MOUNT IDA PUBLIC WORKS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 331, 9 July 1875, Page 3

MOUNT IDA PUBLIC WORKS.

In continuation of extracts from correspondence of general interest, we publish the following : <f*(From Mr. Simpson's report of 7tli June.) Channel. -It is possible that an additional £2OOO may bcy;equired for an extension of the Channel at the lower end for the carrying, oht of minor alterations at the upper—fnaking' in all a total of £20,000,' beiri'g £2215 less than the sum given in my estimates attached to general report. _ _ ! According to present indications, the total cost of H&id Race will also be oonsi- ' derably tinder my estimate." •' '-In'cdnseqiience of the and well-founded complaints of the first 'contractors as to the difficulty of getting their money when it was due, the following telegram was forwarded :- Dunedin, November 12; Hon. Colonial Secretary. What ebout the Public Works at Naseby ? I cannot but reiterate former assurances that the practical mode of'dealing with this work is to place it ia hands of Provincial Government. J. Macandeew. Next comes the first intimation ever ' made to the Colonial Government that the money estimated would not be sufficient for a complete work. Superintendent's Office, , 17th June, 1874. Sie, —Enclosed . . . (first papers , and estimation deepening of Channel) | . . . The cost of the proposed deepening is estimated at £6OO0 —an expenditure which is fully warranted by the pospects indicated, and which I venture to recommend to your favorable consideration^ J. Macandrew. : On JTuly 17th Mr. G. Clarke was sent a formal intimation of the Colonial Secretary's refusal to authorise the additional expenditure in deepening the Channel. ■ \ \\ On August 14th, the Goldfields Secretary—actually being in Naseby for one day and night—sent the following, telegram:— * Naseby, August 14,1874. A.Willis. -V i He Provincial Engineer's memo. Sludge Channel.—l advise that a very strong recommendation from Provincial Secretary should accompany it. An additional sum should certainly be spent upon Channel. . Only in the event of it not being possible to appropriate any more money for deepening should the prayer of the Mount Ida people, as represented by de Lautour, be granted. That prayer was evidently only made as last resource. . , D. MacKellar, . ~ Goldfields Secretary. • On-the '9th ,of October, 1874,.'the! Resident Engineer reported as fol- . loVs : ; I. Sludge Channel.—l have the honor to | report the Sludge Channel works as being l proceeded with satisfactorily^— 100;m'6n; being employed thereon. ' ' | - Head Race. Mr. Abbott's contract j ■No. 9 is proceeding more rapidly—7oi men beiug now engaged upon it. Mr. Abbott's upper contract, N0. : 7 (orj upper contract), is at a standstill— one, man has been at work thereon during'the ,whole of tho pnst winter. ■> It is very ne-: . cessaly that this contract should be car-' ried on in conjunction with the other contracts, as it is from this portion of the! race, the supply of water to Naseby will: be, dependent. This contract, together with contract No. 9,' was let to Mr. Abbott on the 6th. November, 1873 —the time allowed for completion being r.six 1 : Months from date of acceptance of t66dcr. IJleven months have' now elapsed and '11; miles of race have been cut, leaving 9|| miles remaining untouched. ' On the 'lst of September last I delivered abetter 'to| Mr. Abbott's representative, requesting; ,'liim to at once take complete 'his! ipntract, calling,his, attention ( to clause 12 of the general,conditions., Hptp. the pre-! sent dq.te, no effect ha? been given 'to my i requests' • -•■o\.Wv.>;/ iv.y« |

• In cbrieeqiiifence of this report, 14th 'October formal hotice-waS'.given 'to Mr. Abbott to close his contract "•N o; ;7'' '• (under • tbiei'l2tlr- . { clduße'f.'6f !the 'general conditions), unless h.Q.^at, once proceeded to work, with a i'ull coitnplement of hands.;. -A v, u '

Mr. Abbott defended himself thus To the Secretary Worksi ]sunedin. Sib,' —Referring to the i conversation which I had with votx tb'day;>'T%a^e , t6 state the following facts. ; The cPntract'l made with the Government Vas-to bb,finished in six months, theleigth of the race was miles: ' At the sriihe'time I was apked by the Secretary for Works to take up another contract, of 20 miles of. the same, race party; had not. taken up, which I did-rmaking a total of That too had been, specified'to be six. months, while for only nine miles and more the' Government', allowed 'another contractor the same time." 1 ' " ' v ' 1 t-.' I'have had* up to thig <^eiy ,1 gr;ea'ti difficulties to contend wi£h'First,—l liad all tlie Joeal jfalouaiefe of the district, vented as these have been almost weekly in the weekly paper, an'd'tliere because I was a lower tenderer, than local men. I had certainly great difficulties, in consequence of the.scarcity of,,labor, in getting,men { in fact, up till now, ,1 never could get more than 30 men, bus now, L have' 73 men employed, and I have advertised for 100 men. Were the Govern'rhent to cancel tho contract, rio contractor could "do the work more expeditiously than I can d.q;TlffiW., , i,

Tip to the preic-ist the'(dontract has been very unprofitable \to me. ~1. hope, however,! to recoup, myself, if,l .continue my work. ■' «'. ■/.

I therefore trust that yon will see, that I am' doing all that ! can tb proceed with works,, and that it, will'b,e.,unnecessary : for the'Gbyernment ,tq think aboufcgiving me any notice. It may as arinoying'to thd Government as it is damaging to me to'-read the false, base, and wicked untruths that are published wfiekly in the - Tda Chronicle,', about the works not 'finished, starving the miners out of the: dis? trict. Such could not' possibly be the ® aß ®J £ or ',. a^ ('hough,my contract. ha.d.heezi, fimihea within the time, £6 water can get along the race until tho large number of creeks that the race.crosses- has been floomed, which' will take'some 1 time to' do, and wbioh I have nothing tb%dwith. "And tho dim-his yett'6 ceive tho water from the race. TlicriHliero is the Sludge Channel, which will take eight months yet to finish ; —so the race,

although finished, would, be of little use till then. Water, if wanted; can be had independent to my contract nine miles from tlio N aseby end of the race—more water than the race would hold—from the Eweburn, which the race crosses. This water can be had now, or at any time; so the non-completion pf.my contract, as far as the water is concerned, would be of little moment—therefore I can see no possible necessity or advantage it would b'j to stop my works and give them to anyone else, unless to gratify a number of disappointed loafers in Naseby, and utterly ruin me, which ever since I went up there they have been longing for. I have now about 22 miles completed, and have only secured £3231, when I should have had at least £5280 if I had been paid 90 per cent., according to the terms of my contract. That has also been a little against me in not receiving my money as I should have done, which his Honor may remember, as I had to call on him several times to assist me in getting my money—and had it not been for the late Secretary for Works, Mr. Bastings, who encouraged me to go on, assuring me that all things would come right at the end, I -should have laid the whole matter before the Executive as to how I was kept out of my money. By accepting: my tender the Government Fere the gainers of at least £ISOO, that being the difference between my tender and the next, so taking all things into consideration, I sincerely hope the Government will not be a party to anything that would tend to my entire ruin. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, Chablks Abbott. ; D. Rcid, Esq. P.S. I —The contract was let to me on the 7th-November, 1873, when I paid a deposit of £494. I commenced work at the end of the month, and with the few men I have had have done more work in the time than aiiy other contractor.