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The Victoria Gas Company in its contemporary global context.
While the process of producing a flammable gas from coal was known
from the late seventeenth century, the first large-scale commercial
gasworks was not established until 1812, in London, England.
British and French natural philosophers—early scientists—discovered
the flammable properties of methane (CH4), which they termed firedamp,
as early as 1688. A letter from the Rev. John Clayton to the Royal
Society, dated 1688, states,
With some sulphurous Spirits which I have drawn from Coals,
that I could no way condense, yet were inflammable, nay would
burn after they had passed through water, and that seemingly fiercer
if they were not overpowered therewith. I have kept this Spirit
a considerable time in bladders, and tho’ it appeared as
if they were only with Air yet if I let it forth and fired it
with a Match or Candle it would continue burning till all was
spent. [1]
Natural philosophers continued experimenting with coal gases throughout
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Lavoisier’s oxygen
theory of combustion in the late 1700s caused a significant shift
in the understanding that surrounded flammable gas. The work of
these early scientists provided the theoretical foundation necessary
for the emergence of gas as a viable product in the nineteenth century.[2]
Early, small-scale gasworks did appear in the eighteenth century,
but were usually sufficient only to light a small building. The
basic process of heating coal in a sealed vessel, called a retort,
and then collecting the gases released from the coal, has been constant
throughout the evolution of gas production; only the scale of production
and some of the intermediary steps have changed.
Like in Victoria, many of the gas companies in England were created
by government legislation. Acts of Parliament gave the companies
the right to erect gasworks, tear up city streets, and lay gas mains.
From 1860 on, the granting of monopoly also became commonplace.[3]
Baltimore was the first North American city to be lit with gas
from a commercial supplier, in 1820. Closer to our area of examination,
the San Francisco Gas Company was formed by the Donahue brothers
(Peter Michael and James) in 1852. The Victoria Gas Company (VCG)
seems to have been influenced by the emergence of gas in San Francisco
in that John T. Little is said to have returned from there with
the intent to serve Victoria with gas.[4]
In regards to the equipment used by the Victoria Gas Company, it
seems that they were somewhat behind the times. Even though they
imported their gasworks from Scotland in 1859, the Victoria Gas
Company utilized a series of iron retorts. Although they were good
conductors and were non-porous, iron retorts had a short working
life due to the fact that they would usually become distended by
the heat and pressure after about 200 working days. According to
Stewart, retorts made of fireclay became the standard in Britain
after 1853.[5]
Overall, the beginnings of the Victoria Gas Company were very analogous
to those of many other nineteenth-century gasworks, in both North
America and Britain. It does seem peculiar that although the VCG
imported their equipment all the way from Scotland, they were sold
equipment that seems to have been out-dated nearly a decade before.
The connections between the VCG and the operation in San Francisco
and the reason that they used such outdated equipment both deserve
further investigation.
Sources:
E.G. Stewart, Town Gas: Its Manufacture
and Distribution. (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office,
1958).
O'Dea, William T., The Social History of
Lighting. (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1958.)
Freeman, Dr. Larry, New Light on Old Lamps. (Watkins Glen,
N.Y.: Century House, 1968.)
Nesbitt, James K., Early Days of the
Victoria Gas Company: Our 100th year, 1860-1960. (Victoria:
Public Information Dept., B.C. Electric Company Ltd., 1960).
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