THE PORT CHALMERS RAILWAY.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2386, 24 November 1870, Page 2

THE PORT CHALMERS RAILWAY.

To the Editor of the Evening Star.

Sir—ln yours of last night appeared a paragraph under the above heading, stating we bad the pleasure of inspecting, &c., which I presume, means yourself. Your views of matters are all one-sided, and give little credit to the sub-contractors. Would you allow me, through the medium of your valuable paper, to slate a few facts for the benefit of intending sub-contractors and the working men in general. In the first place you state that, “from not estimating the effect of the tidal wash correctly, &c., a portion of the bank had been washed away.” Did you in your visit pay any attention to the capabilities of the different sections for stones for pitching purposes? If you did yon would find some bad plenty of stones, others very little ; and I refer it to any practical man whether it will pay to gather stones from the hill side and creeks, carry them to the works, and pay pitchers 8d per square yard for placing them, when the sub contractors have only from Is to Is 3d per square yard ? These are the highest figures going that I am aware of. I hoard a party ask one of the pro« umters for -’s per yard, and he was told be

opened his mouth too wide when he spoke. Again, you state that wherever unskilfulness or carelessness was manifested, &c,, you heard complaints of nonpayment of wages. Now, Mr Editor, how should you like to stand in the shoes of a sub-contractor with a bill of say LSO, and to be paid with only the half of that; and also to be told that was a'l you worked for, less the per centage ? I think you would feel far from comfortable, and do as others have done, that is—stash it ? Now I know an instance where only onc-half of the amount actually due was paid, and that not interferin','with the per centage. This Icm vouch for on the estimate of an authorised engineer ; and if the promoters are talked to about it they tell you they pay on the certificate of their engineer, which of course clears them. Again, I would ask you what are the duties of an inspector of works ? Is it to allow you to go on with jour work for one week and condemn it the next, or check a flaw immediately on his seeing it ? Now, Sir, to wind up, allow me to inform you there would be no complaints heard of non-payment of wages if a fair figure was given to sub-contractors. As it stands at present 1 am inclined to think it will be—-the longer the worse. 1 am, &0,, A SUB-CONTKACTOE. 22nd November, 1870. [VVe willingly insert the above, which only shows how necessary it is to take every contingency into consideration in making contracts.—Ed. E. 8. ] AN EXPLANATION. To the Editor of the Evening Star. Sir, —ln reference to your leading article in to-night’s Star, allow mo to state, that I do not yet know the gentleman, who under tho name of “ Nemo,” was kind enough to take up his pen on my behalf. I am adverse to the mixing up of personal matters with politics, and nave read sufficient to know, that sometimes disputants having a weak cause, adopt the obscure method to cloak their shortcomings. Permit me however to say that I have questioned only Messrs, Reynolds, Fish, and Driver, and that I went to their meetings with no “ prepared questions ” nor with any intention of “ catechising” them. It is, I think, a pity that neither you nor your contemporary, the Times, in giving what you pretended was a fair report of Messrs Reynolds and Driver’s meetings, published a “ pretty faithful report ” of “my style.” If you or your contemporary had done so, your readers would have had, ere now, an opportunity of saying whether my questions were for the elucidation of political truths, or dialectical triumphs. Let me only add that you and Mr Driver are much mistaken if you imagine that any “ill-mannered personal attacks and rebuffs” will deter me from exercising my undoubted right as a Dunedin elector, in questioning political candidates and representatives regarding their creed and action. I am, &0., Robert Stout. Dunedin, 23rd Nov., 1870.