THE BOROUGH ENGINEER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 77, 27 April 1909, Page 4

THE BOROUGH ENGINEER.

|L " To the Editor. It Sir, — Can our engineer explain the £ amount he saved by his great retreneh- £.< •. ment scheme? Was he not in such a » ■ hurry to get Mr.' Hooter out of the Ki " town that he hail to give Jlr. Hodgson y/.'.- ■ three months' jpay instead of notice ? And because the public took it up, did t--' he not pitchfork Mr. Hodgson into an-1 'f other billet at the next Council meeting? 3 * Query: - Did Mr. Hodgson recede double I pay for at least,thvo months, or did lie I 'work two months for nothing? Seeing '} Mr. Evetts is under an agreement to receh e-three mouths' notice, why is he j- not treated tho same? Is it not true t>--: that it the engineer got a complaint he jfc' took all sorts of care that Mr. JCvetts t . jid not get hold of it, ami then complained to tlie Work* Committee of Mr. Evcttn incapacity? The ..engineer, in rv- * ferri-.ig to docking the hour from the ■ men's wages, says one and a-quarter : liours. C'an li? explain where the quarter an hour comes in? He says, "his staff being the larger." Xow, all employees !& t * outside the office being on tli« same footle ing, lie naturally refers to the inside, |K and Hurelv he doesn't lilace himself on g£' a |evd with our town clerk. In demanding frW Mr. Hooker in a vei v discourse teous manner who authorised it, |x"'' or where and when did it originate, if S his command has not been complied with, E'' J would like to refer him to Hansard of pr moic than fifty years back, where, peril?, liaps he will get his high-handed officially ism curbed a little. And in return will he inrorm us by whose authority it was j® repealed? If our Mayor prefers to play second fiddle to this sort of "biz" we •f must grant him all credit and honors. X , y The engineer, replying to street critics, says Partington's wages average £2 10s lid per \yeek. Is it not a over £3 I? j' l(fe (Jd? Will he publish some of those if . big pay-sheets he boasts of, and show j* what they 'are for? Surely the man' is <*;[' not paid -for that hedgehog business, g, And why is he called out at all hours ■ of ' v . \ night's rest ? In fact, is he ever in, to >\ be called out? - Perhaps he was only 1 sleeping in the hedge, ailia wee bit too if' sleepy to explain. I suppose lie claims i* double time after midnight. Did the ■: other foreman keep a nightwatchman? jt The engineer not requiring a foreman, does he keep the IJr. i ;v '_ Partington an urgency man- to pry - into what the public are saying? Being <£' such a reliable man, why is he working W for under money? Where is our expert $ - unioa, of which h c ought to h e a iullfledged member by this?—l am. etc.. OBSERVER.