15

£>.—4.

I do not concur in the Board's opinion that the available data points to an increase rather than a decrease in the cost of the smith and forging work at Addington. Reliable data is available, and shows that the cost has not advanced. Output: With regard to the output, I would merely remark that a shop which has admittedly from the outset been established for the purpose of undertaking repairs to railway rolling-stock cannot be expected to compete in the matter of manufacturing-work with shops that are specially equipped and established to undertake such work, and it has all along been recognised by the Department that, as a result of the undertaking of the two classes of work in the one establishment, the new work must from time to time give way to repair-work to meet the exigencies of the service, and the transfer of men from one job to another under such conditions becomes a matter of imperative necessity. The Board apparently relies on Return No. 1, which sets out in detail the statement of new work and repairs executed at Hillside for the years 1908-9 to show that the output at Addington is not satisfactory. In this connection, however, I would point out that it is not practicable to determine this question on the mere figures included in the return without some personal knowledge of the class of work that has been put in hand and the progress of the work up to the end of each financial period. The amount of repair-work varies in volume both in regard to light and heavy repairs, and it is quite possible, and not infrequently happens, that heavy works undertaken towards the close of one year, and well advanced but not completed, are not shown in the returns for that particular year, but in those for the following year. Although the time taken to complete the job after the close of the financial years may not exceed a few weeks, still the fact that the job has to be carried into next year swells the output of that year to the detriment of the preceding year. I quite concur with the Board that with certain changes in the matter of the equipment of the shops—which, however, as I have already stated, resolve themselves into a matter of expenditure —an increased output could be obtained. I, however, doubt very much whether the increased output thus obtained would be commensurate with the expense involved in securing it. With respect to the Board's remarks regarding the amount of knowledge of the cost of manufacturing possessed by some of the members of,the staff under whose immediate direction the work is being carried on, and the apparent small importance attached to the possession by them of such knowledge, I have to state that, so far as the Department is concerned, its arrangements provide for full particulars of all costs being available at the end of each four-weekly period for the use and information of Workshops Managers and foremen; and, although it may be true that some of the foremen were not able to give the Board right offhand definite information respecting the cost of operating the shops immediately under their control, it is, I think, altogether erroneous to suppose that these men did not make any investigations on the subject, as, generally speaking, it has been found that the foremen take a very intelligent interest in the question of shop-opera-tions, not only as' regards the establishments with which they are closely connected, but also in those of kindred establishments, and they vie with each other in their endeavour to insure efficiency and economy. The amount of knowledge possessed by the foreman as to the cost of manufacturing depends to a considerable extent on the time that he has been in the position. P'oremen are appointed on the recommendation of the head of the branch and the local officer controlling the district in which the men are working. They are invariably men who have risen from the ranks of operatives, first to the position of leading hand, and next to that of foremen. Some of the foremen at present located at Addiugton have been there but a short time, and I have noticed that one of these officers, in giving evidence before the Commission, failed to take into consideration certain factors which affected the cost of working the particular branch that he controls, but, notwithstanding this, the man in question is an efficient officer, who has done and is doing good work for the Department; and there is no doubt whatever that, with the better opportunities that are afforded him in his present position, and the data provided for perusal, the advantages to be derived from an accurate knowledge of all that pertains to his shop will become more apparent, and he will daily recognise the necessity that exists for keeping himself in close touch with the question. With regard to the suggestion that officers appointed to supervise manufacturing-work should have had experience beyond the shops of New Zealand Government Railways, I would point out that, as practically the bulk of the men have been trained in the railway shops in the Dominion, the adoption of the suggestion of the Board would mean the importation of men from abroad, or, in the alternative, the sending to other countries, at regular intervals, for training in workshops practices, some of the men connected with the Railway workshops of this Dominion. The probabilities are that, with practical experience gained abroad, improvements in the system of conducting manufacturing-work might be effected; but here, again, the question arises as to whether the advantages to be gained would be commensurate with the expense involved, having regard to the comparatively small amount of manufacturing-work that is undertaken in the country or that is likely to be put in hand during the next few years. In this connection I may mention that a year or two ago the Department selected two of the Senior Workshops Managers and sent them to Australia to examine into the method of work and inspect the machinery installed in the leading workshops in the Australian States. On their return to this Dominion the officers reported on what they had seen, and made recommendations respecting the purchase and installation of certain machines, which were duly ordered and installed. Other officers have from time to time, both before and since, had extended leave, during which they have visited the Australasian State Railways. The Board's recommendation that Worshops Managers should be given two years' active work in an English manufacturing shop is one which, in my opinion, is impracticable on account of the expense that would be involved. The matter is, however, largely one of policy; but Ido not consider that the results would be commensurate with the expense involved.