Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1878.] WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 1894. THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4733, 30 May 1894, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1878.] WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 1894. THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS

SECOND EDITION

The manufacture of gas, wherever a S T - monopoly exists, is usually a profitable undertaking, and whore companies make it, dividends are regular jq and shares at a premium, ■ In Mastcrton, under favorablo conditions, the Gas works ought to havo yielded a profit, instead of a loss, and that S, they havo failed to he self supporting is prima facie evidence of inferior management. We havo been told that a ton of coal is supposed to , produce 10,000 feet of gas, and that at Masterton it only yields 7000 feet. This may or may not he true, as wo havo 110 evidence at hand to verify such an assertion, but we should be - disposed to believe that, there is some such shortcoming in the manufacture, otherwise the financial results would be better than they are. st We arc not going to impute blame to tho manager, for, even if as it is rumoured, his retorts are outof order and work badly, the responsibility rests on his employers, the Borough Council, and perhaps it docs not end there. It is well known that there are but few business men on that body, and it is only business men who can he considered competent to successfully carry out a manufacturing industry. Tho ratepayers in thcil' wisdom return farmers to tins C'oun, inland then grumble at a special gas rate. It is the ratepayers of Masterton themselves who havo been responsible for tho special gas rate and who are keeping the town )r back by grudging it necessary public works and improvements. If -Mifsterton is to progress , n it is essential that somo of tho best business men in the town should id have seats on the Council. We mean no disrespect to tho present occupants of office, and admit that there is some business aptitude aud ability , 0 to bo found amongst them; but there is not enough of it, and tho best business talent in tho town is conspicuous by its absence from the Council tablo. Wo have mentioned tho manufacture of gas merely as an ■ illustration of this drawback from which the town suffers. Most people U know that this branoli of the Borough administration has been a comparative failure, and they are well f ware i that if two or threi) sharp business men controlled it there would be a speedy change for tho better, o