Exhibit 5
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                        MURTHA, CULLINA, RICHTER AND PINNEY
                                    (LETTERHEAD)
                                          
                                             May 1, 1996
    
   Securities and Exchange Commission
   450 Fifth Street, N.W.
   Washington, D.C.  20549
    
      Re:        Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation
                 Registration Statement on Form S-3 Relating
                 to the Offering and Sale of 700,000 Shares
                 of Common Stock
    
   Gentlemen:
    
          This firm is counsel to Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation (the
   "Company")  in connection with the proposed sale and issuance of 700,000
   shares of its Common Stock, par value $3.125 per share, as described in the
   Company's Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the "Registration Statement")
   today filed with the Commission.  We are familiar with the action taken by
   the Company to date with respect to the authorization of the sale and
   issuance of such shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Registration
   Statement and have made such additional investigation as we have considered
   necessary for purposes of rendering the opinions contained herein.
    
          It is our opinion that, upon the effectiveness of the Registration
   Statement, the 700,000 shares of Common Stock which may be sold and issued
   by the Company in the manner described in the Registration Statement will,
   when so sold and issued, be legally issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

          We hereby consent to the reference to our firm under the heading
   "Legal Opinions" in the Prospectus constituting a part of the Registration
   Statement and the filing of this opinion as an Exhibit to the Registration
   Statement.
    
                                         Very truly yours,
                                         MURTHA, CULLINA, RICHTER AND PINNEY

                                            S/ Willard F. Pinney, Jr.
                                         --------------------------------------
                                               Willard F. Pinney, Jr.
                                               a Partner of the Firm