OTIRA TUNNEL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 300, 15 September 1919, Page 6

OTIRA TUNNEL

APPEAL FOR EARLY COMPLETION . ' conditions OF WORK A deputation representing Canterbury and Westland interviewed the Prime Minister and tlio Minister for Public Works on Saturday in order to urge the desirability of tho apeedy completion of tlio Otira tunnel. The members of Parliament present were: Tho Hons. W. Noswortby. R. Moore, D. Buddo, C. Louisson, and J. Barr, and Messrs. T. E. Y. Soddon, J. Anstey, H. C 4. Ell, G. I'orbes, . Wi"J..Dickie, J.,Colvin, E. P. Hudson, nnd H. Holland. Tho deputation was introduced- by Mr, Seddon. • Mr. Seddon said the completion of tho timid at the present rate of construction woutd.take two years. Tho Canterbury and West 1 Coast, people thought that tho period should be reduced to not more than eighteen months. More men were needed on tho job, and in order to attraot the necesary labour the condition? must be made as attractive aa possible. The Otira end of tho tunnel wag very •wet," and the conditions certainly were not pleasant. One trouble was the lack of ai medical, officer at Otira. The deputation would like to know,if the electrical power plant was-going to be ready for use by the time tho tunnel was completed:"'" ' v .Other members of tho deputation urged the importance of tho work. The Prime Minister, in reply, said ho was, just as anxious as any man in New Zealand to 60e the tunnel completed. A long lino of railway Was lying idle, and ' could not begin to earn interest until tho tunnel was ready for use. Ho did not think'the people of Canterbury and Westland had much to complain of regarding the tunnel. It was one of the longest tunnels in tlio world, 5| miles long, and he''.would point out that tho work had been kept going throughout tho war. Some other works had stopped af. together. ■The Minister /for Public 1 Works could give more detailed information. Sir William Eraser told tho deputation that tho number of men now, at work in ' the tunnel was 187. An offer had been made in Christchurch to send a, certain number of men,, and ho had been only too glad to accept these men and put on a third shift. The full number of tnen offered had not been obtained. He would be glad to havo, the number of men brought iipi to 200,. But tho third shift had been working for.tjome weeks. The Minister pointed out that there had been-.a shortage of labour all over tho country in' 1918, and that the Public Works.-Department was still Jacking 1500. men. ..To say that ho had neglected the tunnel would be very ungrateful on the ■part of Canterbury, and Westland. He had-supported the tunnel inside Parliament and out of it, in spite of objections that had como from other parts of the country.- ,A, suggestion had been made that- tiie.iunn'el workers should be paid Sl. a.day, There were men at the Bealey. end'earning 225. 10d". per day, and tho OtiTa men could do tho same if they liked to take contract work and increase their pace. The Bealey men, on contract. worked eight hours a day, against six at Otira, and their output was 50 .per cent, better than tho Otira. output. Mr. SeddonTho Bealey end is,drier than Otira. , Sir William Fraser added that he'would Hike to put more men on at Otira, and :Would do his best to get them. The housing conditions wero not as "bad as they had- been" The eomniitteo sent from CliristchuTch had been j given every, facility to gather information. Mr. Seddon: Will you get a report from an engineer on tho sizo of the houses and the number of peoplo in them? Sir William Eraser: "I am not "oino: to lie dictated to bv anyone. I will get. a proper report. Whatever I do I will <lo myself. If I cannot do that I am not-, fit to bo hers. ... If tho men want a.'day they had better go on contract." TherMiiis.tet added that a steam eleotric potfer'. plant wag on order, and would 'bo Walled before the tunnel was completed. ii.wpuM be used later as a stand-by for the hydroelectric plant.