SECOND EDITION Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] SATURDAY. NOV. 17, 1894. THE MASTERTON GASWORKS

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4879, 17 November 1894, Page 2

SECOND EDITION Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] SATURDAY. NOV. 17, 1894. THE MASTERTON GASWORKS

Tub history' of tho Masterton Gasworks has heeii-a record of disaster, and our present object is to show the ratepayers of Mastorton that they themselves are responsible for it, and that tho penalty of all tho blunders which have been committed,' inconceivably stupid though some of them have been, must rest upon their own shoulders. ,If tho ratepayers can only grasp the lesson of the past they may avoid similar misfdrknes in tho future.' The History' of the Works dates back to tho time when Mr Oaselberg'was Mayor of Masterton, and though lie/was mainly instrumental in causing gas to bo made in tho town, it is only fair to admit that, had his viows'ucohcarried out, the .town would never have; lost, a penny over tho undertaking. I With competent management the manufacture of Gas is remunerative. This is an absolutely ascertained factj and a private, company;offered to hiake gas for the town on fair conditions. Mr Oaselberg advised the acceptance of this offer, but certain leading citizens, including Mr A, W, Renall, Mr Walter Rapp and others, called a public meeting,/ apd, the ratepayers foolißbly insisted:upon thojOouncil making 1 its. 1 -own; the works wcro conatructdd, a.; teri'iblq

blunder was' madej'which,'.for the beneiit of the., uninitiated,/wjcLwill explain "at s'omo little length,; Gas is stored in a gasometer, the; shapo of which is cylindrical, closed ;at the top and floating' or suspended'witli its open ,: end'in"a ; a'eservoir of, water, This reservoir in.Mastertbn is liuod,iiiith',;brickj'.i;and iwhen. it was . completed, and ; :water pumped into it,' tlib water 'dipap-' peared faster than it was put in, It was tben< discovered .that tho work > had been scamped, and that: the I reseryioV was 'little' ''better than a'lsieve.'') This(!ifficulty have | been .faced anclconquerecl fivb: or six years ago, butaii.ingenious.raethpd of'ovadirigitSvas-discovered;, j The TpwnCreekwas.hwued to run into thV (is the ! rivulets 'fiowed.inito it, gas;,coultl bp|' i made,.and if the .creek got too dry,]., | of'. course' r 'tkd' s Waipoua .coMd bb' ; '. \ ibp>.turned ;l iutp r thecreek,, ..Upiill'j :daW;Hth^ , !;i^pHpir.,.'Ms'!ue , en kept i 1 supplied wjtt watpivin'thisf fty, but i i

still iiis nccessa'ryJthafc re'sprvoii' 'iliouli be ,Jorde| to make the: lymfe effectiyb, -'Theftotfough' Coun-; oil khpws this,, and has Wleav.bured' to'dvrango-for .'tlib rebuilding" without suspending the manufacture of gas. Quite recently it purchased a temporary gas holder at a cost of over a hundred pounds, for use while the reservoir was being repaired, ; when •it' was s ' discovered' that the temporary, holder was,as leaky as tho brick reservoir, Five hundred pounds''ivoro: throtvir' away with bad work in tlio brick reservoir, and another hundred has gone after it in a bad gas Jioldc.r. These and'o'ther grievous "blunders have arisen frpiti the' Council employ<ii6trefo||bJ)iuy pmiicular Council ..ami held office: dunjig! ,'the' past half ;y ears ;,raust'!all' t^VO'eonio sliiiro iii tho respotiaitilJ ity. But wo contend that the fault lios in the main with the ratepayers. They do not elect men of business torcpresentthem, \in.i\the''Council; and until they do, this, ..it isiiopeloss to expect better, results.' "-There are plenty of businossnienin Mastertpn whpicould easily run tho Gastyorks jit ,a profit, but niifortunateiy their. services have never been 'brought into.requisition... Wo say v hat mon of very' moderate business, .ability could cf.ny,,on, Gas ■ Works advan-. tageously, but the ratepayers have never ] recognised ,:'tho .necessity of tho' town being ruled by men... of, business, .and,, eyeii now wo doubt whether thoy are alive to tho absolute and unquestionable: advantage of. securing, good business men as Councillors. Wo do not say that there are no business men in the present Council, but the majority of the members cannot be classed as such". The niistak.es.made from, time to time -have been 'so plain and palpablo' that.almost every child in the.town coulds'cb whatwakwroug, and flic man in the street proclaimed the fault aloud for a year before the Council seemed'to recognise or detectit,. What jtlie' towu.wants is a stronger Borough Council, Almost overy recognised business man of capacity is outside of it, and while this is tho caso what chance, has. the town ■ to, progress ?■ Ratepayers must bear in mind 'that' ten thousand pounds of capital are invested in tho gas works, that' a concern: of' this magnitude requires men of some capacity to mauago 'it. There are such men in; Mastertpn, but it wpuld.be easier to.name half-a-dozen of them, outside the Council than one ' within it. What is needed in Miisterk is a Municipal .Reform Association' which would man tho Council with the best business ability procurable. The ratepayer's ofMasterton hitherto havo displayed a slight weakness for electing men with a minimum, of business ability. ,■■.: ;':.-- '-.'-.• ''.'■: '■':-