COUNCIL AMENITIES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 94, 23 April 1915, Page 2

COUNCIL AMENITIES.

THE ENGINEER AND CR. BASKIN In introducing a subject of rather a painful nature at the meeting of the Stratford County Council on Wednesday, the Chairman (Mr W. HathaWay) .said: "The Council has come to the meeting of the waters!" i '-Wo are not busted yet, are we?" | ejaculated one member in a tone of surprise. The Chairman went on to say that the Engineer had told him of certain I remarks, which, to his (Cr. Hath*' 'war's) mind were not human anyway. I This was i" connection with the le Popo bridge, and a Councillor was stated to have said that the Engineer and the Chairman should be thrown over the bridge before it was slutted. | Now the Engineer had not a Iree voice ■in Council matters. There was too I .unci, of this back-biting. Foremen 'had been approached, and it would ! ( .'on»e to this, that some day he would [want to know who authorised the 'work. The Engineer now wants to |know his position, whether he has the confidence of the Council, and ll not, he will reconsider his position. He has'given the Council of his best during the time he has been with the 'Council.* The Engineer is not responsible to anv member individually, but to the Council collectively.—(Hear, hear). So far as members of the Conncil interfering with the foremen, they had no right whatever; the Council table was the place to thresh out any matters. It is degrading to the Council said the Chairman, and no man ought to go round and cry down the engineer's supervision. Any person taking up the position of Engineer required six months to make lumsell acquainted with the work. Cr. Christoffel: if he took twelve months he would do well. The Chairman, continuing, said that of the 45 applications which came before them, the Council had chosen wisely and well. The Engineer says if he can work in harmony with the Council he is prepared to go on, but he is not going to put up with the present position, and we can ask him to resign. The Chairman said that Mr Lopdell had asked him to bring the matter up and have the circumstances ventilated. Cr. Christoffel said he could not follow the Chairman altogether. Of course the Engineer was supreme in authority over all the workmen.— (Hear, hear). No Councillor made any difference to the Engineer, and with regard to the foremen, they had to do what the Engineer told them; they could make their complaints to the Council. And it was Councillors' place to bring their differences to the Council, and thresh them put in open Council.

Cr. Baskin: T take it that I am tho man you are driving at. The talk about you should be thrown over the bridge! Jt is an untruth! It is a thundering lie! Who told you? The Chairman: I got it from the Engineer himself, and he heard it from several others.

Cr. Baskin: I defy him to say I personally said anything against him. I said I blamed yon as much as the Engineer. * The bridge was not lit to be shifted, let alone in one day. It was supposed to be clone between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Wednesday, but it also took Thursday and Friday. Cr. Baskin went on to describe what should have been done witli the structure. Cr. Walter said the matter should be discussed and decided one way or the other. Cr. Smith said it was a question of whether the Council or the Engineer was going to rule. If a Councillor could not have certain things done, ho would have a very subordinate position. , The Chairman: He should bring it up at the Council table. Cr. Smith: Not every time. The Chairman: Certainly. Cr. Smith said he spoke to the Engineer about a matter on the Finnerty Road, but he said the foreman had no time to spread metal and had to attend to the watertables. In these cases it was putting him (Cr. Smith) in a false position with those who had come to him about them. Councillor must, he said, have some say'in the work of the Council; the settlers find the money and we are the trustees. I. say we have a lull light. A voice: Not as individual Councillors.

Cr. Smith went on to refer to contract work; he believed in open competition. There was too much day work; it was the case in this Council all through. He said'he saw what it would bo in bridge work, but he had submitted to the majority. A Councillor: That is not the question.

Cr. Anderson: I say that if we put a man in charge, lie must be in charge.—(Hear, hear.) No Councillor should go to the workmen and instruct him. They could suggest to [the engineer, and lie would use it ii' advisable. Any Councillor would be overstepping his duty ii' lie did otherwise. I Cr. Walter said that as individual members of the Council, they had no more authority than ordinary ratepayers, but collectively they had. A [majority of the Council was the governing body. Not even the Chairman had the authority. No Engineer would refuse advice, but the Councillor's reference in this case was downright ignorance. If the remarks could he proved, the man should be called upon to apologise straight away. He would lie prepared to move a vote of censure on that Councillor. , It was an unfair position in which to place the Engineer, who, if lie had any respect for himself, should bring the matter forward. Now that it was referred to. it should be threshed out thoroughly. Cr. Were said that wherever there was an agreement drawn up he made it a strong \v\u\ iO uphold that agree-

ment. With him the Engineer stood paramount J

Cr. Coleman endorsed Cr. Walter's remarks, which left little for him to say. As an employer of men, he found it did not do to listen to anyone trying to belittle any foreman. It was very bad taste of any Councillor to do such a thing.

Cr. Worthington also agreed with the previous speaker in condemnation of such a course. It was a very, very wrong thing and lowered the dignity of all the Councillors. He always contended the Engineer should be upheld strongly in his position over the men, and when this was not done, there was trouble.

Cr. Smith, to the Chairman: Can you verifv the statements?

The Chairman: I had it from the Engineer, and also from one of the foremen.

Cr. Smith: It might alter my vote if I knew he made the remarks. The. Chairman: The position is a bad one from the Council point of view.

