Page:Eminent English liberals in and out of Parliament.djvu/110

 consummate tact and administrative talent, he courageously grappled with three great questions affecting the welfare of the borough. Unlike most towns of more ancient date, Birmingham possessed no revenue but the rates when Mr. Chamberlain took office. He looked about, and soon found another source of civic income. He resolved that Birmingham should no longer be at the mercy of private companies for its gas-supply. He made up his mind that the corporation should possess itself of the undertakings of the Birmingham Gaslight and Coke Company, and of the Birmingham and Staffordshire Gaslight Company, and he was manfully backed by the council. And with what result? In three years' time four hundred thousand dollars have been appropriated in aid of the rates, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars allocated as a reserve fund, two hundred thousand dollars as a sinking fund; while the cost of gas to the consumers has been reduced twelve cents per thousand cubic feet, being equivalent to a saving of three hundred thousand dollars per annum.

Having thus disposed of the two gas companies' undertakings, Mr. Chamberlain next resolved to deal with that of the Birmingham Waterworks Company. It also, after the inevitable calculations, negotiations, and parliamentary action, became the property of the corporation; and, though it has not been deemed advisable to raise revenue out of such a primary necessary of life as water, a good reserve fund has been laid past, and a thoroughly efficient supply secured to the community.

Like other towns, Birmingham is not without its "slums;" and to these the mayor next turned his attention. Taking advantage of the provisions of the