ADDINGTON INQUIRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 458, 17 March 1909, Page 8

ADDINGTON INQUIRY.

SOME INVENTIONS. NO ENCOURAGEMENT FEOM THE DE- , PAETMENT. (BY raiiBOBAPH— PRESS ASSOCIATION.) Chrlstchureh, Maich 16. Tbo 'Addington Inquiry waa resumed this Jnorniag. • •■:•-■ Mr.'Beattie completed calling evidence, but . said ho desired to give" evidence himself. However, ho preferred to do so in the form of an.address to tho commission when the evidonco' had been completed. Tho commission said that both Mr. Beattie and. Mr. • Hampton , (the men's representatives) would be given an opportunity of ■ summing lip. During the inquiry a witness threw some light on the question of casual labour. ' I am a casual," ho said, in reply to a question from the chairman, Professor Scott. "You gave mo tho job about twenty-three years ago." ' ■■ Jas.-W. Nichols, boiler inspector on tho Now Zealand railways, ■ stated that'he had been twenty-eight years in the service, and in his present position. During inspection trips' ho ' visited Addington, hut had not noticed idling. The men were quite as diligent as those of ■ other workshops. The boiler work done at Addington, was of the highest standard. Mr. Beattio said that this was all the evidonce which ho intended calling, but he proposed to mako a statement himself later. Evidonco was then given on- behalf of the employees. .' " • ' ' ■ James Hislop, retired railway servant, stated that he had boon employed twentyfour years at-Addington. He had not urged Mr. Jenkins6n to approach: tho General Manager with a request that he (witness) be mado a loading hand. - Hugh Sloane, fitter, in charge of,tools at 'Addington, said that ho had held his position since 1890. Ho considered the men at Addington superior to the men in other shops whore he had worked. While at Addington he had 'effected improvements in various machines and appliances. He had invented a. new coupling -to be used in. connection .with hydraulic tools, : a'stud extractor to be .used in the'fitting and boiler shop, 'radial/cutting ■ head tools for'making the ticket'nippers used on trains, dies for making swab irons, apparatus • for boring Ting , pm bolts in _ carriages, an-adjustable feed clamp for widening buffer pin holes, tho halt-tcoth feed used .on a largo planing machine, an improved boiler tube r oxpander, and also an internal tube-cutter which ho had patented, and which did the work in about one-sixth of tho.timo. ; taken up by the old apparatus. In most ..cases, he,.had,been/told--to i make tho machine or-tool required without being; told how to do it;: He ; : had written; to the General Manager four months ago respecting further recognition for what ;he had dqne for the Department,' but,' so. far, he hpd re-ceived-no reply. The treatment'' received from the Department was'certainly'riot such as to encourage him, to think out further I improvements. Some" time'ago he proposed to make, an -apparatus • for replacing belts' which .had fallen off, but he had received lio encouragement. At the' presontitirae ho estimated that a shop like■ Addington .would lose quite eight hours overy month ! from belt, troubles., He had also effected several improvements for tho use of tho boiler shop, which materially reduced tho,time required for carrying out certain operations. ; To tlie President: His fating,at Adding-, ton was that of fitter, and he was paid 10s., 6d. per day. He was now in charge of all tools. His duty was to keep them in good order, but not to; invent 'and 'mako'new' tools, although •he was from time to time; invited to make certain tools. ' He had never seen the Yarrow tube-expander. There was considerable 'difference ■ between a Wickstead tube-cutter and the'one which he had invented. Ho did not 'know of ,any' belt-returner in .uss,'iin 'New- Zealand, ■> although , he. knew that th'ey were , used. in: ' shops,, in,,,Eng1and,,,,:..-. ~-' ',-.-• . •' ,■■..' To' Mr. Roberts: All. ,of his inventions, were in constant use at Addington. . . .'.,,.' .. John May, blacksmith, whilst at Addington, invented several tools which he stated effected a big saving of time.' ' Decius S. Turner, gasfitter, had invented sovoral new devices relating to tho gas service in cars, but had.received.no recognition by the Department...'■ ,' -.■ ■' / This was all the ovidence ; called; by:-Mr. Hampton. ■•..-. ■ . •-.-.. , ; ~ ■ • Tho president said the, commission had now a largo, amout of matter before it,, and, he , proposed to deal, with that matter before calling further. witnesses. All - voluntary witnesses had been heard. The date at which further'evidence would be received would be advertised, and representatives of officers snd men notified. The board then adjourned. PRESS OPINIONS. (BY .TELEGRAM , —SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) Dunedin, March 16. The "Star," referring to the Addiiigtpn Inquiry ,states H-Tho facts, as we have set' them out, form a sufficient condemnation of tho General Manager's procedure from first to last. Prom memorandum to explanation they speak for themselves, and further censure is unnecessary. As for tho "expert," Mr. Jenkinson, ho seems to have been "not nnderstoqd" with remarkable thoroughness. The inquiry may bring out somo matters re- : quiring reform. Indeed it b'as already dono bo, but the main charge has been disproved, and as regards the bona fides of tho Addington omployoes, there,,is.., no "discreditable stafo of affairs" to "bring to an.end." The moral,' so far,' is that general managers should not jump to hasty conclusions of an invidious kind on tho strength of tho representations jf outside "expert engineers."