The Southland Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 1873.

Southland Times, Issue 1716, 18 March 1873, Page 2

The Southland Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 1873.

Some time ago an offer was mad« to aup ply the town of Inrercargill with gas, and an application was made to the Corporation for permission to lay the necessary mains. This permission the Corporation saw fit to refuse. No reason was assigned for the refusal, but people were content to believe that although the terms offered did not at the time Beem unreasonable, the Council, looking to the future, and the practical monopoly of gas supply which is always acquired by the firm or company fortunate enoutjk to be first on the ground, did not feel inclined to commit the town to a bargain which after a time might turn out less advantageous to the public than it appeared to be at first. This caution, we believe, was generally approved of by the community, and neither surprise nor disapprobation was expressed when a second offer of a similar kind was rejected a few months later. The almost invariably profitable character ofgatworki, and the fact that, for many reasons, the conduct of such works may be undertaken by public bodies, such as municipalities, with aAvaritage to the community, and without stepping beyond the circle of their proper duties, led many to suppose that the Corporation contemplated taking tbe gas supply of the town into its own hands. The experience of other corporations, both at home and in the colonies, has shown that this particular department of the public service may be undertaken, not only with convenience, but with very considerable profit, by the citizens them, selves in their corporate capacity. The corporation of Manchester, fpr instance, is able to expend some £40,000 per an num, derived from the profits of the municipal gasworks, in improvements in the town. To this course of proceeding, therefore, should the Municipal Council be inclined to adopt it, there is certainly no prima facie objection. The report of Mr Genet c, furnished at the request of the Council, showed a fair working profit, based on a calculation of coi. sumption which those best acquainted with the town believe would be largely exceeded, i even from tbe very first, and which will most certainly be very largely exceeded in a year or two after the works are opened. The Council heard the report read, almost without remark, and deferred tbe practical consideration of it to some future time. The public is now inclined to ask when that time is likely to arrive, and whit the Council means to do. Two offers to do the work have been refused, a report and estimate of the cost have been procured, and then, when everybody is on the tip toe of expectation, coineß a pause of moat unreasonable length. The citizens have a right to know, without further delay, whether the Corporation are going to proceed with this work, so much nee Jed, or whether they are willing to allow a properly organised company to undertake it, on terms generally fair and advantageous to the community. Tbat such a company could readily be organised, in tbe present gtate of the money market, we have no doubt ; and that the town might be lighted with gas for less money than is now spent in kerosene, leaving a good profit to the I shareholders, is equally certain. The inaction of the Corporation oa this question has very much the appearance of a dog-in-the-manger policy. It may, however, ari^e from carelessness, or perhaps from over-caution and timidity, and a natural unwillingness to enter upon an undertaking regarding which probably few of the members have much practical information. Or it may be that there is a desire on the part of the Councillors to wait until the tenders for the loan of £3500, which are to be sent in by the 26th inst., have been opened and found satisfactory. We confess that we caanot see what is to be gained by delay. If the Council is prepared to undertake the work, the requisite funds will be easily obtained, at a reasonable rate of interest; and with the moat ordinary care in the management, the operations, besides their direct benefit, should prove a source of pecuniary profit to the town. If, on tie other hand, it is to be left to private enterprise to satisfy this much-felt want, no time should be lost in calling for tenders, both in Dunedin and Melbourne, from parties willing to enter on the undertaking In any case the conSmunity is entitled to distinct information on the matter, and should the question be left longer iv abeyance, it will be for the citizens themselves to hold a meeting with the view of giving expression to the strong public feeling which exists on the subject, and, if possible, to bring the matter to some practical conclusion.