than the trade-union minimum. These exceptions are Leicester gas (municipal), Glasgow tramways (municipal), Sheffield gas (private), where the maximum is lower than the trade-union scale, and Birmingham gas (municipal), where the maximum is the same as the scale. Other skilled trades are employed in much smaller numbers than fitters, but the example of this, one of the strongest of British trade-unions, seems to be the situation of others. Wages of Fitters (Machinists). GENERAL HISTORY AND LEGISLATION British Gas Works (Schedule I) By MILO R. MALTBIE Sources. As Schedule I relates principally to the statutory and legal provisions affecting the undertakings examined, the most important sources are the acts of Parliament and judicial decisions. Of almost equal value are the Sessional Papers, especially in those instances where special reports have been made by select committees of Parliament, and where the evidence has been printed in full (London principally). Occasionally, a verbatim report of the proceedings before a Parliamentary committee when a private bill affecting the undertaking, usually for the grant of powers or the extension of capital, may be found, but ordinarily no record is kept, and when printed it is issued by the city or the company itself. The records, reports and documents of the city department or of the company, as the case may be, often contain much of value, especially those issued when the undertaking was started or when changes in management were actually made or mooted. In the case of municipal plants or when a transfer of the undertaking from the company to the city is being considered, the council minutes are useful. The principal secondary sources which are of such high standing as to be recognized as authentic in every respect, are: Bunce: "History of the Corporation of Birmingham." 3 vols. Bell and Paton: "Glasgow: Its Municipal Organization and Administration." Corporation of Glasgow: "Handbook on the Municipal Enterprises." Hudson, editor: "The Manchester Municipal Code." 6 vols. Edition. Reeson: "The Acts relating to the Supply of Gas and Water." 1902 Edition. Vol. III.-9. Rawlinson and Johnston: "The Municipal Corporations Acts and other Enactments. ." Ninth Edition. In each town there was usually a considerable amount of pamphlet and periodical literature which threw some light upon the situation. To supplement the data obtained from the above sources, interviews were had with the principal city officials, officers of the companies, American consuls, and citizens connected in no way with the company or the municipality. Principal Acts of General Application. Companies Clauses Consolidation Acts, 1845-1889. Companies Acts, 1862-1900. Lands Clauses Consolidation Acts, 1845-1895. Gas Works Clauses Acts, 1847, c. 15; 1871, c. 41. Borough Funds Act, 1872, c. 91. Public Health Act, 1875, c. 55. Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act, 1875, c. 86. Employers Liability Act, 1880, c. 42. Workmen's Compensation Acts, 1897-1900. Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, c. 50. Burghs Gas Supply (Scotland) Acts, 1876, c. 49; 1893, c. 52. Acts Applicable to London only. Metropolis Gas Acts, 1860, c. CXXV; 1861, c. LXXIX. London Gas Act, 1905, c. CLV. Individual Undertakings. Birmingham (Corporation) Gas Act, 1875, c. CLXXVIII. Glasgow Corporation Gas Acts, 1869, c. LVIII; 1871, c. XXXV; 1873, c. CXLVIII; 1882, c. CXC; 1888, c. XXIII; 1891, c. XC. Glasgow Gas Company's Acts, 1817, c. XLI; 1822, c. LXXX; 1825, c. LXXX; 1857, c. XXXV; 1863, c. VII. Glasgow City and Suburban Gas Company's Acts, 1857, c. LXXX; 1865, c. II. Glasgow Corporation Gas Order, 1873. Glasgow Corporation (Tramways and General) Order Confirmation Act, 1901, c. CLXXIX. Glasgow Corporation (Gas, etc.) Order Confirmation Act, 1902, c. CLXXXV. Glasgow Corporation (Sewage, etc.) Act, 1898, c. CCXLIII. Glasgow Corporation (Gas and Water) Act, 1899, c. CLXII. Glasgow Corporation (Gas, etc.) Confirmation Act, 1902, c. CLXXXV. Glasgow Corporation Order Confirmation Act, 1905, c. CXXVII. Glasgow Corporation Loans Act, 1883, c. CVI. Glasgow Corporation Acts, 1898, c. CCXLII; 1899, c. CLXII and CLXVI. Manchester