Th< Municipality of Georgetown 23] 



defence, fco augmeat the pressure in coping with serious conflagrations, 

 and more especially in cases where a failure of high pressure in the 

 street mains occurs through a burst pipe or other accident to the cen- 

 tral pumping plant. Tn dealing with the general water supply of the 

 city, I think it only right to record a large measure of praise to my 

 old chief, the Hon. William Russell, for his long continued and un- 

 tiring efforts, ultimately crowned with success, for obtaining an im- 

 proved supply of water for the city, villages and estates connected 

 with the Lamaha Canal and East Demerara Water Supply Conser- 

 vancy, in the initial stages of which work I had the honour of being 

 associated with that gentleman, as long ago as 1874. 



1871 — The Georgetown (B.G.) Gas Company founded with a capital of 

 £68,000. The street lamps were first lighted with gas on the 31st 

 January. 1873, and a gas supply made available to the public a month 

 later, at what mciiis to us now an extravagant price of 18s. 9d. per 

 1,000 cubic feet, subsequently reduced four years later to 15s. and 

 again to 12s. in 1894, after the advent of electric light in 18#9 by the 

 British Guiana Electric Light and Power Company, which undertaking 

 was eventually purchased by the Demerara Electric Company — a Cana- 

 dian corporation — as from 1st January, 1900. The first partial light- 

 ing of street lamps with electricity took place in 1892, and subse- 

 quently the street lighting contract was divided between the two com- 

 panies ; but in 1901 the Council failed to come to terms with the Gas 

 Company for a I'enewal of their portion of the contract : and so, after 

 struggling on for some years under adverse conditions of competition 

 with electricity, the Gas Works finally closed down on 31st December, 

 1901, and the company passed out of existence, leaving the Demerara 

 Electric Company masters of the situation and sole purveyors for the 

 public and private lighting of Georgetown In 1898 an advantageous 

 offer was made to the Mayor and Town Council by the Gas Company 

 to purchase their undei taking, which I strongly recommended, believ- 

 ing that with improved methods of gas manufacture the business 

 could be made a profitable one, especially wi h the power in the hands 

 of the Council of dividing the municipal lighting between gas and 

 electricity, which would have ensured the success of the undertaking, 

 and fully justified the action of the Council by preserving to the city 

 and its inhabitants two sources of lighting, instead of having it, as at 

 present, in the hands of one company alone. However, the proposi 

 tion did not find favour with the majority of the Council and so the 

 negotiations fell through, to the loss of the Municipality ami the com- 

 munity, in my opinion. 



1878. — Taking effect of the Vlissengen Ordinance No. ;S of 187b\ under 

 the provisions of which Lacytown was reconstructed and improved : 

 and the new district of Bourda, as well as the Botanic Gardens, laid 

 out and developed. The streets in Lacytown now known as New 

 North Street and New South Street were previously only narrow 

 alleys or footpaths, known as Church Alley and Love Lane, respi c- 

 tively ; and St George's Oval was specially designed and laid cut as a 

 .site for the now Anglican Cathedral, the former brick building hav- 

 ing been erected on a narrow restricted site on the Company Path, 

 Hanked on either side by main draining trenches, which eventually led 

 to the*destruction of the \t meture I hrough subsidence of 1 he foundal inns 



