MR. TARLON AND THE RAILWAYS.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 74, 18 November 1864, Page 7

MR. TARLON AND THE RAILWAYS.

(From the Sotjtaiand Times, Not. 16.) If further evidence is required to prove that our previous remarks on Mr. Tarlton were folly warranted by facts, it is supplied by the Provincial Treasurer himself, in his second letter, published in yesterday's issue of the Southland Nevjs. It is difficult to understand how a man in Mr. Tarlto^'s position could have penned such a mass of ignorance, presumption, and malice. We certainly gave him credit for being a better tactician, although our estimate of his character was not a favorable one. "We will, in the first place, notice briefly some portions of the official letter which Mr. Tarltos addressed to the {Superintendent, on the 19th March, 1864, and which he caused to be embodied in his effusion of yesterday. Our readers may be sure that we shall advance nothing that cannot be easily substantiated. Alluding to the sleepers for the Great Northern Bailway, Mr. Tarlton says .— " Besides any of 'the kinds required by " the- specification, there are red pine, " white pine, mero, and even bukaka. " More than the half of all the sleepers " are mero." At the time the above was written, none of the sleepers had been passed, and subsequently, on the inspectioa of a competent man (recommended by the commission to inquire into the manner in which the contract was being carried out) only 301, out of a total of 17,744, were condemned as not in accordance with specification. The numbers were as follows : — ' 75 condemned as red pine. 205 " white pine. 6 " bukaka. 65 " mero. The number rejected does not exceed the per centage of inferior material generally thrown out on such an inspection, and the statement of Mr. Taelton 'is shown to be altogether false. With i regard to the use of white pine rails, it i seems now to be generally thought that an error of judgment was committed by Mr. Chalmers, but there is not a shadow of ground for supposing that he was influenced by other than the purest motives for the public good. He could derive no benefit from the departure from the specification, and.it was strongly represented to him that "to insist upon Tasmanian or matai timber only would tend so to delay the construction of the j line, as to absolutely prevent the com- 1 pletionofthe contract within the speci- 1 fied time." When.it is remembered that rapidity of construction was the universal ;cryin,prder, to secure the Lake trade, jit is not surgrisiag that the Deputy-Super-intendent should have yielded. We do :not, say ; he, judged rightly ;, but let him have that fair-play of which Englishmen are ever fondrancL until it can be shown that he was biased in his decision by his own private ? interest, or, at least until some fair ground of suspicion is furnished, such traducers as the Provincial Treasurer auoulcTbe scouted by all true, men. With reference to the ruinous consequences said to be entailed upon the Province ,by the use of this much-abused white pine — it would seem that about .three, miles of •rails — or in money .value thirteen, hundred and fifty (£1,350) pounds worth is all that was used. We are j^orry to learn from ttvfe •" tuougtofuWtrustY?prthy? man ifeafc that;, sum will, and l inaeed,'haa; entailed #uin ancl 1 deaol&r tion «*. pe entive PjomQe, W;

