THE WATERWORKS CONTRACT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5237, 5 January 1878, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE WATERWORKS CONTRACT.

The committee met again yc.-tenlay afternoon at 3 o’clock. Present : Councillors Hunter (chairman), Fisher, and Diver. Councillor Moss "as examined, and in reply to Councillor Fisher stated that he had been in the habit of signing Corporation cheques. For a part of the year he and Councillor Mills were deputed to sign cheques. He had frequently had cheques presented to him which he had refused, to sign. One was for the hist draw on the wharf contract. The certificate to his mind was not satisfactory. As a rule cheques were brought to him to sign because he was the easiest to be found. By the Chairman : He was present on September 18 when a resolution was passed empowering him and Mr. Mills to sign cheques. He believed that the reasou of the alteration of that rule was through Mr. Hester stating that he (Mr. Moss) was not always available on a Saturday to sign cheques. He opposed the resolution empowering all ■ members of the Council to sign cheques. He was of opinion that only two should be empowered, who would be responsible to the Council. The knowledge of clause 107 of the Act, which enacted that all payments should he authorised by the Council, would not prevent him signing a cheque which had previously been signed by the Mayor and the Town Clerk. He wnu one of the Councillors who signed the cheque for £2OOO ou the 19th October, and also the £IOOO cheque on the 15th November. There was a certificate to each cheque. There was nothing within his knowledge to lead him to believe that Mr. Saunders was being paid more than ho was entitled to. He would not have signed had he been possessed of any such knowledge. Joseph Saunders, contractor for the waterworks contract, in answer to the Chairman, stated that he also held the nightsoil contract, the wharf contract, and the contract for the supply of road metal to the Corporation, He had been paid £15,000 on the waterworks contract, and had put in another certificate for £IOOO, but did not get it. The contract was for £17,195. One of the conditions of the contract was that 25 per cent, should remain in the hands of the Corporation till the work was completed and passed. The reason he drew the money was that the work was completed three months ago. ' He bad got no certificate of completion, because he was doing extra work for the Corporation. The main contract could have been completed four mouths ago. He was detained about six weeks one time, because of the absence of Mr. Blackett, as Mr. Marchant would not pass certain work before it was inspected by the consulting engineer. By Councillor Diver ; He had not asked Mr. Marchant for a certificate of completion. The reasou he did not ask for a complete certificate was that he was doing extras.

By Councillor Fisheb : He never sent in a written notice of completion to Mr. Marchant. He had applied verbally several times. He did not think that it was altogether necessary to ask Mr. Marchant for a certificate of completion. He could see the work for himself. He was of opinion that ho had not overdrawn on the contract. He had . sublet the construction of a bridge, valve-house, and boat-house ; but he was not aware that that would vitiate the contract. His attention had nut been drawn to such a stipulation. He was aware that lie was not to interfere with the ordinary supply of water, and he had not done so. He had not used the normal flow of the stream for the purposes of his work. He had made no claim through any errors in the original specifications. He had not diminished the ordinary supply of water through his works. There was plenty of water now, and always had been. He had received £ISOO as a bonus for the construction of a wall to dam up water. The w f ork was in such a state then that it would store five million gallons of water. Rain fell in the month of February sufficient to fill the reservoir. The work was to be sufficiently advanced by the end of June to store thirty million gallons. The reason he could have completed the work five months before contract time was that he had a good plank and employed plenty of labor. A Mr. Macdonald watched the interests of the Corporation in the absence of Mr. Marchant. If the pipes had been here in time his contract was sufficiently advanced to have supplied the city with water before this time. No claim would be made by him for insufficiency or incorrectness in the drawings or specifications. (Mr. Fisher then read the condition of the contract to the effect that no such claims would be allowed.) .Extras were a different thing to that which was referred to in that clause. He looked upon it that his liability to the Corporation ceased when he completed his contract. There was a stipulation that he was to maintain the waterworks in working order for three months after it was passed ; but it would not be his fault if there was no water in the reservoir. He had not read the condition providing that the Corporation should retain 5 per cent, for three months, to meet any claims which might be made against the contractor, &c. Bv the Chaibjian: Before he received the certificate for extras from Mr. Marchant he put into his hands about a week before an account of the items. Mr. Marchant went over the account with him at the Corporation offices. The full claim was £3969, and Mr. Marchant said he would give him a certificate for £2970 on account till Mr. Blackett inspected the works. He always received moneys within a day or two of the issue of the certificate.

