Electricity as an Illuminant. 23 



I am not here to advocate or to condemn any system of 

 electric lighting, but although these central stations have been 

 successful hitherto, and are being every day more largely adopted, 

 notwithstanding the greatly increased cost, I should not like to 

 have the responsibility of running such a station in Belfast. 

 I maintain that it would be far better and cheaper for anyone 

 requiring from forty to fifty lights to put down a small gas- 

 engine of his own, provided the hours of lighting are more than 

 350 per annum. Although, as I have pointed out, dearer 

 under some circumstances, and perhaps in most cases, than gas, 

 the light is undoubtedly a great advantage, and is daily 

 receiving a large and more extended recognition at the hands 

 of the public. Modern science has overcome nearly, if not all, 

 the difficulties that attended its early employment as far as 

 efficiency went, and probably the objection of greater cost as 

 compared with gas under certain circumstances will be removed 

 before long, in which case its superiority as an illuminant can- 

 not fail to be recognised. 



Mr. Jamrs Perry — 1 think it right to begin by thanking 

 the Society for allowing me to speak to this meeting here. I 

 want to tell the people here something as simply as I can of my 

 own connection with electric lighting during the past four 

 years. Four years ago this day I took possession of the old 

 flour mills. Gal way. I took a roller mill out of its position, and 

 placed a compound dynamo on its site. The Gas Company of 

 that town up to that time were paying a dividend of 7 

 per cent. I appeared before the Town Commissioners, and 

 I proposed to light the town for them. Early in the year, they 

 agreed to accept tenders for the lighting. I tendered for the 

 ordinary sixteen candle lamps at £z ; they had hitherto been 

 paying £if. Our tender was actually £1 19s. 6d., because I 

 thought, as an old tendering hand, it was a safe thing to 

 take off the odd sixpence. The Gaslight Company tendered at 

 £2^ and got the job ; but from that time till this they have not 

 paid a penny of dividend. They went in for Bray lamps and a 

 great many other things of that kind, and these ran away with 