known that this departure from' the will -be attended with unfortunate results which have been anticipated. If white pine is more " Jiable to injury from the action of the atmosphere ! and trom rain, it seems probable that the defectvis more than compensated by its peculiar toughness and springiness-— qualities which render it eminently suitable for rails.. That "i&y however, another gUes^Lon altogether. \ ; .:...; • Proceeding to the lpng rigmarole on the -j :" cuttings and embankments," with which M.v. Taklton favorejd the Superintendent, we fincl litter igHorance o^ ; the subject .treated' of displayed'by this self-bonstituted Ijudge. Mr., Ta»lton says that the gravel ;from the cuttings should have been used, •and that peat has been substituted to the [great detriment of the work. " I need :" scarcely remind you that the embaiilc- ; " ments are formed on" low grouijds or in' |" valleys. That such low -grounds, "whether plains or valleys, are swamps, j" consisting of peaty, fibrous matter. 1 " will not argue whether such material is '" equally well adapted to form an em- ;" bankment as that obtained' from the : u cuttings, through the higher grounds. i <c -it-wo : uid be disrespectful to your' tin[".derstanding even to suppose it possible i" you could entei'tain such an opinion " Thus Mr. Tabltok preacheSj but his doctrine will scarcely be accepted by those who know anything of the matter. We quote a passage, which treats on hhia point, from a well known work on the construction of railroads. "It was soon " found that, as the materials (gravel and " clay) were laid upon the moss, the " whole mass gradually sunk ; and when " the embankment was finished, although " the actual level of the railway was only " four or five feet above the original " stirface of the moss, the quantity of the " stuff deposited would have formed, on " ordinary ground, an embankment twenty " four or twenty five feet high. . . . " The quantity required, and the con- " sequent expense, would have been " enormous. Mr. Stephenson had re- " course, therefore, to the moss itself for " materials to form the embankment, which " h/ its inferior specific gravity, toould not " sink to such an extent as gravel or clay," He used " peaty, fibrous matter," and a good and far less expensive road was made in this manner. We see that Mr. Stephenson held and successfully acted on an opinion which Mr. Taklton considered it disrespectful to attribute to his Honor the Superintendent. It is utterly out of our power, in the limited space at our disposal, fully to expose all the falsehoods and absurdities which characterise this precious production of the Provincial Treasurer's feeble brain, and we hasten on to that portion of it where he makes further calumnious statements with regard to Mr. CnALMEits. We quote Mr. Tablton's words : — " Mr. " Chalmers' acceptance of a tender for " the construction of the Mokomoko jetty, "while 'Deputy Superintendent,' at an " amount which was so excessive, that all " the laws of sound judgment were per- " verted and set at defiance by such an " entire disregard of the fearful conse- " quences which must follow. 'There " was an approximate estimate,' said Mr. " Chalmers at the Theatre, 'that the " Mokomoko jetty should cost £Gooo.' " Yet when Deputy Superintendent he " accepted, on the 13th of December, a " contract from J. M 4 Kenzie & Co., for " £22,214- 10s. for this very work. The " best comment on the matter is that the " Province has at the present moment to " endure the lowest depth of humiliation "on this account." * What will our readers think of this man — this honest, thoughtful, straightforward friend of the 2>eopie, this man whose tender conscience would not permit him to sit at the Council Board with Mr. Chalmers,— what will they think of him when we tell them that Mr. Chalmers did not accept the tender for the Mokomoko Jetty, and that, although in the Executive, he was not consulted in the matter. The tender was accepted by His Honor the Superintendent on the 22nd of July, and Mr. Chalmers was not appointed DeputySuperintendent until the sth of November following, which may be proved by reference to the Gazette of the 7th of that month. Ignorance and presumption we might pardon. Some men are too imbecile to learn, and nature may have made them wilful and arrogant ; but deliberately to state what is false of another for the purpose of injuring him in the eyes of his fellows is an offence for which there is no pardon in a civilised community. Mr. j Tarlton could not but have been aware of the circumstances under which this tender was accepted, and the person who accepted it. It must be confessed that owing to the base statements made by Mr. Tarlton the popularity of Mr. Chalmers has declined, but now that the object has been shown, and the falsehood clearly proved, a British community will see that justice is done, and will turn their anger in the right direction. Let Dr. Menzies' name be substituted for Mr,- : Chalmers', and how will the matter stand ? ,If Mr. Chalmers would hay© : been to blame .in accepting the extravagant tender for the Mokomoko Jetty, how shall we> look on the conduct of trie Superintendent who was the real culprit?^ By Mr. Tlrlton' s own showing, his chief,, his idol, his divinity, must haw perverted: airthelaws of sound judgment, and. set; them at defiance "by such an entire'^ disregard of the fearful consequences 1 which must follow." Should Mr. Tarlton succeed in gulling the electors into the belief that he is fit to represent- them in the Council, let him remember that he has said that Dr. Menzies has plunged the Province into "the lowest .depth of humiliation" and then let him record his vote in his favor if he dare. To show further how utterly untrustworthy are the statements which Mr.

Taelton- makes, we will refer to the last Session of tlie Provincial Council; Mr. Taelton read a'-- copy -.of a report, said; by him to haye been obtained from Mr. Oqg, one of the inspectors of the Northern line, in which that official (alluding to the execution of certain of the railway works) was made to say that they were done in a , -disgraceful, manner. Mr. Peaksojx demanded ' L a 'full investigation into the matter, but Mr. Tabmon declined, as he did nob wish k> occupy the time of the jConncilv ; Mr. rPEAJßspasr, however, insisted (that no man's character should ( be inipugned without having an opportunity to ;defeud himself. At the next evening sitting, an official letter from Mr. Ogg to jthe Railway Engineer was read passing works : in dispute, and ,statmg that they kvere executed in a manner creditable, to all concerned. Mr. Takjcton raised iiis eyes in pious horror, and said, " I never heard the like of it."- He was found out. We do not care to disguise our senti!merits where, plain, sneaking is required. Mr. TlaLToif has seen fit to deny certain statements we brought against him. "We } proved our case, but he returned to the charge, and sought to strengthen his position by further assertions directly opposed to the truth, and we have again been obliged to expose him. If this is the sort. of person to represent Invercargill, we had better, as our contemporary advises, cut the knot of our difficulty by throwing the management of the Province into the hands of the General Grovermnent.