, scrubbers, condensers, station meter, gasholder, governor, photometer, &c, and all the necessary buildings, viz., retort house, coal stores, purifying . house, lime store, meter house, chimney shaft, gasholder tank, tar well and dips, smithy stores, and all excavation and retort setting, 100 chains mains and mainlaying, 70 services, 20 public lamps, 70 consumers' meters and connections, will cost £3858, and tke balance sheet showing a profit of £293 on year's working, then you have 7i per cent, on £4000, and carry £3 Is* 6d to next account. For the above suns you will have one of the best and most complete gas works in New Zealand. I may here state that I never yet knew any gas works, however small, which when properly constructed and properly managed, did not pay a good dividend ; and in your case, with 70 consumers to start with, and every possibility of the town increasing rapidly, I am sure you. will have no cause to regret the erection of Gorporation - gas works. If, aiter reading this report, you should feel disposed to go on with the matter, I shall be very happy to prepare plans and specifications for you, and render every assistance, * in order that your worlds may be a credit to me ■c. and a successful investment on the part of the Council. . In conclusion, I beg to acknowledge the courtesy and kindness of His Worship the Mayor (W. Wood, Esq.), the Town Clerk (W. Scaindrett, Esq.), your Engineer (W. paweon, .■y jisq.), and Councillor Lumsden, who assisted me v^in-everj way that lay in their power, by giving ' infflCmatioa and accompanying me to various parti of th« town.— l am, &c., E. Gesbtkb, ' Engineer to H. A. Hanker, Esq., Duuedin Gas Works.

P.B.— ln the above Vflc* the re»i lent manager* Jioom and bbundar j fence are uot included, as 1

have left them for your selection. The material will of course be wood, and therefore not very costly.

Trade Account for Year ending

By sale of 1,226.000 cubic feet eras at 15s per thousand £919 0 0 By meter rent, at Is per meter per month .., 42 0 0 By residuals 35 0 0 £996 0 0 DISBtTBSSMTOTS. To Coal £399 0 0 „ Lime 25 0 0 „ Wages, 4c 175 0 0 „ Collection, at 2k per cent. ... 22 19 6 „ Discount and allowance... ... 45 19 0 1 „ General expense* ... ... 35 0 0 ■ £702 18 6 Balance available 293 1 6 £996 0 0