CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 172, 21 July 1880, Page 4

CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION.

MB. SAUM)ERS' SPEECH. There is another gentleman who ba*» been very \9armly d^feodod, and I shall have to say more about hioi thnn I intended to. This is one instance in whioh we ore accused of suppressing part of Ibe truth. The fact is that this gentleman received bis salary on the pround that ho did flometbing in Nelson, and something at Pictou and Blenheim; and we are accused of bavin*? suppressed the faot that he was doiDg something in Blenheim, and stated only that we found an officer in Nflgon who was doing something?. I admit we suppressed that part of the facis, but when I como to reed the evidence the House will see that we suppreesed tbot part which told tnoefc Rgninst the party BQcmeti — if he enn be said to be accused n\ all; we were not accusing him of anything; wo simply winhed to point out that he w&s f*n r ffieer whose services could be difpenned with, and before I eit down I think I shall be able to satisfy the "Rouse thnt this part of the report is also borne out by the evidence. I may say that, while in Nelson, the evidence showed that he was of no use : in Picton and Blenheim the evidence pointed distinctly to the conclusion that be did a great deal of mischief. We did not ssy anything about the mischief ,- we simply spoke of his being useless. Our report states,— "In Nelson wo found a gentleman in receipt of £425 a year as Manager of Railways, there being lees than twenty miles of railway, on wbicb only two trains a day ore running; whilst neither the inspector of permaneut-way nor the engineers ia a ror-fkes worehop appear to hace taken or required any instructions from him." Now I mast trouble thfi House wilh a considerable amount of evidence on this eubjact, bs she report has Veen chcilengsd iv the manner it has been. First of all, v?e hay* the man's own evidt noo : — (By the Chairman ) Are you an engiucer ?- — I am a m?ch»nical engineer. Q Are you not a civil eugJDeer ? — No. Then we have the evidence of Mr Thomas Aofing - Foreman of the Esilw-Gy Workshops, Noison : — (By the Chairman.) Wrteie did you learn your business ? — ln Fcoiland, Q Whnt were you there ?— Enginedriver. Q. Have you been accustomed to work in eugine-fibops ? — Yes; we hnd to work in fehops in otdtr to earc promotion. Q. Ami wheo no enginfi ccrnee into your shop for repair, do you undersland what has to be done with it ?— -Thorough iy. Q. No one has to tell you what to do ?-~No. I put the engine iuto the chop for rtpnir, and direct wb»t, Las to he done, if I do not do it myself. Q. What part does the Moti&ger of <he JSnilway take in these

matters ? Does he know what should be done ? — Yes,; but he seldom interferes with as. He jußt comes in occasionally to see that things era going on richt, and perhaps offers a suggestion which we act upon. Q. Is bis presence necessary to the performance of the work?— Well, we can do thirds without him. Q. If an engine were thrown out of repair when he was away, it would make no difference ? — No. Q. You would know hoy? to go on wilh the work? — Yes. The nexfi witness from whose evidence I shall quote is Mr Robert Wainhouse. Sta>.ionmftßter, Nelson : — (By the Chairman.) What duties have you to perform when Mr Stone is away at Picton? — I have to see that everything goes on correctly duriug his absence, and give instructions to all the etatiorjmaetets. Q What abut repairs to the engines in his absence ? What takes piac-3 when he is awny ? — That is left to the locomotive foreman. Q. He is capable of attending to that work, then ? — Yes. Q. Mr Stone's absence would not make aoy difference in respect of the repair of the engines ? — No. Q. Is your fitter 0 tradesman who understands his work ?— I think so. (By Mr Phai azyn.) You say you act as general manager during Mr Stone's absence ? — Yes. Q. Do you find aoy difficulty in doing that work as well as your other duties ?-—No. Q. For how long is Mr Stone absent for a lioae ? — Sometimes ho is absent for a fortnight. Q. And tbinps go on smoothly while be is away ? — Yes. Q. Have you anything to do with the maintenance of the line during his. abseuoe? — I have everything to do with the line. That is the opinion entertained of this gentleman in Nelson. Now we j come to Picton and Blenheim, and the House will find the opinion entertained of him there; snd I think, if honorable members will carefully fallow the evidence, and bear iv mind that this gentleman docs not profess to be a civil engineer, but Biroply a mechanical eugineer, they will see that his interference at Pictoß and Blenheim with a cnau who should bo far better up in such work tbao Mr Stone cannot be otherwise tlisn mischievous. Mr H, 0. Seymour, Traffic Manager on the Picton sniS Bienhfeim line, guvo this evidence: — (By the Chairman.) What education has the permanent way foreman had to specially qualify bioa for hia post ?— He has had many years' experience on railways in different parts of the world. He lias worked on French, German, and English railways, and is a thoroughly competent man. Q. I suppose he is a man on whom you can rely to give you information when auythiog goes wrmg ? — Yes. And if I fiud that there is anything that requires Mr Stone's attention I send for hin?. Q.