Gas Acts, 1824, c. CXXXIII; 1830, c. XLVII; 1831, c. XVI; 1837, c. CXII. Manchester Improvement Acts, 1828, c. CXVII; 1854, c. XXVIII; 1858, c. XXV. Manchester Corporation Acts, 1843, c. XVII; 1882, c. CCIII; 1894, c. CCIX. Manchester General Improvement Act, 1851, c. CXIX. Manchester Corporation Waterworks and Improvement Act, 1875, c. CLXI. Manchester Corporation Acts, 1891, c. CVII; 1901, c. CXCIII. Manchester Gas Orders, 1896, c. CX; 1899, c. XXVIII. Leicester Gas Acts, 1860, c. V; 1873, c. XI; 1877, c. L. Leicester Corporation Gas and Water Transfer Act, 1878, c. CXXXII. Leicester Corporation Acts, 1879, c. CC; 1884, c. XXXII; 1897, c. CCXVIII; 1902, c. CXCVII. Borough of Leicester Order, 1891, c. CCXI. London-South Metropolitan Gaslight and Coke Company's Acts, 1842, c. LXXIX; 1865, c. XIV; 1869, c. CXXX; 1876, c. CCCXXIX. South Metropolitan Gas Acts, 1881, c. CLXXII; 1882, c. XXXVIII; 1896, c. CCXXVI; 1897, c. V; 1900, c. CLXII; 1901, c. CLXXXIX; 1902, c. CVIII; 1905, c. XXXVIII. Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Gateshead Gas Acts, 1864, c. CXLVIII; 1867, c. XXX; 1873, c. CXVII; 1879, c. CLII; 1896, c. CXXXII; 1901, c. LVIII. Sheffield Gas Acts, 1855, c. XIV; 1866, c. CXCIII. Gas Orders Confirmation Acts, 1882, c. XCIX; 1890, c. CCVI; 1893, c. CXLV. A-HISTORICAL AND GENERAL. A 1. Date when this establishment began to sell gas. A 2. A 3. If it is a municipal plant, was gas being supplied by pri- A 4. Character of present organization, whether individual, firm, corporation, municipal or other form. Date of Municipalization. Sept. 1, 1875 and Jan. 1, 1876. June 1, 1869 1817 July 1, 1878 With the exception of Manchester all the undertakings were originally in the hands of private companies. A few small plants were also built outside of Manchester, when the city did not cover such a large area as at present, but when the city had extended its mains so that it could reach the areas supplied by these companies, they were taken over by Manchester, to the satisfaction both of the consumers and of the companies, who were not able to compete successfully with Manchester. The two most important cases were the purchase of the Provincial Portable Gas Company in Hulme in 1857 and of the Droylsden Gas Company in 1869. A 5. A 6. Date and. character of all changes in ownership since State method of making each change. Birmingham. Gas mains were first laid in the streets of Birmingham in 1817, and two years later a company was incorporated by act of Parliament, under the name of the Birmingham Gas Light & Coke Company. At this early stage of the gas industry no one thought of treating it as a monopoly. Consequently when a second company applied to Parliament in 1825 for an act of incorporation, and stated as a reason why a franchise should be granted to it also, that Birmingham was then but partially lighted with gas and that great public advantage would accrue from the construction of another plant, the local authorities and Parliament were easily persuaded. Within the next fifty years each company secured other acts of Parliament authorizing the issue of additional capital, the expansion of their plants and the extension of the areas of supply to include not only Birmingham but some fifteen other local areas nearby. Municipal ownership was first proposed in the town council by Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, then mayor, in January, 1874. In his speech supporting his motion that negotiations with the companies be opened, Mr. Chamberlain gave the following reasons: All monopolies which are sustained in any way by the state ought to be in the hands of the representatives of the people, by whom they should be administered and to whom their profits should go. The duties and responsibilities of the local authority should be increased so as to make it a real local Parliament, supreme in its jurisdiction. The cost of the public improvements which had been or ought to be undertaken, such as street paving, sewage disposal and improvement of sanitary conditions, was very large and the council had been obliged to drop several schemes which were necessary to protect the health of the town, because the |