IRA GAS CONTROVERSY.
Tarn cry for cheap gas, which has been heard periodically in the City of London for the last twenty-five years, has been answered to the full. The citizens are now doubly armed. The Companies which furnish the supplies have reduced their price to the maxi- mum fixed upon by the gas-reformers----48. the 1,000 cubic feet; and, to guard against the possibility of reaction, the great Central Gas-consumers Company has been started, the promoters under- tn1ring to bind themselves by act of Parliament to exact under no circumstances a higher rate than 4s., to supply meters gratis, to make reductions in the price when profits show a surplus after dividing 10 per cent among the shareholders, and to give stringent securities on the subject of quality and measure.
The controversy which has led to these results is not devoid of
eoints of general interest. The area of the City is not quite qual to a square mile ; but it is within that space that the agita- tion has been carried on, and within its boundary the adv gg will, at least in the first instance, be oonfmecl. The Metro stands upon sixty-five square miles. The annual consumption of gas in the City is 500,000,000 cubic feet, while that of the Me- tropolis is 2,700,000,000 ; showing that although in area the Me- tropolis is sixty-five times larger than the City, its consumption of gas as only five times greater. Up to the recent reduction in price the City consumption realized 145,0001. per annum, while the Me- tropolitan amounted to 555,000/. In the City there are sixty miles of "main" pipes, in the Metropolis there are nine hundred. The reduction from 6s. to 48. is equal to a saving of 40,000/. a year to the Cit&ciumers. Mr. es Pearson, the City Solicitor, appears prominently as a gas-refo cr. During the last fifteenyears, he has been demon- strating that the expense of the article does not lie in the cost of its production, but in the expense of piping, repairs, and other oharges incurred in conveying the gas through the streets and dis- tricts where customers are likely to be found; and, reasoning upon that hypothesis, he arrives at the conclusion that the citizens of London, who occupy a small and compact territory, are entitled to be served at a less charge than those consumers who occupy a po- sition requiring a larger capital to convey the article to their doors. Mr. Pearson's estimate was that the prime cost of produeing and &stributing gas throughout the City could not exceed 2s. 64 per • 1,000 cubic feet, and that a. selling-price of 4a. was quite enough for all the purposes of a fair and remunerative trade. In this view of the matter 4s. was the price fixed upon as that which ought not to be exceeded in the City of London. The Companies which supply the City with gas are two,—'the City Gas Company, and the Chartered Gas Company. A dozen companies are engaged in supplying the Metropolis. It is worth notice that the two City concerns were never in competition. The City of London Gas Company got its bill in 1817, and commenced its supplies in 1821, at the rate of 15s. The Chartered Gas Company appeared. as a rival; but in the earlier .period of such enterprises an idea prevailed that danger might arise from explo- sions if more than one " main " pipe wore placed in a street Sir Congrcve, a great authority in tie matter of explosives, was employed to devise measures for the prevention of such acci- dents ; and, under his guidance, the two companies agreed to aim& the City between them ; Sir William assuring them, not only would it save the expense of putting down double mains in the same street, but it would give to each a " monopoly' in the district within which its operations were confined. This is called the " Congreve Compact. The division seems to be ppretty equals--the Chartered Company are in possession of the Morth-east &strict, and the City of London of the South-west. Both companies have run parallel to each other as regards charge .: from 1821 to ma, the price has fallen by degrees from 158. to 6s., Refusal, however, to descend to Mr. Pearson's maximum of 4s. conjoined with the active sympathy of the civic authorities -to- wards the citizens, led to the formation of the great Central Gas- consumers Company ; and in apprehension of the consequences, both the existing-companies lowered their charges, first to 5s. and now to 4s. Too Iate. The Commissioners of the City Sewers have given permission to open the streets ; a site for the works has been purchased; and notice of application for an act has been renewed, having the previous application ha 0. failed through a technical omission. So much for the City ; but how stands the ease with the Metro- polis? The price is still 6s. ; and it may be remarked that the Chartered Company, whose main' extend beyond the City, charge 4s. within the City, and 68. beyond it. This is perhaps fair enough on Mr. Pearson's showing, but it does not seem to satisfy some gas- consumers in the Borough, who have published a declaration that they also musf have gas at 4s. So far as a handbill can do it, the Borough Pearsons are safe enough. An illustration of as remark made in a recent number of the Spectator, about the kind of influence which is made to bear upon Members of Parliament in matters of private bills, comes out in connexion with the proceedings which took place last session be- fore the Committee of the House of Commons., Mr. in Timothy Tyr- rell held the lawyerlike position of solicitor to the Commission- ers of Sewers, who were n favour of cheap gas, and of solicitor to the City Companies, whose leanings were in the opposite direction : he addressed a circular to every gas-company in the kingdom, actually dating it from " Guildhall," deprecating the effort of the City consumers to obtain a bill, and concluding with these words- ' As the principle, when once established, must necessarily extend itself throughout the kingdom, I am sure you will be anxious to give your support and assistance in opposing the bill ; and therefore request that you will be so good as to put your local Members in possession of the real facts of the case, and either request their assistance, or permit me to communicate with them under the sanction of your authority." Sanatory considerations cannot be excluded from these and similar movements. Light and heat are both involved; and what- ever tends to bring these advantages more readily within reach is a large contribution to the public good. The facts elicited by the. City gas controversy show that, either from high prices or other removeable causes, the consumption of gas has been discouraged both in the City and the Metropolis. In the former, out of 15,000 householders, only 6,000 consume gas ; and even in this case the consumption is limited to the shop and the warehouse. Gas has not yet found its way into the dwellbighouse ; and in this respect London, perhaps England generally, stands in strong contrast to what prevails throughout Scotian A reduction in price and improvement in quality should go a far way in supplying the needed impetus.
Previous page
