RETRENCHMENT: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2341, 12 July 1887, Page 3

RETRENCHMENT: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.

to run Kin ion. Sin, --In continuation of my last letter to you on this subject, and as therein indicated by me, I propose, with your pennlflsion, to point out some of the instances within my own knowledge ''.herein retrenchment might be exorcised in the Public Works Department with advantage to the public at a cost of less than one half of the present expenditure; Ist. Pet the 1 tovernment obtain the services of a duly qualified engineer of experience, who has been educated for, and regularly articled, and brought np to the profession ; as the head of the department. This they have not had since Mr ,1. Carruthers hilt their service. k’nd. Ted them adopt the system now, ami for many years in force in New South Wales, of employing local talent for local works (at a scale of remuneration to hi; fixed by the Government Kiigiiiccr-in-Chicf) as for instance any one or more of our county councils having appointed an engineer (he being duly qualified, and not a mere land surveyor signing himself C. M.) then all engineering works required by the (tovernment to bo done in that district shall be referred to him to report upon and superintend, ho being paid for what he does only by fixed rates of fees as above, these gentlemen i.0., the country councillors being quite as capable of selecting the best men procurable as their engineers, as any of the past Ministers of Public Works, and should they be found wanting in ability, they wmihl he much sooner found out by the country councillors, some one of whom would bo seeing them every day, and they would ho more speedily got rid of than in the Public Works Department, where some miles of red tape would have to be used before oven tho knowledge of his want of ability would roach the Minister ; and if lie w>s tho protege of some Ministerial supporter, he must be allowed to remain in bis position, no matter what his want of ability may be, and probably another officer, with more ability and lean influence (therefore less pay) would he sent as his assistant, actually to do his work, so that ho might remain and draw his pay, and thus tho work that has to he done by a competent assistant at, say, £2OO per annum, really costs Hie country, say,

£IOO per annum for Hie incompetent protigee, ami £2OO for the competent man who lias to do Ills work, nr three times what the work actually costs ! And this is no exaggerated case ; I know of scores of such instances. But by adopting the system proposed by mo, the Governmo:. f - would have the advantage of the services of an engineer constantly residing in the district in which the work is to bo done, with an amount of local knowledge not obtainable by the Departmental officer, who knows nothing of the district except what ho can pick up in the few days ho is there the particular work ho is set up upon. These remarks apply, of course, more to country districts than largo towns, but the same rule would apply to Auckland. The city engineer, or the Harbour Board engineer, or their consulting engineer might bo employed by the Government for any works in Auckland, and the same in Wellington, Lyttleton, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, and all other large towns where the Public Works Department _ now have large stalfs, each of which consists of a District Engineer, with offico staff (varying from three to eight in number), two or three assistant engineers with their stalfs, draftsmen, chairmen, cadets, overseers, inspectors of works etc. etc. Whereas if rny system were adopted, the whole of these offices smild be abolished, and their salaries, office expenses, together with their travelling expenses, which is no mean item in the savings thus to bo übtaineJ, whilst, I maintain that the work would be better done, by reason of the local knowledge of the gentlemen acting as Engineers fop the local bodies, and a very large saving to the country effected under the present system. If the Government were to subsidise the county of Rotorua to the extent of say, £2O, to assist in building a bridge or a culvert at, say, Atiainnri; before they woule pay over the money to the comity council, (who might probably have spent £SO of their own money along with the £2O of the Government under the supervision of the comity engineer) they must send one of these J bstrict Engineers, or one of his his many assistants, to examine the work and certify to the Government, that their £2O has been properly spent. 'Hie cost of the otlicor doing this, supposing him to ho an assistant only; would be, say, from Auckland, railway fare to and from Lichfield, £2, buggy to Atiainnri and back to Lichfield, 3 days at 20s—£3, ofticer’s salary : 5 days at say 20s—£5, travelling allowance for 5 days say 12s per day, ray—£3 preparing report in Auckland ; say 1 day at 20s; thus ho would have an expenditure of at least £ls, to obtain a certificate for the expenditure of £2O, when under my system the county engineer would have dona it for say £2 2s, or if they could not trust the engineer for the county in which the work was done to do so, they could have get the engineer for the adjoining comity to examine and certify to the work done in the other comity for say, at the outside, £1 -Is, according to the scale of fees to bo arranged. As matters are carried out at present it is an insult to every local body in the country to think that, although they are considered capable of honestly spending all the rates collected in their several districts, yet they arc not to bn trusted to spend honestly a paltry £2O of a Government subsidy without all this red tape and the keeping up of an expen- , sive stalf for the solo purpose of carrying out the above rotten system, and Finding billets for political proteges, I have boon employed for many years under some of the largest employers of labour the world, viz., Messrs Peto, Brassey, Betts, John Brogden and Sons and others in the capacity of engineer, manager and agent, and the system they always adopt with their employes is one of perfect trust and responsibility. Their managers are held solely responsible for the economical and yet perfect manage ment of the works entrusted to them. They (the firms) do not interfere with their managers as to whom they shall employ or how many, or in what manner they shall employ them, with the exception of the cashiers, who are appointed by the firms, but may be dismissed peremptorily by the managers, their .successors being again appointed by the firms. The cashier and all subordinates are again fully trusted in their several positions, but should they not give perfect satisfaction their services are at once dispensed with, and if the manager himself does not give perfect satisfaction to his principals, who are a'ways observant of his management, lie is immediately removed, and (luring ■lO years experience I only know of two cases of defalcation occurring, and they were for sums under £IOO each. The Government system of espionage of their servants is very costly and degrading to their employes, Lot them bo thoroughly trusted, and immediately suspicion arises have the matter thoroughly enquired into, and if the smallest doubt remains let the individual bo removed; they could then, by adopting my suggestion, save the country from one-half to twothirds of the present cost of the Public Works Department.—Yours truly, John Gwvnnktii, G.E. P.S.—I intend to take the Railway Department in my next.—J. G.