THE PLUMBERS' ACT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 45, 9 October 1914, Page 6

THE PLUMBERS' ACT.

UNSUCCESSFUL PROSECUTION.

Arthur Walsh (Mr Thomson) pleaded: not guilty at the Court tbis morning to a charge that, on August 4th, be, not being a registered plumber, did scertain .work on sanitary .fittings at the premises of S, Pivac, ■ -Broadway. Mr .Law-rey appeared for the' Borough •Cownoih T

Thomas David Sullivan,' Borough Overseer, /gave evidence that on the •afternoon of August 4th 1 he was ' at. Piyac's ipremises, where .he saw W.alsh working on a pipe running to a sink. There was a boy with him, but "no re£isitered plumber was on the premises. .Witness told Walsh he was breaking the law. Walsh said his employer would have to bear the brunt and went away to .considt with his employer. He returned later to the job and continued his work.

Mr Thomson: Have you had complaints a bout. the.quality of the'firm's •work ?

Witness: The only complaint I received t were that they were .doing work with 'Unregistered men. Continuing, .under i cross-examin-ation- witness said Walsh when he first saw cutting pipes and'threadscrewing them, but witness .also saw him connecting the pipes. Witness ,made a second visit to the premises;, when he saw Walsh wdfch a,small ; piece of pipe in* the vice. He was, threadscrewing it." An apprentice might' do such work in his employer's shop but"' could not be -allowed to ?do it oh .a job unless a registered man was in charge of-the -job. Witness .did not remenlber to have seen Mr F.redric on the morn:ing of August 4th in front, of Pivac's shop., .nor could he remember seeing him on the job .on the following morn,ing. Walsh ,might just have been screwing on the ipipes to judge the length, but witness was sure he was putting them on permanently. A j. P, O. .Skoglund, Tpwn.Clerk, ,said .that on August 4th Sullivan,drew wit- ( .ness' attention to the work. Walsh was doing. Part ,of the work was being .done outside, the building and witness • could see it being done .from his, office ~wiudow. Walsh apparently saw Fred-. ; ric, and twhen Walsh returned to the job ;he said that F.redric had told' him to jproceed .with the job, and .the firm would see :about any ; fines inflicted,. By the Bench: Fredric was not on the job at any.ipart of the day, so far. as witness ;knew, and he had, a good opportunity of seeing what was going on.

Samuel Pivac said tbat on August 4th Walsh fitted up pipes in the kitchen from the hot-water boiler to the .sink. Fredric was not present on that day, but ,he, Walsh continued the .work on the 6th.

By Mr Thomson: It was between 3 and 9 a.m. on 'August 4th when witness reached his premises and' Fredric might have been down before witness.

This closed .the case for the .prosecution.

Arthur Ernest Walsh, plumber's, as* sistant, employed by "McMillan and Fredric, said he did not hold a certificate of registration, but he had been engaged in plumbing work for about fifteen years. July witness sat at the plumbing examination, but had not so-far heard of the result. On August 4th witness was fitting up a hot-water service in Pivac's shop. Sullivan came in about 4 p.m. At the. time-witness was-fitting the pipes outside the building loesely together so that Frederic could fix them permanently on-the-following* morning. Witness started work at Pivac's on August 3rd. On the morning of August 4th Fredric was on the job and,screwed, on the taps for the hot water-pipes. In the work witness did nothing was,done permanently, and it was not connected with the water supply. The necessary work to make the job permanent was done on the Cth by Fredric.

-By Mr Lawrey: The pipes were screwed together to see if they were •the fight length and then unscrewed and laid on the ground. James W. H. Fredric, registered • plumber, said that on August 4th he went to Pivac's at 8 a.m. 'Witjif-ss met -Sullivan and discussed, a resolution passed by the Bo"ouj.>;h Ccuhci 1 regarding holidays. 'Witness stayed on-*the job' for about an hour. On the •6th witness screwed all the pipes-to-gether and connected with the service. By Mr Lawrey: Cutting and thread-* ing could be done by an apprentice with n few years' experience. Hevry J. E. Judd, apprentice, and Arfcliur Buirell also gave evidence. :•:■'.■ Tvemiek, S;M., summing up, said the defence set up that the wo v k o" t to not water service rii<? not "?anitar.v work" as defined : by the Act and that the other work was done under the supervision of a registered plumber. But he held that the work done o.'vthe hot-water service seeraed.to.be ,iv*Uv.sanitary work, owing to it having been connected r.to a sink. (However, the evidence was not clear on

certain points and defendant would be given the benefit of the doubt. The information would ,bo dismissed. An information charging McMillan and Fredric with employing an unregistered plumber was thereupon withdrawn.