MR CARGILL’S EXPLANATION.

Evening Star, Issue 3730, 5 February 1875, Page 3

MR CARGILL’S EXPLANATION.

To the Editor. SIH, —In your leader of this evening you nave thought proper to single me out as the subject of your severe censure for the part X took at the last meeting of the Harbor Board. But as 1 consider that your remarks do me much injustice, and convey to your readers an erroneous impression both of my reasons for moving the amendment to Mr Beeves’s motion and of its necessary effect, I beg to be allowed to offer, through your columns, a few words in my own justification and in explanation of the question from my own point of view. Nothing could be further from my desire than to see a day’s needless delay in the Board’s vigorously proceeding with the work committed to it, or to hamper the engineer by opposing red tape obstacles to his recommendations ; and I hope no one will suppose me capable of an unworthy design of forming an opposition party of obstructives in the Board. The amendment moved hy me has no such purpose, nor can I understand how you arrive at the conclusion that its adoption involves the postponement of the commencement of building the dredge and all other preparations for the work for several mouths till the survey of the harbor is completed. Nothing of the kind appears in the terms of the amendment. or could have been gathered from the discussion which led up to it. On the contrary, the information required is such as can be afforded at a few hours’ notice by the engineer, my opinion of whom is too high to suppose for a moment that he would recommend so extensive a contract to be made without having his mind sufficiently made up on the points in question. I have no wish to see the members of the Board assume the duties of marine and mechanical engineers, but I certainly do think that the Board are in a large sense the judges of what is to be done, and of the means to do it, and that they have some higher functions than to obey automatically aud without question the behests of the engineer. I consider the information required should have been in the possession of the works committee and the Board before they proceeded to contract for a dredge of peculiar construction and great power, and which will cost a very large sum of money, and I was greatly surprised, on asking the question, to find that not one of the meni' hers knew anything at all about it. Most of the members present expressed themselves as agreeing with me ; hut by others the argument was put forward, and stoutly maintained, that the Board had no right to require the report asked for, and that its requiring it would be an unwarrantable interference with the engineer, who should be left to devise and carry out his plans without question or interference on the part of the Board. As this was a position against which I felt called upon to utterly protest, I pressed the amendment, and it was carried.

Notwithstanding your strictures, therefore, I hope and believe that in the stand I have thus taken I shall have the approval of all reasonable people who trouble themselves to look into the question ; for either the Board is appointed to exercise an intelligent control and direction of the work committed to it, or it should be abolished and some less pretentious means provided for keeping accounts and performing the formalities of signing contracts en behalf of the public. No one will surely allege that the Board, as at present constituted, is justified in signing a contract carrying the expenditure of a very large sum of public money, without being possessed of an atom of information respecting flip purposes to be served or having an opportunity of givinrr its sanction and approval to the operations determiner! on. —I am. kc., m -13. B. Cargill. Dunedin, February 3. [We gladly insert Mr Cargill’s explanation which, however, does not appear to us to throw any fresh light upon the resolution, or modify our views as to its bearing. If gentlemen will avoid being misunderstood they must not commit themselves to hasty resolutions involving more than they intend.— Ed, ‘ E.S.]