CORRESPONDENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 238, 1 October 1908, Page 4

CORRESPONDENCE.

OVERWORKING OFFICALS. To the Editor. Sir,—The Borough Council has formaly authorised the borough engineer to make and lav informations and complaints for breaches of llie by-laws of tile borough and to appear in Conn and net for the Council in respect of such information* and complaints. The wisdom of the appointment is to lie questioned, not because of any doubt of the engineer's qualification for the business, ibut because of the fact that already 'Mr. Kendall has his hands full and his time fully oecujied with his multifarious duties to the municipality. As Councillor Jioo n pointed out to the Council on .Monday night, it \va*s a matter of great difficulty to catch the engineer in his office, because of the amount of work that lias been piled on the engineer of late. At almost eveiy meeting the Council has ordered some net of plans or estimates of the cost of certain work*, and these the engineer must prepare, lie is also bound to supervise all works in progress on. the streets and all contracts in progress. (In top of that lie has the drainage works under his immediate control, and he also assists by his advice ami suggestions those people who are about to connect with the sewers. All this takes him out of the otiice for hours at a time, ami t<\fry trip to the headworks of our water supply cuts into the greater part of the day. Councillor Boon i> probably, on account of his busines, a< a miilder, more acquainted with the amount of work performed by the engineer than any other member of the Council, hence his objection 1.0 idling on further duties. If the ipmiintincut has been made with a vfcw of saving legal expenses, there may be proof some day that this is a "pennv-wise-and-pound-foolish" policy, for Mr. Kendall, though a capital sanitary engineer and an acknowledged expert in

liis own profession, would be altogether at sea in * Court of law if the other side started to raise technical objections. A technical omission might cost the Council as much as many appearance fees. Again, the preparation of rases for hearing must entail worry and occupy a great deal of time the borough eugincer cannot afford to give. This latest work heaped on the willing horse is work for a specialist, a lawyer, supported by the testimony of the Imrough engineer as an expert witness, and I agree with the contention that prosecutions should be. left to the borough solicitors. Such a course would have numerous advantages, not the l«i*t of them, being that the engineer would not come into undesirable conflict with the ratepayers with whom 'ie lias to work. It is an admitted fact thai the borough engineer already li.is more work than he can cope with, and his time is too valuable as an engineer

to admit of hi s hanging round the Court with prosecutions for breaches ot by-laws.—l am, etc., RATEPAYER