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 23 WIST MAIN ^TB^rt 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. I45«0 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
 

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HEASONS why the Montreal Gas Light Company 
 should be protected 6y the Legislature (irrelevant of 
 the particular clauses of any Bills for incorporating 
 another Company.) 
 
 1st. — Because, that the present Company embarked in a precarious enterprise, which, in 
 this climate was not only precarious but hazzardous ; and, encountering the greatest difficulties, 
 they had to purchase their experience, in some respects, at a very dear rate, — thct had it not 
 been for the individual exertion and energy of certain persons, the project might have proved 
 a failure ; and had not the whole of the unsubscribed stock been taken up by one individual, tho 
 establishment might possibly not been gone into operation. That a large amount of the originally 
 subscribed stock was not paid up by the parties who subscribed it, — and it was sold at public auc- 
 ♦ion, — that the stock fell in value, a large amount having been sold at 20 to 25 per cent discount ; 
 indeed an opinion was entertained that Ihr Gas Company would meet with obstacles and diffi- 
 culties that would prevent their carrying the works into operation and that they would fail in their 
 .ittompt to light the City with Gas — that starting under these disadvantajj--* and having had to 
 purchase their experience, it is natural they should look to the Legislature to aiford them a rea- 
 sonable protection ; that it is peculiarly hard, now, that tho affairs of the Company have arrived 
 at a favorable position, that a new Company should bo permitted to reap those advantages which 
 the present Company have purchased. — Unless indeed that they can prove to the Legislature 
 that there is something unreasonable in the present Company's charges — or, that they give the 
 Legislature satisfaction that they will limit the prices, to be charged by them, to the rates which 
 the individuals who compose the proposed new Company, have professed their ability to perform 
 the service for, and will lay snch m.ains as will obviate the future uplifting of the streets — and 
 prevent the public injury and inconvenience which they attribute to the present Company, in 
 consequence of the mains being too small. s ,. ,• ' 
 
 2d. — Because, that several miles of tho main pipes which'have been laid by the present Com- 
 pany, in good faith, at the instance of the City authorities — in locKlities which are entirely un- 
 productive and must remain so for years (except for street lights) viz : in St. Antoine street, 
 Bleury street, St. Denis street, Sherbrook street, College wall, St. Lambert street, St. Alexander 
 street, Grey Wuns street, and it may be said, the whole extent of the wharves. That they were 
 laid, as before stated, in good faith, tluil tho Corporation would continue at all events to pay a 
 reasonable rate to a Company which had extended pipes into such localities • — and that the Leg- 
 islature, seeing (he large expcnce the present Gas Company had been at, to effect the public ad- 
 vantage, by acquiescing in the requirements of the Corporation, would not sanction the establish- 
 ment of another Company, which by laying only a fifth part of the extent of mains that the pre- 
 sent Company have laid, would nevertheless be able to supply Notre Dame, St. Paul, McGill & 
 St. James streets, where the principal coiisuinptiuu is — and so by a comparatively small outlay, 
 take the bulk of the Consumers and render that part of the city which has been remunerative (and 
 the remuneration from which, has induced the Company to extend its pipes and thereby increase 
 its outlay) althogethor unproductive to them. 
 
 Note. — To exemplify what is here meant, it may bo supposed that a new Company were to 
 
 fo into operation, and that they were to limit their supply of Gas to Notre Dame, St. Paul, St. 
 ames, St. Francois Xavier, McGill and one or two other stieets. They would be in a position 
 to supply, with a comparatively small extent of main, — the greater part of the Gas consumers of 
 this City, and there can be no doubt that such a privilege would be giving the greatest advan- 
 tage to a new Company or to the public — but it is to be hoped uiat no Legislature would 
 
 sanction so obvious an act of injustice to the present Company. 
 
 3d. — Because, the complaints that have been alleged against the'present Company are un- 
 founded and based on misrepresentations ; and the premises of the intended new Company, in 
 regard to their ability arc false, — as the following statements will shew. 
 
 The misrepresentations m regard to the present Gas Company will be understood from the 
 following narrative of facts. 
 
 At the time of the Incorporation of this City and until 1840 there were only 150 Gas lamps 
 and they were confined to the |irincipal streets and pubhc places. 
 
