Newbern weekly progress., 1862-02-11
STOCkHOLDER.

The stockholders will be obliged for inlorna~
tion on this point.
sTOCKHOLDER.
Mr.. EDITOR VIII not the present Board Of
Directors of the Gas Company reduce the price
OF Gas? | see by report published by you
that the Company has made / 3 per cent for
the last year and has 4 surplus Of ) per cent /;
those are enormous profits, and in these hard
times the company should lie satisfied with
less. If you can induce them to reduce the
price you Will much obilge
CONSUMER.
On coming into our Office yesterday morn
ans we found the foregoing communications
lying upon cur desk, and though we 90 not
know whence they came or who is the author Of
either, still we area ware that under the present
appearances, as set forth in our notice few
days ago and also in the cotnrunication from
a Director Published yesterday morning. the
public mind must be considerably perpcxed
to arrive at tie true condition Of the affairs of
ahe company, and We feel it oar duty to try
TO explain the matter so as that it may be intel
l1gble.
> Until very recently we were asiEnora0t as any
one Of the con6 ton oc things and don't con-
sder ourse!f well enough posted yet to entitIe
Il
having taken little pains to inform ourse'f
we feel confident we can elucidate the matter
80 as that the simplest may understand how
it is that the consumer cannot have the price
reduced, and why it is the stoctholder cannot
get dividends, notwithstanding large dividends
are said to be in the treasury strange rs it
may seem.
Then to the law and testimony" And to
mako long matter short, we deem it sufficient
to say that for year or two past the funds
paid the company for gas consumed has only
. about been sufficient to pay the current cx-
pcnses of the company, while the town author
tiles have taken about three thousand
dollars worth to light the town for which they
have paid nothing and upon which, it seems, F..
they not likely to be able to pay anything |
for many years to come, if ever; and yet it is
upon this bogus paper acknowledgement of in
debtedness on the part OF the town, that the 3
pr. Ct dividends spoken of, is prc>licated
Aow, which party is most to blame for this
state Of things, the town authorities for re-
ceivirg the gas without some prospect of be
ing able 10 pay for it. or the Cas- Directors for
letting them have it without bonus is a ques-
somebody is to blame we tirinl all VIII read
-lY admit Then the matter stands thuS the
Gas Company has funds cut Of which to
declare dividends except the towns simple
acknowledgement Of Indebtedness, which in
dcbtedness the town commissioners have no
right to levy tax to pay, as the act Of incor~
poration limits them to certain amount ct
revenue, which etnour5 is only sufficient to
defray the other necessary expenses Of the
same If the Gas company could turn their
town claims into money, then they could pay
the stockholders Is per cent dividends, but
1t is, they cannot pay anything.
We understand that the Company has
passed an order that these toEn claims shall
be divided up among the Stockholders and re-
ceived by them as divid .nds, which would ali
be we'll enough if the town auaoritcs ~eufs
receive them in payment Of towa taNes, bat d
they refuse to do this the thing obliged to
work unfairly. For, suppose thc town
should be able to pay five hundred dollars
year of this debt, (whict is Only supposible
casel why, then, the large Stockholders who
held large amounts of these ciaimes WoGld be
likely to rush their claims in first and the
small hOiterS would nave 10 hOiI on LOT SIX
wears +; or suppose the small ones were paid of
first, the large ones would have TO wait, which
would be equally unfair. We arc clearly Of
opinion that these claims should remain a
common fund and whenever the town can pay
anything, if it is only hundred dollars, tAat
it should be distributed pr6rattG
We hope we have made ourself sufIfcient-
" plain to be understood, and while shall
regret as much as any one that the gas should
be cut off from the street posts; still, if tie
town cannot pay for being lighted, it is evi-
dent that it should remain in darkness. Can
not the wisdom of the town and gas directories
devise some plan to prevent so undesirable a
thing? Certainly So
WRo does rot recollect how in3pudent Ian-
KEGS have always been ? just call to ullnd the
rage of the clock peddlers and hawkers 0!
Yankee.naticIls t'has ever been the cas-
tom or that eontcnable race to insinnate
themselves, .1libidden, into tie houses OF hon
: est people South, to impose upon and cheat
them. Had they long since been treated
=: bx:u us as the officers Of the Federal steamer
7usca,sora were treated at Southampton fe"
daysago. we might have avoided taiS despe>
rate war Read the following:
= THE N.lsHYLLE AND TIE TUScARoRA.