Have yon ever fouml it necessary to oend for Mr Stone ?~Yee. Whin the line was blocked up by the jheavy flood on the 20th March l«pt, I cent kr Mr Stone, Q. Why did you consider it necessary to send for Mr Stone ? Would not the foremen be more likely to know what to do in a case of that sort than Mr Stone ?— Ycb, I think bo. Q. Then you sent for Mr Stone in order to comply with the regulations of the department ?•— Yes. Q. And* not because you doubted ibe ability of the foreman to deal with the matter ?t-~No, not at all. Q. Did nny delay teke place in eonsequenco of your having to send for Mr Stone, or did you set to work at once to repair the damage ?•— We set to work at once. Q. And did Mr Sfone spprove of what you had done ? — Yes, Q. It is very necessary, I suppose, that you should have acme person on the line on whom ycuieould depeud, to repair damages without wailing for Mr Stouo to arrive ?~Yes, 1 think so. Q, Have any repair? been required on the Hue within yoor knowledge, that your foreman would cot have have been sb'e to deal with ? — No. He is quite capable of doing anything that may ba required on the line. Q. Are your working mecheuics ; capable men, and well up to their work? — One ie, end.the ..other is a veryj good assistant. Q; But they require somebody to instruct them what to do in the matter of repairs to engines ?■■— No, they can do anything that ia required of them under orditary circumßlances, Q. Then it is not necessary for Mr Stone to come here for the purpose of repairing enginfis ?— No. Are these men just as capable of deciding what is to be doce to so engine bs Mr Stone ib ?— -I cannot say j but they are capable of doing all repairs that ore necessary. They would never think of waiting to receive instructions from Mr Stone as to what should bo done. Then we come to the evidence of the Assistant-Engineer residing »t Blenheim, and we got further information from hito as to .the necessity for Mr Stone's services at Picton and Blenheim. Hia evidence is os follows: — (By the Chairman-). "Do you know Mr Stone, the General Manager of this line? — Yes; ha ia. manager of -the rolling-stock nnd permanent-way only. Q. I* it possible for a person who resides in Nelson to fake charge of the rolling-stock an<i permaaent-way here ? — I should think cot. Q. Then you do not see thnt there is any good, practical iy, from, his having charge of the rolling-stock an<\ pertsansnt-way here ? — None -at hll, as far 03 I can see. Q. Aad there would be no practical difficulty in (he oncers in charge of the working railways consulting you in the evetit of auy engineering difficulty arieing ?— No. Q. Your duties keep you pretty constantly within reach, do they not ? — Yes. I thiuk a day's notice would fetch ma here at any time. Q. Do you know the foreman of permaneut-wuy here ?— Yea. Q, Is he a prac ieal ujaa ?~>l think he is 0 man who wculd know wljftt to do in the event of aoy- difficulty srisiug under ordinary circumstances ; but if a bridge were washed away, for instance, I do \ tool think be would be able to; cope with the difficulty. Q. h Mr, Stone en. engineer ? — No. Q. Then you do not see that any practical good arises from the fact that the 1 .foreman has to .^consult Mr Stone before going to work? — No. Q. And you do not think that anything would be lost if =Mr Stone were disconnected with the line alto* gether ? — No. That is the evidence at Picton. and Blenheim about Mr. Stone which we suppressed-— or were, supposed .to . have suppressed— because we thought it unnecessary to put so much before the public to justify hii dismitsSftl or<removal s to another place where bis , would be more useful., Since sending in the report we have good reason to suspect that Mr. Stone hasan • occupation, keeping him employed perhaps to some extent, which; we; knew nothing about. A day or fewo. after the , report was published we saw in one of the Nelson papers an article which 'if not written by " a bear robbed of her whelps," sounds very much as if it were written by a Civil servant whose position or salary was attacked. There is internal evidence that it was not written by the

storekeeper, who would certainly have known .that he was.uot "a draughtsman in the Public Works Office;" and I have therefore come to the conclusion, considering the number of inaccuracies it contains in a very short space, and the savage assertions made, that it is very likely Mr. Stone has an occupation which we did not suspect. I will read a sample of the manner in which the poor Civil Service Commission is attacked. [Here Mr launders read a paragraph which appeared in the Colonist."] In the letter written by Mr Conyers, he positively denies that, we found a storekeeper tnere receiving £160 a year, with no stores and no office. The following are extracts from' the evidence of Mr J. H. penton, Clerk and Stores keeper, Kelson J— (By the Chairman.) What is your salary ?— £l6o a year. | Q. "What duties do you undertake ?— I , assist Mr Blaekett in the general office work, and keep the stores. Q. And you take charge of the stores in connection with the Public Works Department ? — Yes. Q. Have you any office set apart for that purpose ? — No ; I i have not a separate office. I use the same room as the draughtsmen in the office. Q. Where. do you keep your stores ? — We do not keep any quantity of stores on hand, but get them as we require them. The only stock we have on hand is railway material, and that is kept in the^railway yards at Poxhill and Nelson. Q. Do : you consider it your duty to obtain from the storekeepers in Nelson anything you may require in the shape of stores, except railway material, that may be required by the Public, Works Department?— Tes; everything except railway material, Q. And do. you get these stores, by tender, or by private purchase ?— I give an order for them to the storekeeper, and he.supplies them. Q. How do you^ arrange: with regard to price, quality, "&c. ?-* There has been no arrangement so far with regard to price. v We pay the! ordinary retail price for the goods. Q. And are none of your stores obtained by public tender ?^Not in Nelson. Q. Where do you go for your timber ? — We get it from Mr Baigent, that is the timber required for the maintenance of public buildings. Q. And do you get timber without aay contracting or tendering? —Yes, we have done so since I came here. He raay.be, as he eaysj assisting Mr Blaekett in the office. Of course: it is not true, as stated in the article, that he is acting as draughtsman in Mr Blackefct's office. He is not 5 because there is a draughtsman in the office. It is quite possible he may be a very industrious man; it may not be liis fault, that he has not enough to do. I may say that if I had to choose between the three men there some one to do the duties of the whole of them, perhaps I should take the £160«a-year-man. -