 The Corporation then opened a eo.nmunication with the Gas Company in regard to carry- 
 ing the Gas Lights through ail the principal thoroughfares of the City ; and the Gas Company 
 either had the alterniitive of extending their mains, at a large outlay, into localities that were 
 comparatively inproductive, or subject themselves to a competition with another Company that 
 would be established, or, indeed to being opposed, by tho Corporation erecting Gas Works, in 
 order to eftect an efficient mode of lighting the streets. Tho Gas Company thought it better to do 
 what tho Corporation required, and although the Gas mains then covered the portions of the 
 town that were renumerative, in consequence, of there being private consumers on the lines, the 
 Company consented to be bound, by the Corporation to carry their pipes wherever they were 
 required, so to do— and it was agreed that the Corporation was to pay £fl per annum for each 
 lamp burning 2J feet of gas per hour. — Tho mutual, understanding between the two contracting 
 parties were adhered to, until a contract (which has been made for one year) expired on the Ist 
 Nov. 1848 — the Gas Company having laid pipes, at the instance of the Corporation to an extent to 
 enable, them to light 325 lamps, or, in other words had doubled the extent of main pipe, that they 
 originally had, — and as was before observed, they were carried into all non renumerative portions 
 of the City and suburbs. No sooner were the pipes laid, than the acts and proceedings of the 
 Corporation evinced a feeling and intention which amounted to this. 
 
 * Sep Mr Darrii-ol's reiniirkB on llie rrfusal oflhe Tlnalon Uos Company to ley pipes for alreel lights only, unlrss there 
 Here an ailii|UHle number ul |>rivalc consuni'Tj on Iht' line. 
 
 'V-,: 
 
The Gas Companv havk i-aidpiit.s in At.i. the Smcnns ami orr way places in this City 
 AND WE (the Corporation) have them in our poweb ! We ivill iompel them to lioiit the 
 
 LAMPS ON OUR OWN TERMS OP. WB WILL THREATEN TO DISCOM'INUE LIGIITINO WITH GaH AM» WE 
 
 WILL LIGHT WITH OIL. ThE LINES OV PIPES WHICH THKY HAV : LAID WILL THUS BE RENDEREK ALTO- 
 
 UKTHER USELESS AND THE CoMPANY MUST EITHER SUBMIT TO OUR TERMS OR BE RUINED ! actuat- 
 ed, by this resolve the Light Committee pubhshed the following Report : — 
 
 CORPORATION OF MONTREAL. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNX'IL. 
 
 REFOUTED FOK THE TIMES. 
 
 A Special iVIeeting of the Council was held at 7 o'clock on Suturday last, tiie Hth instant- 
 Present: His Worship the Mayor, Alderman Lunn, Councillors Mathcwson, Beaubicn, Trudeau, 
 Jodoin, Stuart, Tully, Lnrocque, end Molson. 
 
 A report was brought up from the Light Comtnittec, representing " That on coming into office, 
 they had been apprized, that the contract with the Gas Company for lighting the City, had ex- 
 pired on the 1st Nov. preceding. That being of opinion the price hitherto paid for gas was ex- 
 travagantly high, taking into consideration the rate at which gas was paid for in the United 
 States, the low price of coals in Montreal, and the irregular and insufficient supply, furnished to 
 the city — they (the Committee) had entered into communications with the manager of tlie Montreal 
 Gas Company, to ascertain the lowest rate at wlii(;h the gas might be obtained for six or twelve 
 months, leaving the period to be determined upon, optional with the Committee. That the Gas 
 Company, as would appear by the manager's letter, appended to the report, declined entering 
 into a contract for any lesser p -iod than twelve months ; or to abate in the terms on which tiiey 
 had hitherto provided the city with light, unless, indeed, the Corporation would take charge of 
 lighting and extinguishing, cleaning and repairing the lamps, in which case they would moke a 
 deduction of one pound cy. jjcr annuni, on each lamp. 
 
 " That the Committee had likewise entered into communications with the city authorities of 
 New York, Albany and Boston, with a view to learn the terms on which gas light was obtained 
 in these cities ; and also to what extent camphine and vegetable oil could be made available for 
 the purpose of lighting the city. That to the polite consideration of Wm. Parker, Esquire, of 
 Boston, late Chairman of the Board of Aldermen, having direction of the Department of Light in 
 that city, the Committee were greatly indebted for much valuahle infonntition, and mani/ extremely 
 important suggestions on the subject matter of the communications had with him. That much of 
 that information and of these sugt^cstions, would be found in the letters of Mr. Parker, appended 
 to the report. 
 
