New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-01-11

In Westst from Cortland to Duane.
In Chambersst from Greenwich 20 West......'.. 2.9
In South from Fulton 10 Beekmau.. l65
Ia MadEont from Pie 10 Montgomery ,..........l.3o
In Pkest from East Broadway 10 Cherry.
In Cherry ST. from sailors Home to Rugersst..... $50
In Old Wiliamst from near Frankfort 10 Duane... $50
IN FeichersL from Water 10 Pear............... %
In Peck-slp from FrOntst 10 S0uth............. 200
In GoldsL from Frankfort 70 near Fulton $50
In Henry-st from Rutgers 70 Grand. ............S64
In Coeniies slip from Waierst 20 Front 2l
In Waterst. from Waterfall TO Broad .......... goo
In RooSevesi from Water 10 Front .....'.....' 70
In Rector from Greenwich Trinity place.,.... 2l5
In Trinity place from RecfOrst 70 Station House,. ~
In Essex-s from Grand to Divslon.............. 85i
In Chrystie 81 from Grand 70 Dlyison
In Beekman-st from Water South .............. All
In Washingtonst from Robinson 10 Chagbers...... 7b3
In Hudson-st to form 100
Total.......................................i686o
Equal 10 Is mlles.
Resolutions have been passed by the Common
Council to light up most of the streets in the New
York Gas Light Co. District, bat by their present
contract they are only compelled TO light the
streets wherein their mains are laid; therefore,
you will perceive that West South, and many
other streets parts Of streets, where there are
few or no private takers of Cas- cannot be lit an
less new contract is made.
The Chief of Police, in his last Report, dwels
at length on the necessity of lighting the docks
and the narrow streets, which would prevent the
numerous theits and loss Of life that now occurs IN
consequence of darkness To meet this demand,
In the proposed contract the Company are COM
PEELED TO lay mains and light no all the streets
fronting the docks in their district ut once and
in addition thereto SIX thousand dollars worth OF
mains are TO be laid within the present year
wherever the Corporation may direct and the
same amount annually until the whole district IS
lighted If las mains were laid in the streets
fronting or our docks, | could light them TO the
entire satisfaction and security OF the pubic. Bat
this never can be done with oil lamps. Lamp
r,oefc cot IN tho hullf heads nd docks VOud not
stand one week on an average. We have tried
the ex periment, and the result was as have sta
ted under all the circumstances. L can see no
other course, if we intend to light the lower Por
tion of our City, but to enter into new contract
1t must be obvious that Mayor Woodruff had not
read the report of the Special COmmitte Gas, or
if he had, he did not fathom its meaning, and the
nature of the contemplated contract. The report
shows that the Company hare nor the eIcLus'ce
monopoly of ldying tie mains tn the CITY 6el0'o
Grand. 50. for more than two years, aud unless
new contract is made there will be no more mains
laid by the Company. 1t would be reckless to
continue to lay down gas pipes which would be
almost a total loss at the expiration OF the con-
tract. The Company have over one million of dol
lars n0lo invested, which is as much az H%SHf cir
c9nistsnces In fact unless their contract is re-
newed, instead of their expending more money In
this way, they ought to prepare 70 wind up their
affairs, and the City should at once make prepa-
rations to provide for ITSELF for, with the whole
remaining time of the contract, and an outlay OF
81 OOO, 900, they would not be able to afford the
means now possessed by the Company 70 light
the City / am aware that the Common Council
have been urged to embark in the business Of
manufacturing gas and | am gratiied that it has
with no favor for am satisfied that the streets
could not be lighted with gas male by the
Corporation without costing one third more than
we are now paying tits urged that gas should be
supplied for our citizens, as well as water by
no means The water is provided by our Maker,
and had only to be turned down hill into our City,
while Gas can only be supplied by chemical oper-
atoms and torturiDg different materials, requiring
an immense amount of capital, agency and labor,
to conduct the same, and Cas- after 1t is manutac-
tured, is very difficult to control, and liable to
great waste in various ways, equal to 90 per cent.
unless the strctest supervision is constantly Kept
over it. Beside the manufacturing of Gas would
be by no means as profitable as many other pro-
jects that have been urged upon the Common
Council in particular the nsuring of property this
lss much TO commend 10 your favorable consid-
eratlOns as the City now furnish all the water and
apparatus for putting out tires together with the
enormous sums required for engine houses and ap-
preparations for the Fire Department, and TO man
age the business ot Insurance would be much
more simple and easily conducted than making OF
Gas and would yield an immense revenue. But
no matter how great the prospect OF gain to be
derived from this or any other scheme, l trust
the Common Council will create no more De-
partments; there is quite power enough in those
already in existence, and to enter into gas man
uiacturing would add largely to our army OF labor
ers and Office holders. The Corporation should
embark in no business that can be conducted by
individuals or associate enterprise IN most OF
these projects it would cost the City from Onequar
ter to one.hai more to carry them out as they are
now performed and the services rendered would
be less satisfactory TO the Tax Payers. One OBJ
lection of the Mayor to the contract was on the
ground of extra expense, estimating it at Sl2, 800
before the present contract pres he says can
not in the proposed contract discover any substan
tial equiv aent" do not see how he could be lg-
norant of the great advantages guaranteed by the
contemplated contract to the City. In the 1rst
place he knows that the price of Oil is constantly
advancing, and although the oil lamps were It'll last
year for Sl2 per lamp the last contraction oil was
ll9 cents, and at that price the oil lamps cannot
be lit less than SIS per lamp, and the Mayor must
have known that in substituting Gas posts for the
Oil onefourth less lamps are required by the or
dinance. This fact should have taught him that
instead of loss to the City Of SI2,50O for the re-
mainder OF the contract, it will be gain OF more
than that sum TO the City, and afford double the
light now obtained from oil lamps. la fact if our
streets were properly lighted with Gas there
would be more safety for persons and property
than there is at present, even If One-thlrd OF the
Police were dispensed with, which would be
saving to the City of over one hundred and Fifty
thousand dollars annually. In addition to the
above considerations the contract requires them
to use the new burners, to consume not less than
three feet of gas per hour for each lamp, and the
Company will not realize more than $40 per lamp
after pay ing for Lighting &c which is onethird less
than the actual cost of the Gas. The remaining
one-thrd is allowed to the City for the privilege
OF taking up pavements and use of the streets in
laying their mains. But one of the best features
of the proposed contract is, that it destroys the
present monopoly held by the company in laying
mains to light the City, and affords the City and
individuals an opportunity to provide their light
in any way they think most advantageous even
the City are obliged to pay form more lamps than
they require to be lighted and if the contract
should be made and better and cheaper light
ntiers ! should consider II my duty not % REQUIRE