BROKEN RIVER INCIDENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 199, 12 August 1908, Page 4

BROKEN RIVER INCIDENT.

Apropos of the recent wail of a cooperative navvy from Broken River the Public Works Department has received a lengthy report iron, ,\l r ,j. H, _u !w is, the resident vngineer at Broken River, in reply to the allegations of bungling in connection with the unemployed sent from I'hrtstchurch to the co-operative work*. Mr. Lewis does'' not treat the complaints very seriously, and. lie asiy'ibes the authorship ot the somewhat tirst report to a well-known Christehnrdi -journalist, who went to Broken River in the guise of it "navvy." The engineer states (hat this party of workers were better cared tur than tire Depavtnrent's employees usually are in tlii back country, for, hearing liint tins men were "new-i'linni-,'' he had their tents erected for tlieni before they arrived. The hardships experienced 'from cold, hu slates, are only what are familiar lo surveyors, engineers, and co-operativj ■workers in the wilds. The two houses iu which accommodation was found are strong wooded buildings, in which ollicials of the Department, with t.lijir wives and families, lived for over year without complaint. Out of liti men who went to the works, only eight returned to Christcliurch, of whom liv? did not do a stroke. The rest are still at the works, and likely to remain there.