 " That from the information obtained by the Committee, and now laid before the Council, they 
 were unanimously of opinion, and therefore recommended, that thcncctorth the public lights 
 should be placed under the superintcndancc of the City Police ; that the lamps should be lighted 
 and extinguished, cleaned and repaired, by extra policemen employed for that specific piir|)ose, 
 who should be required to reside in the several police stations of the city, to preserve the neces- 
 sary control and surveillance which ought to be maintained in relation to them, and to facilitate 
 the objects of their appointment ; and that the snine i-ci,'ulations should be cstai)lislied for the pro- 
 vision of light on moonlight nights, as had been found, by experience, to he most satisfactory in 
 Boston, viz., that when the moon sets before seven or eichf o'clock, P. M., the lamps should be 
 lighted ; and that when, during the night, the moon's ])osuioii was such, us to rising and setting, 
 that it bacame necassary or unccessary to light, the lighting should be effected or omitted ac- 
 cordingly — in some degree depending upon the weather and the discretion of the Chief of Police, 
 or other officer in command for the time being. 
 
 " Finally, the Committee recommend that as an amply remunerative allowance, the sum of 
 £4 per lamp should be offered the Gas Company for lighting the city ; and if that offer were 
 rejected, that aAer three months' notice to the Company, the city be no longer lighted with gas — 
 but with oil." (February leth, 1844.) 
 
 On reading this Report the Gas Company saw too plainly their position, and their represen- 
 tations to the Council for an honourable view of the spirit of their understanding which had in- 
 duced the Gas Company to lay the great extent of pipes, were unavailing. 
 
 Under the impression that the substance of tlie Report might be relied upon (the Report 
 was presented to the Council on the 17th February, 1844,) end that the price offered to the 
 Montreal Gas Company was the price at which the City of Boston was lignted, viz : — £4 per 
 lamp, the Company saw there would be no alternative but that they should either yield to the 
 demand of the Corporation or have their long extended mains thrown useless. On the 27th 
 February, they adaressed the Council stating that they would undertake the service of lighting 
 302 Lamps for £1600 per annum, equal to £4 Ns. 4d.* per lamp, and at the same time requested 
 that they might be permitted to have communication of Mr. Parker's letter, which these reports 
 stated contained" much valuable information and many extremely important sugcnstions." Tho 
 communication of this letter, to the Gas Company, was refused, and on the 7tn March, a pe- 
 remptory demand was made to the Gas Company, whether they intended to accept the price 
 named in the Report, viz : — £4. As the Gas Company did not think the course taken by tho 
 Corporation, of withholding Mr. Parker's letter a straight forward one, no reply was made to this 
 letter of the 7lh March. A strong feeling of surprise, at the letter being concealed, was expres- 
 sed by the Company, and this expression, coupled with the fact thet the period would shortly 
 arrive when the City, if the report was adhered to, would be lighted wiih oil, induced a note 
 
 ■ The Corpurotiun lu be at the exiiciuw ol liglitini; miu i-xli'iiguuiliiiig Luiii|w and kerjung lliem ia repair. 
 
T 
 
 from tlie City Clerk to tlio Gis Goinpany, 1/ut not until llio 20tl\ Marcli, stating that the letters 
 upon which the Report was IbundeJ were opened for the Coin}iany's inspection at his office. 
 
 On examining Mr. Parker's letter the Company found that there were 305 Gas Lamps 
 lii;hted in Boston at n cost of *74(56,70 — or £i^ Sis. 6d. per l*mi', and the " extremely important 
 * suggession" was that " an alloAvancc should be niadu" ( in favour of the Montreal Gas Light 
 Company over and above the price Avhioli is paid in Boston ) " for difference f latitude and 
 " length of darkness in V'our climato " utuJ that " ten per cent is quite enough." 
 
 The Gas Company felt that they hat. jeeii grossly deceived by the mistatements and dupli- 
 city, perhaps the misapprehension on tlu- part of the individunls of* the Corporation; and imme- 
 diately revoked their oiler of Jiglitini; tliu lamps for £t 8s. Id. — and concluded that as the Cor- 
 poration had sought information lioni Boston, and must, in so doing, hnvc considered that City a 
 fair Criterion, — the old price of £'(i pci lump should be ndhored to. It may be also stated that 
 in Montreal the lantern.s are the property of the Gas Company, and are kept in repair at 
 the Company's expense, while in Boston they belong to the Corporation, and the repairs are paid 
 for by the Corporation. 
 
