384 Mfi Ricardo^s further Observations on a [May, 



I can only reply, that without doubting your correspondent's 

 veracity, 1 must beg leave to doubt the fact till the Company's 

 calculation is realised ; besides, if Sheffield retails its gas at 

 IO5. Od. with a profit of only 10 per cent, there must be some 

 extraordinary and unaccountable advantages attendant on Derby, 

 or some gross mismanagement on Sheffield, as I cannot see why 

 the. latter should not be able to sell their gas as low as the 

 former, and at that rate the profits ought to be nearer 60 per 

 cent, than 10 per cent. From a paper now before me, the 

 Derby Company appears to be but very recently established, 

 and the promoters of it are making their calculations by antici- 

 pation. One circumstance I beg to mention, where I conceive 

 them to be completely in error ; and if their calculations of profit 

 are made from such data, they will certainly be deceived. This 

 paper states, that 1000 cube feet of coal gas are equal to 70 lbs. 

 of candles. This, I believe, is at variance with every recorded 

 experiment that has been tried, and more particularly with those 

 of Mr. Accum, one of the chief promoters and warmest advo- 

 cates of coal gas establishments. In my former paper, I have 

 given the result of his trials on this subject, and, according to 

 them, supposing these experiments to have been made with 

 candles six to the pound, instead of eight, each candle lasting 

 six hours, a pound would be equal to 24 cube feet of coal gas, 

 so that 1000 cube feet would be equal to somewhat less than 

 42 lbs. instead of 70 lbs. as stated in the Derby report. 



Your correspondent next draws a comparison between my 

 calculation of the expences of oil gas and the Sheffield coal gas ; 

 but I cannot admit that one of the former is equal only to three 

 of the latter : I am convinced it is fully equal to four, in drawing 

 the medium between the two; and allowing it to be as one to 

 three and a half, I trust I have made every necessary allowance. 

 In that case 1000 cube feet of oil gas which cost 30s. would sell 

 for the same price as 3,500 of coal gas, instead of 3000 ; that is, 

 1/. I65. 9d. yielding a profit of 22 per cent, instead of 10 per 

 cent, as stated by your correspondent. 



I am wiUing to allow that some of these calculations show 

 better on paper than in realit}', and that there are always some 

 great and unavoidable expenses which cannot be immediately? 

 foreseen, but which, however, it becomes necessary for a newly 

 established Company to guard against by a high price. This 

 may always be much more easily lowered than raised ; but 

 whatever these contingencies may be, they must, from the nature 

 of the two establishments, be greater in the coal than in the oil. 

 In estimating the profits, it must always be done with the consi- 

 deration of a certain demand for a given number of lights : inte- 

 rest on capital, and expences of management to a certain extent, 

 must be incurred, whether there are few or many lights required ; 

 but, when these are properly balanced by the demand, a profit 

 approximating to what I have stated may be expected. 



