The Globe. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1877.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 837, 28 February 1877, Page 2

The Globe. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1877.

Among tbe various changes which have lately taken place in the Public Works Department, that affecting the management of the engineering branch of the Canterbury Railways deserves more than a passing comment. Mr. Warner, we find, has received immediate notice to quit, and in his place has been gazetted Mr. 11. Lowe, for some time engaged in lading out the line south of Oamaru. Of course, Mr. Warner has hitherto been in the employ only of the late Provincial Government.while Mr. Lowe belonged for a short time to the General Government staff; but the qualifications of the two gentlemen —from a professional point of view, —are such as to render it a matter for considerable surprise that the services of Mr. Warner have been dispensed with in the manner indicated. Mr. Lowe, we are aware, has had scarcely any experience in railway engineering, especially in its mechanical branche?, his professional forte lying more in the direction of surveying, &c. We can hardly suppose that even Mr. Lowe himself would think of placing himself alongside Mr. Warner, as far as knowledge and experience go. When the Provincial Executive of the day found it necessary to procure an engineer for the management of our railways, great care- was exercised in the selection of a gentleman thoroughly experienced in matters appertaining to that all-important branch of the service. After considerable deliberation and upon the highest possible testimony from leading professional men in England, Mr. Warner was finally appointed. That the selection was a good one has been clearly shown by the excellent manner in which that gentleman has carried out the multifarious duties of his office. Not only has his professional knowledge as a railway and mechanical engineer been placed at the service of the late Provincial Government", but to him are due the designs of the many substantial buildings which have been constructed near the Christchurch railway station during his term of office.

Not only did Mr. "Warner come to j the colony recommended by the highest professional men in England, but before coming here at all, he occupied the high position of engineer of one of the most important railway lines in England. That he should now be displaced by a gentleman who—in most things connected with his new office—may be called a layman, is highly discreditable to the Government, and is not calculated to impress the public very favorably with the good management of the Public Works Department. Even had Mr. Lowe's qualifications been at all equal to those of Mr "Warner, he has no more claim on the General Government than our late Railway Engineer had. According to parliamentary returns Mr. Lowe belonged to the class of officers temporarily engaged for railway construction purposes only, and his tenure of office, under special arrangement, could have been determined $t a short notice. In reality, therefore, as far as preferment alone is concerned, his position was on a footing similar to Mr. "Warner's.