 It has also been stated, with the design of prejuuicing the public in favour of a new Gas 
 Company and again"' the existiu;,' company, that the charge made to private consumers is unrea- 
 sonable and exorbitant. It is allogether iMprjssible for the individuals who have proposed to 
 establish a new Gas Company to ccino to a correct conclusion, as to what would be a fair and 
 equitable charge, until their works arc in operation, and they obtain proof practically. The only 
 means of forming a correct estimate is to refer to tlic charges made in other Cities on this conti- 
 nant where if the profits of the Gas Companies were enormons, it is rational to Infer there would 
 have been opposition Compaines established ; or to consider whether the profits of the Montreal 
 Gas Light Company arc unreasonable. In order to solve both these propositions reference can- 
 not be made to a better document than to the Report of the Committee of the Corporation ap- 
 pointed to treat with the Gas Company for the purchase of the Gas Works. • 
 
 The following arc extracts from the said Ueport elucidating there subjects : 
 
 " In the course of their investigation, your Committee has had communication of various let- 
 ters, and enquiries made in regard to the cost in New York, Boston, and Albany, and find mate- 
 rial variations to exist in the charge at which these cities are lighted, while in England still wider 
 differences exist in the charge made to the public for lighting the streets. In London the charge 
 for gas is 7s, say 7s per 1000 Icct. and in Manchester about fls. In New York the charge to 
 private consumers is 3.5s, aillion^li tin; public lamps are supplied very cheap — at about 55s each, 
 while in Boston the lamps oust the Corporation ul)out the same as is charged by the Company in 
 this city. 
 
 " The Company report the private tenants to consist of 384 parlies, consumers of gas, exclu- 
 sive of the public lamps — of which :Wl arc lighted at a charge of £(l each. The quantity of "as 
 made during the period above referred to was H,(131,41() li^'ct, as shewn in the table of monthly 
 returns, which being no more than is proved to be required for daily consumption, will show 
 that although the price charged for the jjublic lamp-s is apparently excessive in the opinion of 
 (lie Council, and the eliar;L,'C i)f iiSa per 1000 cubic foot to private consumers, may be considered 
 exorbitant ; the actual returns when compared with the revenue derived by the Company, ex- 
 hibits the somewhat singular result, that the Conqiany actually receives for its gas at the rate of 
 but Ms 7d per 10(»0 cul)ic fcot, instead ot'Oia as charged. 
 
 " Your Committee consider it innessary in the pursuance of the duties devolved upon them to 
 lay before the Council sonn; portions of the information they have obtained, touching the existing 
 establishment or the formation of new works, us the grounds which have influenced the Com- 
 mittee in arriving at the coni'lusions contained in this report ; and they consider it but fair and 
 proper here to remark, that though they have had no access to the books of the Company, they 
 have found the communications made to llie Chairman in respect to cost, expenses, income and 
 revenue by one of the proprietors, corroliorated tliiouj^h other sources of information, to an ex- 
 tent, leaving no doubts on the minds ol the C domittee as regards the correctness of such data. 
 
 ' It would appear that the gross income derived bv the Company for the 12 months ending, 1st 
 Nov. last, was '. £0,300 
 
 ' And that the value of Coke made was 657 
 
 Amounting in all to £0,957 
 
 ■ And the expenses, lor the same period, of nil descriptions amounted to £1,081 
 
 ' Together with eonsuniptioii of cools for same period, 1128 chal., at 303. 1,708 3,779 5 
 
 ' Leaving £3,178 
 
 ' Which IS the revenue of very nearly £53,000, at per cent., being about 12-J per cent, upon the 
 ' expenditure stated by the Company to have been made — Annexed." 
 
 Thus it will bo seen that while' the price charged for Gas in Montreal is only 25s per 1000 
 feet — the price charged in New York is 35s. for the same quantity. 
 
 And against the 18J per cent which, is stated in the last paragraph to be the profit of the 
 Company, have to be set oti' allowances for bad debts, losses, accidents, wear and tear, .so that 
 the net profit cannot be fairly considered to be more than 10 ))cr cent ; and this for a nianufac- 
 turing establishment, cannot surely be considered unreasonable. 
 
 It now remains to shew that the premises of the new Company are false and that the informa- 
 tion they have received from a Mr. Edge is illusory and, if acted upon will be attended with dis- 
 appointentent and loss to the New (.:omi)any us well as to the existing Company — and will, 
 merely for the sake of opposition as the Report of the Special Connnittee of the Corpoiation 
 remarks, involve an expense of £00l)O for i-cstoring the streets " without taking into calculation 
 " the inavoidablc injury to those streets through the removal of the blocks, and excavating, or the 
 
 » Sec Uie 4th Sth &. 6ih raragrnphcs in the Ueport, of the tSpocinl Comnittlee, made the tOtli July 184S. 
 
