THE GAS QUESTION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1773, 29 August 1884, Page 2

THE GAS QUESTION.

■-,. — —* —— ] The Borough Council has to decide .1 jetween three ways by which gas may ( )e introduced into Masterton, It can 8 mdertake to supply it direct to the )iiblic, it can grant a monopoly to the j nivate firm which has recently made j ivertures in this direction, or it can t ;ive permission tothe proposed com- r iany to lay mains, It might be pos- ' ible to have better and cheaper gas if j he Council provided it for the ratelayers, but then to do this it would be I ssential that there should be good a msiness men in the Council who would tl live a considerable amount of time and d Mention to working the thing out. a Without good business men devoted !' hemselves to the work the ratepayers rould be called upon to pay the piper, . nd to this there would be strong " ejections, There are at present good y msiness men on the Council, but with- % lections occurring at short intervals tl here is some uncertainty as to the m upply being maintained, Assunifflg, ,'d owever, that it could, we question h ery much whether the business men 0I t Masterton are not too busytoeffi- y iently control the erection of works and jj be distribution of mains, The second fi roposal for granting a monopoly to a tc rivate firm is also open to grave objec- : .g ion. The Council would no doubt a i ndeavorto'maketorms which would-to rotect the'town from either dear gas {a r bad gas ; but for every concession it tb light obtain in making conditions it ? ould have to directly or indirectly iy a full price. To grant any indivi--ual or company a monopoly for a long ** irm of years is taking a leap in the »rk, and unless the Cpuneil is very (j,

careful it might by such an arrangement seriously cripple local interests a few ( y ears hence; 1 A local company appears : to us the least objectionable alternative,' : provided that the probable consumers in the town united to take shares in it and control it. Suoh a company, if it fell into the hands of some four or five . wealthy individuals, might not be a good thing for the' town, but 'if some forty or fifty local residents became shareholders iu it, we should have a guarantee that the interests of the town ■ would be duly conserved, No doubt, other things being equal, a local company would be preferred by the Coun- , oil, but as far as we can judge at pre- . sent the balance of advantages is in favor of one, as the proposed Wairarap a company does not ask for a monopoly.