The Patea Mail. Established 1875. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 1883. THE DRAIN PIPE TRANSACTION.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1006, 7 March 1883, Page 2

The Patea Mail. Established 1875. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 1883. THE DRAIN PIPE TRANSACTION.

There was a good deal of talk* at the Council meeting on Monday about aquantity of drain pipes procured from; Mr Clarence Dale. So far :as we can j gather front the discussion, which appears to have been warm at times, the position is this?:—The Engineer ordered a quantity of pipes from Mr Dale for Leicester street contract. He , considered that the adoption of a. clause in his report slating.that certain pipes, were required was sufficient to warrant them being .procured, and he received an authority from the Town Clerk to .get them. By and by the account, some £7O odd; is sent in to the Council and. ipromply repudiated by that body, the reason alleged being that the pipes':had been obtained without the knowledge and sanction of Councillors. ! Then the Mayor gets, mixed up in it somehow, and is charged, if not openly, at least indirectly, with being a party of the transaction. The whole,-thing- appears to have been a, muddle, ..but. we should not like to say that anybody is much to blame over it. The Mayor says the bulk of the pipes were ordered by Mr Dale four months ago, not for. the Borough at= all, but for a settler on the Whcnuaknra Block; and that the Engineer saw Mr Dale and wanted to purchase the lot. He also says'that he knew nothrng about the quantity and price of the pipes, and when the Engineer spoke to him about them, be merely gave his ■ assent by saying that if he (the Engineer) had ordered them, meaning the pipes for Leicester street, they would have to be taken. There is a discrepancy between this statement and that of the Engineer. That officer.says he shewed the figures to the Mayor, which his Worship denies in toto. Finding that the Council would not have the pipes, the Mayor asked Mr Dale to take .them- back; and that gentleman having sold to the original party for whom they were imported, agreed to do,so on condition that a small quantity of 9-inch size remaining oh hand was'purchased by the Council. The Mayor agreed to that, and very properly to, at.least we venture to think so.; There is hardly a doubt that had Miv Dale chpsen to, bold, the Council to its bargain,- through the Engineer, ihe 'could,have done so, and if by taking: a small quantity of necessary pipes ; a larger and unnecessary outlay was avoided, we think a good bargain was struck. , And it was for agreeing to this coarse, thatthe Mayor got hauled over' the coals on Monday night. Cr Adams felt and expressed himself very strongly, about it, and to some extent we agreewitb him that the precedent . was Had and if persisted in, likely to lead to, trouble. / That there is a 'good-deal of wbat that gentleman . characterised as “ shady ” about; the transaction must be admitted, but the shadiness appearsto be on the part of the vendors, if. we may judge* frond’the lawyer’s letter sent to the Coim'aL It was stated ‘ therein that the “ property ” in the pipes had not passed to Mr W. Dale,, that he never intended to pay for them; and in fact had not done so up to the present. What his intentions were n't is impossible even for ah astute lawyer to guess, and nobody; except thb unfortunate: seller, cares a fig whether he pays for them or not. That sort of thing is of every-day occurrence, and is not at all singular to Mr W. Dale, People can; however, form their own opinion about the honesty of transactions of that nature.* Why Mr Clarence Dale shbuld have beSn pushed forward ns a pipe importer we. cannot imagine, unless it was to throw dust in the eyes of'the numerous friends tof his brother, who bre affectionately interested in his welfare. We -knew-'he did a little jn-jugs and- jam pots, but we draw the;lme at' drain pjpejßi It -is* not a savoury ject, and really is not worth pursuing further. The upheaval in the Council bn Monday will have the effect , of# making all concerned very cautions in future about entering , upon informal purchases.