" probability that such removal and excavation moy entail the necessity — fob a second baisino 
 
 " AND BELAYINQ. 
 
 The illusion cannot be more distinctly explained than by giving an extract from the Report 
 of the Direc ♦ors of the Gas Company to the Shareholders, in which it is pointed out to them why 
 the charges in this Country can never approximate to the charges for Gas in Britain — premising 
 that when Mr. Edge tendered his information, it was in ignorance of the facts herein devclloped. 
 
 " Now in regard to the charge for G^s to the private consumers, it will be proper hero to 
 state why the charges in this Country net or can approximate the charges made in Britain. The 
 Montreal Gas Company purchased their Apparatus, &c. in London, and assuming, for the sake 
 
 of oxempliiiGation, that the said Apparati s and Pipes cost Sterling, £10,000 
 
 " The expenses thereon, consisting of Exchange, Duty, Freight, Insurance, Bi oak- 
 age, &c., amounted to about 50 per r:<;nt., 6,000 
 
 £15,000 
 
 Making in Montreal the cost £15,000, Currency, while the cost in London is 
 
 only £10,000, Sterling • 
 
 In London the common rate of interest is 5 per cent., which on £10,000 is. . . . £600 
 In Montreal do per cent., which on £15,000 is. . . . £000 
 
 So that while a clear income of £500 is only necessary to pay interest on the outlay in 
 Britain, £900 it required for that purpose Itrre. 
 
 *' The outlay in the erection and completion of the Works is attended with a proportionahly ex- 
 tra expense. For instance, the whole of the Gasometers have to be protected in the best pos- 
 sible manner, by frost proof buildings, and the Pipes arc laid 4 and 4^ feet deep, and even at 
 that depth are n:equently affected by the frost. 
 
 " But IS not the mere comparison of the price of Gas in Montreal with the price paid in New- 
 castle, Manchester, Sheffield, and other places, setting reason and common fairness at defiance, 
 when coal may be had at one fourth the price that it can be procured for in Montreal ? The 
 Company have imported coals from Newcastle, which cost Sis. 6d. per ton, (which is equal to 
 or over 4Cs. per chaldron.) The price in Newcastle is Os. Od. per ton, and taking into account 
 the difference between our charge in currency, and the sterling price in certain towns in Bri- 
 tain, the ratio of our charges for Gas is only in proportion to the cost of coals, without taking 
 into consideration the extra charge that it is necessary to make (as shewn in the foregoing para- 
 graph) to pay legal interest on the capital expended, and injury done by the frost by Pipes break- 
 ing. The coke is used to a great extent as fuel for heating the retorts, and as it has been sur- 
 mised that the value of the coke amounted to nearly as much as the coal, it may be here proper 
 to state that the saleable quantity of coke from the 1st Nov. 1843, to 1st Nov. 1644, only 
 amounted to £469 13s. 8d., although it is erroneously stated in the Report of the Committee of 
 the Goiporation to have amounted to £657. 
 
 " The real price received by the Gas Company is as follows ; — from the first of November, 
 1843, to 1844, the quantity of Gas made, according to the following extract from the Gas Maker's 
 Daily Journal was : 
 
 ...:, 1843 — November 821,700 
 
 " , December 793,126 
 
 1844— January 675,822 
 
 February 701,539 
 
 March 742,374 
 
 April 078,866 
 
 May 706,274 
 
 June 611,140 
 
 July 684,350 
 
 August 661,830 
 
 September 715,178 
 
 October 828,160 
 
 8,631,490 Cubic feet. 
 
 " If 8,631,496 Cubic feet yield an income of £6300 6 7 what is the rate per M.— Answer 
 14s. 7d. 
 
 " So that the Company are receiving not 2.5s., but only 14s. 7d. per M. Cubic feet. The dif- 
 ficulty, and it may be said the impossibility of keeping Meters and Pipes in this climate, in order 
 and working condition, and the consequent profuse and wasteful use of the Gas, must in a great 
 measure account for this. And much as such a state of tilings is to be regretted, the Directors 
 see an insurmountable difficulty in preventing it." 
 
 4th. — Becanse, the public opinion has always been in favour of the Gas Works (as well as 
 the Waterworks ; the purchaseof which by the Corporation of Montreal was sanctioned by the 
 Legislatnre) being the property of the Corporation, in order that it might exercise proper control 
 over the streets, which have been put in their present state at so great an expence to the 
 Citizens — and that the Corporation might regulate the lighting of the streets, without being sub- 
 ject to the interference of interested parlies, such as would constitute a private Company, and 
 that the " surplus profits" could then be applied to the public benefit. 
 
