Te Aroha Ohinemuri News SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 1898. THE NEW BOROUGH AND THE GAS QUESTION.

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 8, 30 April 1898, Page 2

Te Aroha Ohinemuri News SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 1898. THE NEW BOROUGH AND THE GAS QUESTION.

As one of the Commissioners \n the Te Aroha Town, Board remarked to us yesterday, “ Whenever any mem ber of that Board suggests the introduction of an improvement a dozen people come forward to pelt him with objections.’’ When, for instance, the subject.of lighting the town with gas was broached the whole township; eagerly embraced the proposal. ‘Now, however,’ our friend the Commissioner continue!, ‘ you,come to me at the eleventh hour with a host of arguments against it. What do you mean by it ?’ We can metaphorically lay our hand upon our heart and.say we meant nothing derogatory to the Board in putting the questions we did j in short, that we were actuated purely by a desire' to serve the best interests of a community which before the nest issue of this journal is published Wilt be qualified to assume the title, dignities, and of a New Zealand Borough. In Thursday’s paper we referred to an, interesting conversation we had with Mr A. H. Atkinson, of the gasworks, Hamilton. That gentleman completely disabused our minds on the subject of his company seeking a hide-bound monopoly as a preliminary to supplying Te Aroha with gas. As the same time, and subsequently, wheu thinking over Mr Atkinson’s proposals, doubts as to the wisdom of such precipitancy, as has marked the course of events in connection with this question would persist in intruding upon us, At the very outset we may say we should prefer to see the gas-works tho property of the Borough rather than that of an individual. The whole trend of municipal policy in England and Scot-, laud is to secure the control of such privileges ini the hands of the people’s civic representatives. The danger of allowing these privileges to lapse into the hands of individuals in growing communities has been too signally illustrated in the States for any Australian colony heedlessly to fall into a similar error. There is no danger of thac happening in our case, the Commissioner insisted, as Mr Atkinson offers an, option of purchase at a future date on most reasonable terms. This should be sufficient to allay our fears, but, as one result of our recent enquiries we have the cases of Palmer-, ston North and Wanganui to disturb our complaisance. The history of both of these Boroughs is, we think, fraught with significance. About 10 years ago the corporation of Palmerston North declined to purchase the then lately-erected local gas works, which were subsequently secured by a syndicate for £7OOO 4 and floated into a company in £15,000. That occurred 7 years ago and the company has been paying 7per cent dividends ever since. It will take a very large sum to tempt that syndicate to part with its mon opoly. Tiie same thing happened at Wanganui. There the fortunate owneis of the gas-works are asking the Borough, which, in common with many other Boroughs throughout the Empire, is attempting to follow the example of Glasgow, where taxation is reduced to a minimum, through the policy pursued by the city corpo ration for years of .securing to themselves all rights and privileges ministering to : the public wants of the citizens, £22,000 for their gas-works. To the plea that if the monopolists proved obdurate the Borough has a remedy in its own hands in the introduc - tion of electric light, we can only reply that the money invested in the gasworks has as yet generally, as in Wellington, proved too strong for the successful installation of its modern rival. 1 In the case of Masterton, where tho Borough itself undertook to supply the town, in 14 years the plant paid ior,

itself, and the gas is supplied «t a trifling cost. Putting all these objections, which at the be >t are problematical, on one side, are we wise in neglecting the claims of the newer illuminants 1 Is gas after ail the light best suited to our wants ? Ridding our minds of the old-fashioned noth u that the mere introduction of ga« signifies progression, let us look the situation squarely in the face. To make gas we have to go to the West Coast of the South Island for bituminous coal in the first place, as our available local coal is unsuitable. Gas can never, therefore, become cheap with us, must for ever, in other words, remain a luxury. On the other hand Dowson gas, which is coming extensively into use in the old country, can be manufactured with the aid of our lignite coal, and supplied at a cost of 2s6d per 1000 feet. Then there is acetyline gas, which many chemists describe as the gas of the future! We feel sure our neighbours at Cambridge would be glad to supply us with information as to the success of its introduction into their attractive little township. Te Aroha presents a large area for artificial lighting purposes, with its three hotels, fourteen or fifteen boarding-houses, and thirty odd shops, and as we pointed out long ago in our first attempts to resuscitate the borough question, the introduction of a modern up-to-date light, should form one of the first duties of those in authority under the hew dispensation. f