By Councillor Fisher: It. was usual for the principal to pay for works and material too. He was one of the proprietors of the Evening Argus. He was not at present interested in the Kiwitea township, although he was at one time, and Mr. Macdonald acted as his agent. Mr. Macdonald, Mr. Baird, and himself purchased some land conjointly in the month of December, and each gave a cheque for £BOO in payment of the land. By Councillor Maodoxald ; I never saw you about the Kiwitea township. All the arrangements with you were made through Mr. Baird, I never knew even that yon signed the cheque for extras. I am not directly or indirectly connected with you in any business transactions. The cheque for £2970 was paid into my hankers in the usual way. The' Chairman drew the attention of the committee to a stateraen’. which had appeared in a report of yesterday’s proceedings, to the effect that Councillor Macdonald during bis examination had been subjected to some insulting remarks, and that be (the Chairman) had to advise Councillor Fisher not to make offensive remarks. Ho did not wish the statement to go abroad that any witnesses who might be called to give evidence would be subjected to insult. In Mr, Macdonald’s case considerable latitude was allowed because he was a member of the committee himself. The only time he objected to the manner in which a question was put was when Councillor Fisher used tlm word “ quibbling.” Nicholas Mauchant, waterworks engineer, was examined, and in answer to questions put by the Chairman, stated that he had been City Surveyor for between ten and eleven years. Twenty-five per cent, of the amount of the waterworks contract was to remain in the hands of the Corporation till the work was completed and passed ; 5 per cent, was to remain till three months afterwards. The reason he signed for £16,000 to he paid to Mr. Saunders, while he was only entitled by the terms of the contract to receive £12,730, was that he was delayed in his work by the Corporation pipes not coming to hand. Had the Corporation carried out the work devolving upon it, the contractor could have finished by September. There was a sum of £3OOO still owing to Mr. Saunders, that is if he could substantiate his claims. He (Mr. Marchant) had received a message from the City Council that his services would be dispensed with by the 31st December, and he thought it was only fair to the contractor that nothing should bo left after that date which would bo debatable. Had the Corporation pipes come to hand in June the work would have been finished in September. For the last three months the Corporation had the use of the contractor’s men and plant. He had held as much mouey back from the contractor as ho reasonably could. The full powers of the Council wore vested in him in relation to this contract.

There was an amount of £2700 or £3OOO still in dispute between him and Mr. Saunders. He considered that, coup ed with the contraotractor’s four sureties, was ample security, and quite as much as the Council should call ou him to exact. There was now £2195 owing on the main contract. He had full powers to depart from the origiual specifications. He had not yet certified that the main contract was complete. The contractor's plant was never taken into consideration in giving certificates. (Mr. Marchant here read a document vesting him with full powers of the Council.) Those • powers had neither been revoked, varied, or altered by the Council. The deposit of £690 lodged by the contractor had been returned to him. He gave the certificate for the bonus of £ISOO to the contractor for work to be completed by-the 15 th January last. There was no arbiter appointed by the Council, and he would not have allowed one, as the engineer was generally a puppet in the arbiter’s hands. By Councillor Fisher : Ho_ did not look upon the. document containing the conditions of the contract as a blank sheet. Ho would have used every condition in it had he thought them necessary to protect the Council. The deposit of £6OO was a trivial amount when it was taken into consideration that Mr. Saunders tender was £SOOO beneath any other. He (Mr. Marchant) objected to the deposit being returned. However, the sureties were agreeable that the deposit should bo returned. The £6OO would have lain idle ; but when the contractor got the money it enabled him to push on the work. He did not think that the spirit of the contract had been violated, Either party could yield without prejudice to their general interest. The contractor’s men wore now clearing away work not in the contract at all. They were engaged removing rock, &0., in front, which would bo dangerous to the working of the dam. No claim was made for extras on account of insufficiency or incorrectness in the specifications. Mr. Blackett suggested alterations, which were carried out. The alterations were made before tho contract was signed. Tho contractor was bound not to interfere with tho existing water supply. He had not interfered with it. Mr. Saunders had advanced the work sufficiently by the 15th January last to store 5,000,000 gallons of water, and he certified to that effect. There was no deficiency in the water supply of the city till the water was eased off for the purpose of laving the pipes. It was an absurd condition in the contract that the contractor should be responsible for the water being at full working level in the reservoir for three months after lie had completed his contract. Some discussion here ensued between Mr. Fisher and Mr. Marchant on this point,and the Chairman remarked to th ■ effect that the written contract would speak for itself. Absurd or not absurd their interpretation could not affect it.

By Councillor Macdonald : The capacity of the stream was sufficient to supply the city with water some years hence. He had not altered his opinion as to the capacity of the stream ; but there was a greater quantity of water consumed than he had calculated upon. He had net taken machines into account. There was an ample supply of water if tho engineer were vested with full powers. There were 300,000 gallons of water sent down daily, and that should be sufficient for the wants of this city. He had never communicated to the Mayor or the Council officially about alterations in the contract. That was a matter between Mr. Blackett and himself. He had stated about twelve months ago, unofficially, that he believed he would keep the extras within £SOOO. The reason of the delay in getting the pipes laid was that the tunnel was narrow, and the work was so heavy that it was necessary to employ a large number of men. He never had an offer from any party to lay the pipes within a fortnight. One difficulty was that they had to supply water at the time they were laying the pipes. At the conclusion of Mr. Marchant’s evidence, the committee adjourned till the following (this) day, at three o'clock.