 That the paving, blocking and macadamizing of the streets, which have cost the Citizens 
 generally, £20,000 to £30,000 ought not to be interfered with and broken up because a /ew indi- 
 viduals, who are influenced either by interest, or a mere spirit of opposition, are desirous of em- 
 barking in an undertaking that must prove so inconvenient to the Citizens generally — and so ru- 
 inous to the streets of a City already involved in debt to an enormous extent. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 REMARKS on Me Benefits thai the Public hove derived fiom the EataUiihtnaU of 
 GAS WORKS. 
 
 : As it has been stated that the public have not been benefited by the establish- 
 ment of the Gas Works, owing to the high price charged, it may be proper to give 
 the following table, compiled at a period when an attempt was made« by interested 
 
 Eersons, to create a feeling against the Gas Company. Previous to the Ga« Works 
 eing put in operation information, in writing, was obtained firom the principal Gro- 
 cery Stores, in regard to the actual cost of lighting with oil. 
 
 " The Exchange News Room cost, for being lighted with oil or otherwise, 
 " £40 per annum, and when the great outcry on a fonner occasion was 
 *' made, the charge for lighting that establishment with Gas was £14 17 4 
 " The Store of W. PhiSips & Co., cost for hghting with oil, 
 
 £26 with gas £20 
 " " " Panton & Foster, " 18 " « 8 12 8 
 « « " Mcintosh & Co., " 43 9 "« 27 i5 
 
 " " « Carter & Cowan, « 31 4 " " 13 5 
 
 " " " S. Mathewson, " 16 18 " « 8 12 8" 
 
 ( From Minutes made by the Gas Company.) 
 
 THE EFFICIENCY OF THE STREET UGHTS. 
 
 interested parties have also complained that the street lights are not ^ood, 
 and in a pamphlet published on the 21 st April (evidently written by a partv mter- 
 ested in tlie New Company) it is stated, that the Gas Lights are of less utility and 
 greater cost than the light provided, before their introduction. Complaints of this 
 nature have been made before, and the Gas Company deemed it necessary »o es- 
 tablish a scientific test of the quality of light emitted, by the Gas Lan^s. The fol- 
 lowing certificate of Drs. Holmes and HaU, will shew the result of the investigation. 
 *' We the undersigned, were present yesterday at the performance of e^peri- 
 '* ments to ascertain the relative intensity of the light afforded by the old lamps 
 " formerly employed for lighting this City, and the Gas Lights now in use. The 
 " result of the experiments, which were conducted, on Count Rumford's principle, 
 " leaves on our minds no doubt whatever as to the superiority of the Gas Light for 
 " the purpose specified." 
 
 " Assuming the luminosity of the Gas Light to be unity, or one, the decrease 
 *'' in intensity of the other subjects of experiments vas respectively as follows : 
 
 " a small wax taper , .11| 
 
 *^ old street lamps, after burning 2^ hours 6-^ 
 
 « do do do 3i « 9^ 
 
 " Or in other words, it would require lit wax tapers to afibrd a light equal, to 
 '' that of the Gas Jet, and on the same principle with respect to the old street 
 " lamps." 
 
 (Signed) A. F. HOLMES, M. D. 
 A. HALL, M. D. 
 (^From the Montreal Gas Light Company's minutes^ 
 
 REMARKS UPON THE BREAKING UP OF THE STREETS OF THE 
 
 CITY. 
 
 However sanguine some persons may be of the success of New Works, the 
 l)irectors do not consider the position of the present Company at all unfavoraUe to 
 meet any competition that may be ofiered. The Le^slature having sanctioned the 
 establishment of the present Gas Works, would not Ukcly conseilt that the vested 
 property of the individuals who first embarked in a precarious enteiprize, should be 
 iaffected, upon the mere determination of some individuals to establish apposition 
 GaJB Works, for the sake of opposition. Nor would it conseirt to the tiencAMtg, and 
 consequent destruction of the blocking and paving, which have cost so enormous a 
 sum to the City unless indeed it proved that there is something unfair and unrea- 
 sonable in the charges of the present Company, a thing it must be certainly diffi- 
 cult to prove, when it is a fact which is admitted in the Report of the Special C^m- 
 
