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13
Company. Such being the case, it is undeniable that
the cod sumption and purchase of Gas for all Public
Street Lighting ought to be ascertained by Meter
Indication, which system corrects and explains many
little matters not readily understood by the public.
During the half-year the Gas Company have been
served with 201 Notices of defective supplies of Gas
through stoppages and water in the service-pipes, all
of which were attended to by them. The practice
formerly, I am told, was to allow the defects to
remain until the lights were greatly diminished or out
altogether, and then steps were taken for rectifying
such defects.
The accompanying Table contains a total of the
number of defective and bad lights that have been
reported during the half-year by the lamplighters. The
numbers blown out may appear large and require explanation
to account for the same. When the lighting and
repairs of the Public Lamps were taken in hand by the
Vestry, a great number of lantern glasses were found
broken, which properly belonged to the Gas Company to
repair under their former Agreement; a long time elapsed
before they carried out.this necessary work. Owing to this
delay, and the windy and rainy weather which prevailed
during the first three months of the work under the
new system many lights were blown out, the majority
being extinguished by the intense and continuous frosts;
for during inclement weather, Gas will frequently
condense, hence the pipes get frozen, and the supply
stopped. During the latter end of December, in some
Parishes, the frost had affected so many lamps that fire
pots had to be placed around the bases of the columns
to thaw the fittings.