ORONGORONGO TUNNEL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 235, 29 June 1920, Page 6

ORONGORONGO TUNNEL

WORK IN PROGRESS ROBERT SEMPLE'S "CO-OPS." ■ ENGAGED It will como as a surprise to many people,'including members of the City Council, to learn that a gang of co-oper-ative labourers organised by Mr. Robert Scrapie, has been engaged for oyer two months past on prelimmaiy work in connection with the boring of the tunnel through the hill at Wainui in ordei to tap the Orongorongo S icnm for the augmentation of the city's water supply. Some months ago it was announced..- in these columns that Messrs. R

Semple and Co. had made a proposal to put through this • tunnel, on a cooperative basis, and that llie City Coun-cil-was,seriously considering the same. At a recent meeting of the City Council Councillor' T. Forsyth asked the Mayor if any contract or definite arrangement had been made with respect to the .Orongorongo tunnel, and ho was informed that no contract or 'definite arrangement had been mace with Mr. Semple or tho men-associated with him. Nevertheless it is known that men have been at work at Wainui for some time, and that the city corporation's motor vehicles were carrying out e> plosives and supplies of one kind and another.

Councillors have been questioned about the matter during the last few days, and have expressed surprise I hat the work was in progress. Two members of the council stated that it wa;< understood that the Semple co-operators were to do tho work-on certain terms, provided the ratepayers approved the loan for that purpose, but that entailed, iu their opinion, no authority to go on with tho work. Therefore they were genuinely concerned to learn -that the work had been in progress for some weeks, just as though a definite contract or duly au. thoriscd arrangement, had been made with the city corporation. ' Tho news' that a start has been made with the boring of the tunnel would, in ordinary- circumstances, bo hailed with delight by- a majority of citizens wlio understand Wellington's water supply problems, but members of the council and others are strongly of opinion that a full and frank explanation is due as to how the co-operative labourers came to start on the big job. There is a desire for information as to the terms which have been arranged with the cooperative tuimellers now at Wainui— what price ner foot is being paid, under wliat conditions is that price being, or to be, paid; why was the contract not advertised; and what is the estimated length of time for the work? This information is required, as it has been stated in certain quarters that the price to be Semplo's men is the biggest ever paid for tuunel work in New Zealand 1 ; that it sets a ne-v standard for the payment for tunnel work. It is said that miners fromth-i north visiting Wellington have bxpiessed amaze-ment-at the price Messrs. Semple and Co. are alleged to ho getting, and surprise 'that sueh "a good tiling" should not have been advertised in the -usual way. One man, - who is a practical miner from Waihi, is reported to have made it clear to his friends that he could have got half of tho miners to come down from Waihi to fake a job at a good deal less than the price said to have been' arranged between the city corporation and the co-pperative workers brought together, by Mr Semple. It. is understood that the fact that the work has been commenced by the' "cooperatives/' apparently without a contract or definite agreement (or, if so, one made without the full knowledge of city councillors, and 'the consent of ratepayers') is being brought under- the tice of the Minister of Public Works, THE MAYoisIxPLANATION PRELIMINARY WORK IN PROGRESS. When the foregoing statement .was sub-, mitted to the Mayor (Mr. J. V. Luke) terdav he said that the main scheme of bringing in the water of the Orongorongo for /the city supply had .already been I adopted by the council, in accordance [ with tho proposals of Mr. Morton (the City Engineer), who had also advised as to the best means of carrying 'out tho work. That was approved by.the-couh-cil. in consultation with Mr. Morton. Under the prevailing circumstances it was considered quite futile to call for tenders for the work under the contract system. . What with Ithe disturbed stato of the labopr market and the difficulties to be met with in connection with a big work so far away, the council had been led to believo thajt the contract system would not be in the best interests of the city in that it would not make for speedy completion of the work. The alternatives were to do Ithe. job by day labour; or on the co-operative principle. The day-labour idea was* not considered seriously on account of the location of. the work being too far, from the controlling heads. i ' "In the -meantime, Messrs. Semple and Co. (some co-operative miners) put in an offer to do the work on certain terms on. the co-operative basis. They met tho Finance, Committee, and afterwards tho full council in committee, when all the pros, and cons were fully discussed, and certain points were agreed-upon, including the cost per running foot of the tunnel construction work, which was given a good deal of attention by Mr. Morton. The first offer of the men was rejected, but tliore was a substantial difference between Ithat one and the second offer,' which was approved by the council, all the ■ conditions being made secure. ' Still, tho council was in this position, that it was without authority to raise the money for the prosecution of the work, which had to be done with the sanction of the ratepayers. "In the meantime the council received a letter from 60ino expert tuimellers offering to do the work on the contract system, but that letter was subsequently withdrawn.' The council .then gave further consideration to the application before it. to pierce the tunnel. The Engineer was; perfectly satisfied that tho men who had banded together for.tho purpose of making the offer intended to do their best to push on with the work, and so relieve the city, and the council shared that opinion, so they had come to a settlement. Personally, ho was of tho opinion that they should do all they could as early as passible, to make tho tentative agreement an absolute one.. There had been a delay in putting the matter before the ratepayers, but that had been occasioned by trnmwavs questions, chiefly those surrounding the locality of the proposed stand-by station. The work now being done was not being done without tho -authority of tho council; it was quite understood that such preliminary work as could be done should be pushed on with in preparation for tho full work,- when it should be approved. The men now out (hero were employed in making the necessary tracks—purely preliminary work. That work was being carried out, he thought, on day labour, and perhaps on small contracts." -. „

At Ithis point- Mr. Morton entered the 'room, and stated that the only work being done at present wns track-making, which wns being done by <lay labour, anil two small contracts. No doubt the rnav.tor will bo further cleared up nt the coming meeting of the City Council.