PUBLIC WORKS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4530, 27 September 1875, Page 3

PUBLIC WORKS.

The following tenders were received at the Public Work's Office, Wellington, for the completion of the unfinished work on the Clutha Bridge contract: —Accepted, James McKay, Dunedin, £17,668. Declined, J. Wain and Co., Dunedin, £20,000; D. Proudfoot, Dunedin, £20,078; J. Blair, Dunedin, £20,613. The following tenders were received at the Public Work 3 Office, Wellington, for the Paid Paki-Waipawa contract of the Napier and Waipukurau railway : —Accepted, Tracey and Allen, Napier, £7989. Declined, Firth and Borne, Napier, £9288; Joseph Jay, Picton, £10,931; C. McKirdy, Wellington, £11,752 ; Allen and Kingstreet, Waipukurau, £13,943 ; S. D. Powdrell, Napier, £14,618 ; H. Willis, Napier, £15,642; McS weeny, Anderson, McSweeny, and Buddie, Napier, £22,400.

Satisfactory proof is being furnished of the excellence of the railway engines recently turned out of the Lion Foundry. Mr. B. W. Mills on the 14th inst. received a telegram from Foxton stating that No. 1 engine had drawn one truck, with twenty-five men and_ nine trucks loaded with sleepers, weighing in all some forty tons, a distance of two miles, and had made the' return trip inclusive in twelve minutes.

On the 14th instant Messrs. Andrew, Bunny, and Waterhouse waited on the Minister for Public Works, with a petition from 265 Wairarapa settlers, in favor of a central railway route. Mr. Andrew said an enhanced cost of £20,000 ought not to prevent the central line from being adopted. The Minister replied that when the trial reconnaissance now progressing was completed, Mr. Carruthers would make a final inspection of the ground. Till then, nothing could be decided. The Wanganui railway compensation case is, according to the Wanganui Chronicle, to be made the subject of arbitration as between the Government and the natives. It will be remembered that some time ago Te Wunu and other natives put a stop to the progress of the public works on the Wangaehu reserve, pulled down the railway fence, and threatened further mischief. Through the exertions' of Mr. Booth, R.M., the matter was temporarily arranged, and the works were allowed to proceed. The Ngatiapa, through their solicitor, Dr. Buller, have now agreed to refer the whole of the matter in dispute to arbitrators ; and they have nominated Mr. Finnimore to act for them. Mr. It. W. Wbon, R.M., has been nominated on behalf of the Government. It is "ratifying to find the natives thus amenable to our civilised mode of settling differences ; and it is rather curious that they should have selected an Englishman as an arbitrator in preference to one of their own chiefs.

Considerable progress is being made with the extension of the Hutt railway, the weather of late having been favorable for outdoor employment, and the bridges are now in course of construction. The Upper Hutt tunnel is also being actively pushed ahead, though the difficulties met are not a few. The Wairarapa Standard understands that the residents in the neighborhood of Gladstone propose bringing under the notice of the Government the necessity of a bridge over the Ruamahunga in that neighboi hood, and that they also intend to make an application to the postal authorities for a mail service to that township. Mr. O'Malley is pushing forward the reclamation of the land between Pipitea Point and the Lion Foundry. The ballast engine, | drawing twelve trucks, makes a daily average of twenty-four trips, giving a daily deposit of new ground of about 720 cubic yards, or an average weekly deposit of about 4320. The contractor expects shortly to obtain sixty additional trucks, thirty-four of which will come from Hobarton, and the remaining twenty-six from Home, and expects to make about thirty trips a day. This will obviously give a great impetus to the work, which will probably be further accelerated by the advent of favorable weather. The progress of the breastwork has been very satisfactory. The total length of the breastwork (which will connect Pipitea Point and the Lion Foundry) will be fifty-two chains, of these seventeen are already completed, being about one-third of the entire length of the line. The piles and shields of the breastwork are of jarrah wood, while the cap is of totara. The total quantity of made ground laid down up to the present writing, is not less than four acres. If circumstances favor his wishes, the contractor will shortly have two shifts of workmen employed during every twenty-four hours, so as to push on the work as fast as possible.