CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1750, 1 August 1884, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE CONTRACT SYSTEM. To the Editor, Sir, —This plan of farming out work winch has become so univei sal in this colony is very nearly worked out. It is becoming a positive hindrance to a vigorous and timely prosecution of public works. During the past two. or three years there has hardly been a work of any considerable magnitude' thatihas been let by contract but what has fajlen through: has had to be determined and thrown back on the Government "to, finish. The contract .system as carried out at present is a .system;'of.roguery, of trying how not to doit'., Wheinwork of an urgent nature k'required, to be done, such as metalling, for instance, it is a great oversight on the part of our local governing bodies to allow middle mon or contractors to have anything to do with it, for they never carry out such' work in a satisfactory manner; it is generally slummed, and it is only with the greatest difficulty that the engk neers can got anything like decent work done at all, The fact of the baseness is that the truck system is at the bottom of all tho trouble. Contractors are more interested in the cook shop—the boarding of their men—than in the carrying out in a faithful manner the work they have undertaken to do, Their object is to prolong the workmake it spin out so that their men may spend the larger proportion of their wages for board. Sir, it is notorious that at the present time it is less remunerative to be employed at navvying (for the truck system prevails wherever one goes) than working ion a station at the orthodox pound a Week. This system of boarding workmen on contracts is a most mischievous one. A married man, for instance, who would be desirous of boarding himself, in order that he might be able to send home to his wife and family as much of his earnings as possible, is discouraged; he cannot do so. If he does not comply with the rule of the camp, his employer can very soon find fault with him and pay him off. Of course no one would object to pay a reasonable charge for their board, such for instance as on a survey camp, where each man pays his share or proportion of the cost of the mess, but when it comes to paying lGs or 17s per week for board only, remember, out of the slender earnings of navvies during the winter months, it is very like an extortion, and if there is an act against such practices it should be enforced for the protection of men employed on public works, It would be a good thing for the public generally if this mode of calling tenders tor work was abandoned altogether—at any rate in so far as it relates to road construction. In the Mungapakeba Valley there is a great deal of urgent work to be done in continuation of the metalling of that road. This work should be done -directly under the supervision of the County Council. They can be clone quite as cheaply as any contractor could do it, and besides it would be carried out in a thoroughly, substantial and permanent manner, and in due season. Indeed such work could be proceeded with during the winter months—the preparing of the material for metal—so that when tho fine dry hard weather sets in there would be nothing to do but trim and reform the road, and having the metal already broken, just back in the drays, cast it out and spread it. Why, sir, under such a plan or arrangement there would be more roads metalled in three or four months, and that properly than any of oar tin-pot contractors would do in twelve months. We have a glaring example of this sort in the locality referred to. Here a metalling contract was let early last summer. It was supposed to be completed before the winter set in, At the rate of progress I should give them another twelve months to finish it, and as to the manner in which it-- is being done the less said about it the better. Apologising for trespassing so far on your space, I am, &c. ( Telford,