BENZINE FAMINE IN CHRISTCHURCH

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10627, 4 May 1912, Page 5

BENZINE FAMINE IN CHRISTCHURCH

NOT A DROP OBTAINABLE. (By Telegraph — Tress Association.) CHRISTCHiURCH, Last Night. A rxrtrol famine lias descended on thb Dominion. The price of petrol has jumped., apd now n °t a drop * s . to b& obtained from the principal di-s----iriibuting. agency, the Vacuum Oil iOompany. Generally garages in the city and same oil business firms have supplies if or a few weeks., but it is anticipated that the next fortnight will ■witness a .material reduction in the city's motor traffic. There are reports of fabulous prices being.offered ifor petrol, oven up to £3 a case. The.se, however, cannot be authenticated, though there is no doubt that ! as '£& has bpei* paid for one 'ea«e containing, eight--'gallons. One 'firm in the city is retailing petTcl in stiwo galifon. quantities, at 2s 6d per gallon, at the rate of £1 a ease. It vaU not part with nibre than two gallbns to any one customer, the idea •being to distribute .the stock as widely as possible, so fthat petrol w&il only be purchased by people as they require' it. Quite a number of firms, and .particularly thosei engaged in the drapery* and grocery business, -have discarded'home delivery vans in favour of j> motor' delivery, and some of them ares in the fortunate position of having stocks of petrol sufficient for the requirements of a few weeks. Others have been left in the lurch, and are waiting * : ' ; sc# what the famine vrajl bring forth. These hope that the wholesale firms, with wMch they have (been dealing:, will see them through, and cur representative learned that on© firm at least intended to hcSp'rts dommercial clientele in this direction.

It testis tShait there will be r.b immediate effects of the shortage. Private! motor cots will probably 'cease running to some extent at an early idate'; but it is ridiculous to sug-gest-that mte • a week or so there wJj ibe no motor vehicles running in .Orhi'istohurch.-/' ■ •;- • One commercial firm 3:-r.s at least gix iwe&ks'' supply'aw ' -■ machines. The ikons' engaged on. the motor and ■rhibiber businesses are ratfher pessimistic as to the! effect which the shortage ctf (petto'l will have on their operations.. It iseem&.to be certain that a tege numlber. of iriotor vehicles will be withdrawn torn commission, and eoyt«bqu*n% .there 'wall be a, decline in itfhe demand for ityres and accessories, and' a considerable falling off niV-'-rv.-: ■pairs. The tyre turnover by sonic of the motor firms is enormous.

The ordinary r-übWr -goods business c'is- not (likely to be effected, but mo?t of the firms deal also hi motor and ntot'or cycle tyres.

The immediate, -withdrawal of taxicabs from the streets- for hire is not contemplated, but there will be a reduction in the night services. Some of- the garage proprietors are giving' theiir drivers (their annual holidays at c-noe, so that the men will lose as- lit■tio as'poss'bletby their enforced idleness. Tho. garage proprietors fear a fairly Jieavy loss if I'the famine- ccaitiniKS .ftor iany kuigtih of time. It K«cans ithat every ordinary substitute for petrol has ibcen brought up with tihe petrdl. Thorc are some cars which will run on kerosene, but a spociall eng;m,e is required for its efficient use. Sonne motorists may try it in. Ordinary engines, starting with a small amount of petrol. In Wiese cases, fctowever, the kerosene may not act efficiently, and it has the added fault of being very dirty. There are all sorts of rumours about various substitutes being tried, and -an old story about a motor party doming in. from little-Hiver by feeding a bottle of whisky into their •machine is iboiing reviived. Superintendent Erck states that tho Oliriatchttrdh- Fire Brigade has _ an ample supply for its motors, sufficient to last fo- three months, ft was the | custom to keep two moiuths' supplies,

and when the shortage was rumcjired an •extra lot \vr& secured. ..■-. .. Severa-l [people 'Lad' cailled at.4;he.ista~ ftion itio borrow petro* but applications could not .be entertained. ( NO PRESENT PROSPECT OF BEING RELIEVED. J •■■> lnquirr.. made'at the Chrjst'eliurch office of the Vacuum--Oil. Company go to show that there is ho prospect of the famito being ,fe&'teve'd' in the n'ear j filtered ,T!he is'toamer Hohentfeld will' 'ardvo ifliortly, and will land petrol] at lytitelton and Sydney, but the ' quantity on board .will not meet the demand. > Aectording to present indications, it' ■would be some tinte> in July before' th"i largo .shipments in- the steamers Ang'lo Saxon and (Dunclutha would be available.

The reasons for the. present shortage were that the cargo vessel had bee;i > delayed, and the demand for petvo] (had been extraordinary for this season of the year. Instead of sales failing off after January, as they usually did itihey bad kept up, and as much was sent out in, JVla/rch ae in January. The Company had not /taken advantage of. (the isituatiJon to increase its prices, but •had parted with its whole stock at the ordinary trade price. Buyers were not dl'lowed to take all n;hey asked for, but ''tho available "stock was parcelled up' arS' reasonably re was' pc&sible. The 'ish'ortagb at present was unique in 'character, as it involved shortages in substitutes as well as in tho ordinary motor spirits. On previous occasions the shortage in. petrol bad always •been balanced by the stocks of substitute fluids, which .could be used with efficiency. The possibility cf getting supplies frtom Aaistraßa is being freely discuisfjod, but at present there is no rev-. liable inftirnration as to the positici in the Commonwealth. There arc some very odntradictoi*y reports about 'the! city, but the prevailing imprc-ss» uon is that the .shortage is being fe.Lt over there ollsa. In any case it is uot a simple matter to import large quantities of highly intiaiminablo. stuff like petrol or benzine from Australia. - The ordinary passenger steamers would carry very little of it. j Scnie firm?' ago sonic petrol was imported from Australia. It had to be sent lii Mom Sydney to Newcastle, and l-unloaded there, and was afterwards put on a lighted and loaded on to a < <ooal ship for New Zealand. It got J 'here with the cases and tins in a very Vlirity state, ibut sifter all the petrol j was. inside.

Wliefelier importation from Australia will prove tihe solution of -tGie difficai'lry iremams to ibty ,soeni.