mittee that the charge for Gas in New York is tihrty five nhim.ingr ciirrencv 
 per M. cubic feet, while in Montreal it is only tweimty five HiiiLLiNas, and that the 
 Public Lamps are only charged $24 in Montreal, while in Boston, a City which the 
 Corporation thought to be a fair criterion for establishing the price, charges $24,48, 
 or, unless the liegislature in granting an Act of Incorporation, limits the price that 
 shall be cha-gcd by any New Company it may incorporate, to the price named in 
 the offer mat'o by Mr. Edge, viz :— 128. per M. cubic feet for Gas, and £4 4s. for 
 Street Lamps. In such case the stockholders may rest assured that the establish- 
 ment would be worked at such a loss as aflectually to prevent the continuance of 
 its operation. The Report of the Special Committee comprehends the effect that 
 would be produced by trenching the streets for New Works in the following para- 
 graph: — 
 
 " Before coming to a conclusion, the attention of your Committee was forcibly 
 " attracted to the consideration of the very groat inconvenience to which the inhab- 
 ** itants of the city, ^vencrally, would be subjected, should the Council determine 
 *' upon the opening of the streets, with a view to the establishment of new Gas 
 " Works, and the serious injury which would, by a general overturn of the pave- 
 ♦* ments, be suffered by the shop-keepers and others, whose business would be at 
 " least materially interfered witn ; and your Committee feel satisfied to refrain from 
 " more extended co;iimeats upon the bearing >yhich this notice of the subject will 
 " have upon the ultimate decision of the Council." 
 
 Nor is this all : at the outset, the Company charged the Service Pipe to the 
 proprietors or occupiers of the houses into which the Gas was introduceq, but im- 
 mediately changed that systom, seeing that at a future period an opposition Com- 
 pany, if the services belonged to prisite individuals, would only have to run a main 
 pipe, and the services already laid might be attached thereto — a state of things that 
 would be highly advantageous for a new Company, and equally disadvantageous for 
 the present Company. Upon the present system, therefore, not only would a new 
 
 • ' Company have to open the stre>its for a main pipe, but on an average of thirty feet 
 apart, side trenches would have to be made, and supposing that lo be done in Notre 
 Dame street, St. Paul, St. James, and other streets, it is not difficult to imagine what 
 a plight those handsome and well-paved streets would be put in ; not only would 
 the blocks have to be taken up, but the causeways also, at each interval of thirty 
 feet, or less, and they could never be restored to their present perfect state. 
 
 thfft.ot'. • {From the Report of the Plrectors to the Shareholders.) . , 
 
 THE SIZE AND CAPACITY OF THE MONTREAL GAS WORKS, AND 
 THE PURIFICATION OF THE GAS. 
 
 It may be proper here to say a few words, relative to the capacity or capability 
 of your Works. Every argument, whether founded on truth or mis-statement, that 
 could be found to pander to the public mind, has been industriously brought for- 
 ward, by anonymous writers, as well against the Works as the Company, and its 
 management. The Pipes, it is said, are too small ! What proof have they of this ? 
 Is it that the public iignts are ?iot sufficienlly supplied ? If any one looks at the blaze 
 of light that is given in the streets of this City, (unless affected by some local stop- 
 pages, or by frost), no doubt can remain, either of the sufficiency of the supply of 
 Gas or the adequacy of the pipes and apparatus. " But if Montreal increases dur- 
 ing the ensuing fiveyears, as it has increased during the " past — will the capacity 
 of the works be sufficient then ?" In answer to this, it may be confidently stated, 
 that it will be a long time before any real incapacity of the present Pipes, &c. is 
 experienced ; and when the City shall have increased to such an extent as to render 
 an increase of the means of supplj^ necessary, the difficulty and expense of effecting 
 that increase will be comparatively inconsiderable & triff ing. In order that the Share- 
 holders may understand the matter, a sketch of the main leading Pipes is appended 
 to this Report, which explains the facility with which the capability of the present 
 Pipes may be increased, and which, there can be no doubt, will satisfactorily prove 
 that the outcry against the Works on this head, has originated in misrepresentation 
 and ignorance. In the sweeping denunciations that have been made by those an- 
 onymous writers, the quality of the Gas has not escaped them. Although it is per- 
 haps beneath the Company to notice such accusations, it may be necessary to the 
 Shareholders to be informed that the purifying apparatus now used was made by 
 Messrs. Barlow & Co. of London, the most celebrated manufacturers of Gas Ap- 
 pajratus, perhaps, in the world. And for the character of the identical mode of puri- 
 fication, the Shareholders are referred to the best and most extensive work on Gas 
 that has ever appeared, lately published by Mr. CIcggs, Junr. The work lies on the 
 table, and it will be found that the mode of purification, as pursued in Montreal, is 
 first on the Ust of purifying processes. 
 
fD 
 
 The Directors now advert to tlio charges made for Gas to the Corporation and 
 to private consumers. 
 
