The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-02-04 00:00:00

TELE O. QUESTION.

The Clerk then read the report of the Gas Committee,
which stated that they had carefully considered the vari-
ous ititticulties that have presented themselves in the way
of arriving at a perfeetty satisfactory solution of the
question on the basis suggested by the COMMIIIIIIOI.II.r.,
viz., the comparison of Stouriaidge with other towns of
equal or nearly equal populetion and clusumption of
gas ; hot, owing to the fact that where towns are nearly
equal in those respects there is the disadvantage of eitu•
stun affecting the erection and extrusion of works, sup-
ply and price of fuel and materials, sale and price of
products, .tc., they offer no fair comparison. Therefore
the committee has considered it best to take the average
of towns iu and immediately surrounding the mining
dhlrict, where the price of coal would he about equal to
its cost at Stourbridge. Wolverlieniptou supplii s to all
coasums Is at 2. lit per I.Obil cubic feet; Tipton, 3,, ;
Dudley, 3s and 3. tbs ; liiddermiroder, :S. 34 and 3. ;
as and 3u So ; thist in, 31 au.) Is; IA sisal; 26
3d and 24 6 ; ktirmiugiism, 21 3d and 2't I; 4sing al,

average of 3s per 1 Jai fret home of the towos are
charged a high pi to f, gas. atnoog which lesy be coil.
tioned itoddit, h, W until k, Ifunte .cli, N c.lfut.,u, si...
3lacelestield ; hut this uo.y r ly the blitall•
Lies of the coLnUiriptiGh, the 1.44 h price paid for coal, it
tea difficulty of artung of the pr.alucta st good mice.
lo the tree of Brist, I. alert the pace of gds is 3s ard
3s 3d, the cold used Sr gas iiiskiog purposed E....Ls the

htli figuie• f 214 per too. lhe that. of Margate Loa
stet are be 11,1; supplied at 3, '1 he Committee 1:11(1
ff,ct.:l am, d the pnee paul tor eon! hi tl,he t(Pwt., ;
btit (14,m Lite.. ',oral,. It Is presumed that it must be
in ry high. lLe town of Wakefield is also lieiug supplie•i
at 3s. . . .

'toe Birmingham and Stattorthhire Otis C,,rapany.
althooigh utile too stoppoy gas at an extra niely low rote have
ex, at, at :tor sy..tg no of Omit,s to the towns of oilolLury,
Wedae4L)ry. I) top, U algoolit 5510 a.tilur pla, Sill la,
uists er., LA:I.:Dual LaV, 041V.15.010 at a oval, r
outlay a a iaas, that at may 4.th, r alofla4a.il. 1..
atom.; all lists etal,pany an. a 0.
kierttl Ityrlt 11,aaa.e I, all VW. Avail 4gt•a and at:col...tits Slot
dent to milling nom,. ions. No.aitbstanding the los
price of gas at IL anal!, the Coo ionssounera hate been
enabled to state that the mit profit un the past oyeai•ot
otat.soetions, a ftcr p OVidillg liar interest 00 1. ,aria a.
reCIIILIOII 01 k. and no lets, Wan £1,319 5s Is
AgiGitional to the sumout of .11.0. d. th. sd,tili Cl. mat
all tarrew.e to the works durit.g the past year, which
raised them too the tgotai mot if £39,739 'ls lot. In ilam
cheater. the Corymrat Oun last year realised a gross profit
of £65,3-13 106 sal, widell, after paying interest £l6,7ht
138 Sal and liquidating a mortgage dela to the extent .1
.621,.167 6,, left a harpies tat £2,1,071 lir, Whiell Wan art
aside for improvement purposes.
Frol.ll this statement it will be seen that besides et,ll

,f

further liquidating the mortgage debt this price of Is 21
could be very considerably reduced, and still leave a large
profit to the concern to meet contingencies.
It is ascertained that gas works iu the hands of Com•
missioners and of Corporations can be worked with the
greatest advantage to conaumers and inhabitants of
Loans generally.
The committee therefore suggested the following fir the
consideration of the Commissioners :-1. The advisa-
bility in the iuterests of the consumers of electing new
works to supply the town with gas. 2. The advisability
of treating %Gil the Gas Company for the purchase Id
their works and plant. 3. Whether or not the Ga.
Company should be called upon to reduce the price of
gars, and to what extent' In the event of the Commis-
sioners adopting either the first or second suggestion, the
committee would recommend that a public meeting to
called so as to give the consumers the opportunity of ex-
pressing their views on the subject. To further enable
them to arrive at as correct a conclusion as possible the
committee have considered it necessary to make a sem-
inary of the Stourbridge Gas Company's accounts prier
to the year 1863, in which year the price of gas was re-
duced, with the view of ascertaining the correctness or
otherwise of the balance brought forward to the credit of
the company at the commencement of that year. From .
1855 to 1862 they found that there was a balance of
£3,108 1-Is Old carried to the credit 'account, instead of
mai 5s lid, which was brought forward by them in 1863.
The discrepancy arose from the fact that large sums of
money load not been charged to the revenue account
which ought to have been charged to capital account,
and there are instances in which balances have been
wrongly brought forward.
Having arrived at what they conceived to be the correct
I,,laucc, the committee have proceeded to uiake out a
genet al statement from the year 1853 to 1869, both inclu•
sive, which statement is treated in precisely the same
Thinner as the former account, and shows a I'stance to
the credit of the revenue account at the end of the year
1863, of £5,384 Ills 3d, instead of £475, as shown in
their statement for the year 1863. In 1863 they find
"

il;t:tl;i3as Company apYropriated to themselves 10 per
ceot. instead of 71 per cent., as allowed by their Act
of Parliament, upon 120 new shares, of which £l5 per
share had been called up. Also that a sum of £334 ihi