The Engineer said he had carefully considered the matter before asking the Chairman to bring it forward, and he was prepared with his resignation. Cr. Basking had at diverse times gone to foremen and instructed them to do JAVork; but the requests had been refused. He (the Engineer )felt that as Cr. Baskin was new to the Council he would get over the idea of ordering the men about, and so he (the Engineer) let these affairs pass up to now. He wished the Council to remember that any suggestion by any Councillor would always be gladly received, and if possible, acted upon. As .to the time taken to shift the Te ' Popo bridge, he admitted a mistake had been made, hut the structure was in a very much more decayed state than he ever anticipated. Now he was pleased to tell them that it was nearly as safe as ever it was before. He defied any man to be able to accurately tell the state of the timber underneath. If any one said a bridge could have been built underneath the Te Popo bridge, it showed he knew no more about the game than a gooso did about the Doxology! These might be strong words, but no words were too strong for such a man. The words really used were that "before shifting the bridge the Chairman and the Engineer should take a header off the top of the bridge, and then let it fall down on top of them"!" Three or four parties heard the remark. The man who would say such was not much of a gentleman, and the man who would make trouble between an engineer and his men was not worthy of the position of Councillor. He could say more, but thought enough had been said. In conclusion, the Engineer said that whether they were to remain together for a year or twelve years, he would continue to give his best services, but he wanted perfect harmony and wanted them all to pull together. Tf at any time, a position arose as at present, he would prefer to get put of it. That position had been forced upon him. Cr. Smith said there was an axiom in Knglish law that they should condemn a man only after lie was proved guilty. Could they produce evidence that the statement was made? ' Cr. Walter: I think in such a serious 'statement it would be well, if possible, .to give the names of the persons in j whose hearing it was made.

'J'ln> Engineer: There was the riding foreman, the dairy factory manager, a builder in Midhirst, a s well as half a dozen others if they were needed. Cr. Baskin then ina.de a long disconnected sort of a story denying tlie truth of the accusation. "There must have been a big mistake." ho said. "If they heard it from iv , he was telling an untruth." Last year he (Cr. Baskin) complained about the road crossing, but nothing was done. He thought lie was entitled to speak to the foreman on these matters. As far as having to apologise, he did not think he had overstepped the mark. Cr. Baskin next referred to 13 , another of the Council's workmen, and then to the bridge incident again. "i admit ! was very much annoyed over the bridge owing to having so many complaints." lie said, "but as regards say, ie<. anything about you 1 say I did not do it."

The Chaiiman : Is that satisfactory to the Council? Cr. Smith- i think the subject has been ventilatei.! and that is sufficient. It we are going any further it will require a committee of inquiry. The statements ought to be proved.

Cr. Baskin again launched out about various works and made other extraneous remarks. The Chairman : The position i s a serious one. and the Engineer wants it cleared upA Member: Certainly, without a doubt. Cr. Walter said that he believed the Council were very pleased with the work of the Engineer. He felt they should pass a vote of confidence, and he hoped that would satisfy him jin the matter. The Engineer had onh done his duty in bringing it up. ' Cr. Baskin said he did not say it, and it was possible some mistake had been jmade. Cr. Baskin: 1 never said what the Chairman said. Cr. Walter: Can you tell us what you did say Cr. Baskin: T can't remember what 1 said. The Chairman here said he was not going to allow any more discussion—the Council had spent enough time on it already. As far as the bridge was concerned, the Engineer admitted In was surprised at its decayed state. No member of the Council should interfere with the Engineer; no one could say, he (the Chairman) had ever done so. The point was whether the Engineer was satisfied with the explanation— Cr. Baskin: To the best of my know ledge 1 never interfered. All that 1 have done was to tell the foreman what 1 thought should he done. Cr. Walter endeavoured to pour oil on the troubled waters, and asked il the Engineer would be satisfied with Cr. Baskin's statements. Of course Ci Baskin bad no right to interfere with the. employees, but he denied he said what was attributed,to him. it; the\ went any further", there would be u lot of trouble.' lie would be much mistaken if the Engineer did not even now have the confidence of the Council. The great majority think he is the right man in the right place.—(Hear, hear). As to the East Riding, it was nover better satisfied than at present. They get full value for the money spent on the roads, and that is a lot to. say. He was sorry to see the Engineer in such a position. The Engineer said he fully appreciated the kindly remarks made by tin Council. He had been quite satislied at the treatment accorded him, but recently, since the shifting of the bridge, he had heard so much talk that he was disgusted. ' Mow that he knew the feeling of the Council lie would In willing to let the matter drop. All be wanted was the united support ol the Council at all times. The fad was, he liked to get assistance from members so that he could do his level best. The Engineer expressed regret that Cr. Baskin and himself had crossed swords, but that was ended. In future he asked Cr. Baskin and the others to come to him if they wanted anything done. lie wanted, perfect harmony between the foremen and himself, ami would not have anyone interfere. He was quite willing to lei the present disagreement drop once ami for all. The Chairman expressed pleasure at the turn events had taken. The Council had, during his experience, threo engineers, and he must say that in Mr! Lopdell the Council had selected wisely and well, and they were getting good value for their money. He moved: "That a vote of confidence in the past services of the Engineer be recorded, and that he has the thorough confideice of the Council in all the work to be carried out." Seconded by Cr. Christoffel, who, speaking for the South Riding, said they had not got a single complaint to make about the Engineer; nor had there been any trouble with the foremen and also the members. Cr. Smith said he hail nothing against the Engineer. The only objection in his work was that he might be a little more considerate to members when they ask him to have certain things done. Other engineers had done it. Cr. Walter: I certainly hope the Engineer will not do that. Members: "Quite right!" Cr. Walter (proceeding): "L f. most ridiculous thing! I am sin ,;• \ \-A at you, Cr. Smith! I am sure if members ask the Engineer ho will endeavor to do what is wanted." Tho motion was then put to tlie meeting and was carried unanimously.