 In the Report of the Special Committee it is admitted, as above stated, that the 
 price in Boston for the pubhc Lamps is about the same as in Montreal. The Boston 
 Gas WoricH have been m operation since the year 1834, and there has been no indi- 
 cation of dissatisfaction there in regard to the price. 
 
 The whole of the communicationH of thift Company with the Corporation, in 
 reference to the rate charged, have had reference to the charges made in Boston, be- 
 cause it was considered btf the Corjwralion that Boston was a fair criterion. And the 
 Corporation having selected Boston for a criterion, it may reasonably be asked, but 
 without the hope of rt'cciving an equally reasonable reply : Wherefore should the 
 persecution that has been raised against the charge be contenanced by the Corpora- 
 tion, who, it must be supposed, are desirous of acting on a principle of justice, and 
 have invoked information from Boston, as a means of deciding tlic fairness or unfair- 
 ness of the charge made by the Montreal Gas Company t , • ■ 
 {From the Report of the Directors to the Shareholders.) 
 
 REMARKS IN ANSWER TO MR. EDGE'S PROPOSALS. 
 
 The Letter of Mr. Thomas Edge, Manufacturer of Gas Meters and Gas Fit- 
 tings, of Westminster, is a singular production to be brought forward. The offer 
 made by Mr. Edge, of erecting opposition Works for the Corporation ( even if he 
 were more capable than the (Corporation of Montreal of expending £50,000 on a 
 very hazardous speculation, ) was made in ignorance of facts — even of the difference 
 between sterling and currency, and the expenses attending the laying down and com- 
 pleting Gos Works in this country, and the Directors consequently attach very lit- 
 tle importance to such an offer. Mr. Edge is a manufacturer, and if he could pre- 
 vail upon the Corporation to give him a carte blanche for the erection of good ana ex- 
 tensive Gas Works, upon the flattering but delusive idea, that the money would not 
 have to be paid for seven or fourteen years, the Directors entertain no doubt as to 
 what would be the issue. At the present value of iron, and with the streets to put 
 in plight after being trenched for laying the Pipes, the Corporation Gas Works 
 might supply their Public Lamps, but the present Gas Works would stsiad, and 
 could be worked at a rate (although it might not be a remunerative one) that would, 
 to use the expression of the Special Committee, " No doubt be of advantage to pri- 
 *' vate individuals, however much it might injure the existing Company, or paka- 
 
 *' LIZE THE KFFMRTS OK THE CORPORATION FOR A REMUNERATING REVENUE, should it 
 
 " embark upon the enterprise." 
 
 It is perhaps useless to advert to the reference Mr. Edge has made to " his towns^ 
 that are lighted with Gas. He speak" of two whole towns, but he does not give the 
 size or population of those towns. It is believed that one of them is a town of the 
 Island of Guernsey ; and it is so small and unimportant a place, that the Directors 
 do not even know the name of it. A sum of £4000 or £5000 sterUng, might bo 
 ample to supply such a place with Gas ; but when it would be found that a sum of 
 £40,000 or £50,000 had to be laid down (and £6000 thereof would have to be ex- 
 lended in restoring the streets to their former condition) another cause for a little 
 lesitation would rise up. But let us go a step further, and let us see what claim 
 Mr. Edge has to join in the outcry against the Montreal Gas Company. He states 
 that his charge is 10s. per M. cubic feet, and is it not notorious, if we may believe 
 the statements that have constantly been made in the newspapers of this City, that 
 the charge in many towns in England, is 4s. 6d. per M. cubic feet ? If such is the 
 case, why is there the discrepency between that charge and Mr. Edge's ? This 
 question was put to Mr. Edge, by the Secretary of this Company, and see how un- 
 satisfactory is his reply. " In reply to your observation that my charge of 10s. ap- 
 " pears unreasonable, while in some towns in England, you say it is only charged at 
 " 4s. Gd. — It was only at Sheffield, during a ruinous opposition, that the charge was 
 " so low. It is now agreed by both Companies, that it shall be 6s. 8d. in mture." 
 It is for the Shareholders, and for the Public, should the matter go before them, 
 to say whether the question has been candidly answered.