TRAMWAY TENDERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1810, 25 July 1913, Page 7

TRAMWAY TENDERS.

COUNCIL DISCUSSION,

IRREGULARITY ALLEGED.

A very lengthy discussion took place at last night's meeting of the City Council on the question of tramway tenders, ill general, and the purchase of a certuin motor chassis in particular. . Tlio matter was introduced by a report by tilt! trainways Committee that it had instructed tho Tramways Board of Management that ill 'future tenders must be called through tlio press for suppjics required by the Department. Several councillors spoke ill support of tho principle' of the advertising of tenders. They said that they had no complaint to niake about any action of tho board, but tlie making of purchases without advertising tenders was ono liable to abuse. It being felt that tho paragraph was in the nature of a slur on the board. Councillor Fletcher moved, and Councillor Hindmarsh that it bo referred back to the oommittee. Counoillor Fitzgerald said that the committee should have concrete evidence, of wrong-doing before taking such action, ■which might be open to misconstruction. The chairman of the Tramway Board (Mr. W. H. Morton) said that wherever possible, tenders had been called, and that the board was making no unauthorised purchases. Sometimes' it was a matter of difficulty to get tenders for certain kinds of articles. The motors now owned b£ the board .wero all tho same make, with_ interchangeable parts. It would be ridiculous to call for tenders for proprietary articles. With regard to the purchase of tlio particular, chassis then under consideration, Mr. Morton enid that they had obtained prices from every firm in Wellington which sold commercial cars. The board had not made the purchase, but had made a recommendation to the committee. Councillor Fitzgerald was proceeding to tnako a personal explanation with regard to. tho purchase J>y tho . board of a certain motor chassis, for which ho had since been appointed the Wellington agent, when the Mayor read a letter which ho had received from another motor firm on the question-. The letter (which ivas a very lengthyone) stated that a number of members of tho trade were, "up in arms" against the 1 treatment meted out to them with Tespect to the purchase of motor vehicles, for the tramways and fire brigade. "I am determined," tho letter continued, "that matters shall be brought to a head, and if tho council 'cannot give me any assurance that I' shall have fair play in future, I shall give all the details to tho press for publication." The writer proceeded to give details concerning the methods adopted by tho City Council in connection with the recent purchase of a motor lorry for the overhead equipment department of the city tramways-. The first information be had had that the council required a lorry was through a newspaper paragraph, stating that the council' had accepted the tender of Mr. G. W. Woods for a 11-ton lorry,' the amount of tho tender being .£595. He subsequently found that publio tenders had not been called for, but the notice had been sent to certain firms asking them to tender. "I do not for ono moment wish to suggest that 1 would necessarily havo been successful had the opportunity of tendering been given me, neither do I wish to infer that in accepting .the tender of Mr. G. W. Woods the council is not accepting the best of those submitted,'although it does seem strange that the make of lorry..to bo purchased is one for which'a member of the Tram■ways Committee is,-the local representative.". The method of calling tenders was absolutely-bad. The. letter also referred .to another matter—the advertisement calling for tenders for a 60-h.p. motor chassis. Pot this particular tender, insufficient, time, had been given for business people to prepare a tender. Tlio specification 1 had been drawn up in such a way as to mako it possible for only one firm to. be successful. When .tho advertisement appeared, the council had evidently already decided upon the make of chassis to be purchased. "I would like to. emphasise the fact," the lettor- concluded; I '"that. I am not writing this out of an/ spirit of disappointment,' but' simply because I maintain that unless this 'holo and coroner*'method of doing business (under the circumstances; I do not tlidnk this is too strong' a term to apply), is put a stop to, the best interests of the city are, not being served; and as a citizen and a ratepayer, I have the right to demand tho best 'services from those appointed to manage the affairs of the city. And as a business man, I object on tho grounds that with City Council tenders everyone las a right to a fair field and no I 'favour." As chairman of tho Tramway Commit-' tee, the Mayor said he was quite willing the report should go back to the committee. He wanted to say there was never any suggestion of wrong-doing on the part of the Tramway Board, but the committee Were of opinion that it was desirable, as far as circumstances would permit, that tenders should be called for all supplies. Councillor FitzgeTald said that the letter was a reflection not only on the Tramway Committee, but on the Tramway Board to a certain extent, because it btated that tho Mayor was not aware of tho " hole and corner" methods adopted in the past. He would like some proof, of that, tie would like some proof that any particular firm was excluded from the. list sent out by ' tlie Board.. As a matter of fact, if his recollection served him right, the Tramway Committee'never considered in any way calling for tenders, but left ' the matter to the'board, which submitted circulars to all agents in Ne\t r Zealand. He, personally, never got specifications in any way, because at that timo he did_ not have the agency for the particular chassis secured. When it was realised that several municipalities were adopting the Argyll type, and that Wellington was also going to do so, there was a rush for tha agency.' He was pleased < to say that ho .was successful hi getting it. It was unfair to say that becauso he was tho accredited agent of the firm now that tho Tramway Board had been influenced.

Councillor Buddie: Wero'-sgu tho agent ■»rhen the chassis was purchased? Councillor Fitzgerald: No, certainly not. I want to say 1 never recehyd any information. Mr. Woods, tho Njbw Zealand representative, put the himself, and came to \Vellington several timea in connection with it. Everything I have done in regard to my public duties has lioen fair and above board.' Councillor Tregear said lie did not wish to place the slightest reflection on tho Tramways Committee or tho Tramways Board in any way, but lie thought it' ■would bo exceedingly dangerous if any councillor had the right to supply anything to the council. Tho Mayor: 110 has not. Councillor Fitzgerald was appointed agent after tho supply of this chassis. Councillor Uindniarsh congratulated Councillor Fitzgerald .on his statement. He (tho speaker) had asked Mr. Morton (City Engineer) if ho knew Councillor Fitzgerald had anything to do yrith this agency, and Mr: Morton had replied that ho had no notion of it at all, and tho ■whole of tho business was done with Mr. ,Woods .in Invercargill. Further, said Councillor Hindmarsh, ho was glad Councillor Fitzgerald had "bowled" the reflections over. To show how straightforward tho Tramways Committeo 'were, directly they heard of tho matter it was reported to the council. Councillor Frost thought that the explanation made by Councillor Fitzgerald would be accepted by everyone. He was still of opinion that tenders should bo publicly called in all cases. There was a feeling amongst certain business men that they did not have a chance. Councillor Wright/ said it seemed perfectly clear that one particular firm mid been overlooked. The Tramway Board had made a mistake when sending out circulars for this lorry. It seemed to him that tenders would obviate this. He did not think it was in the best interests of the council that explanations should bo necessary. There were criticisms suro to arise outside. Tho Mayor said he considered Councillor t'itzgerald had absolutely cleared himself of any imputations. The Tramway Board had dealt directly witli the New Zealand agent when purchasing tho lorry. Tho report was referred back to tho committee.-

The flexibility of WarneFs Rust-proof Corsets is 0110 of their .chief characteristics. City, drapers.—Advt.