H. H. JACKSON.]

17

D.—4a.

135. Have you ever had the supervision of the Petone Workshops ?—Not directly. I have spent a good deal of time at Petone, but when I was on that section I was Travelling Locomotive Engineer. There was no Locomotive Engineer at that time on the Hurunui-Bluff Section. 136. You have seen a good deal of the work at Petone, and frequently visited there ?—Yes, years ago. 137. In visiting Petone were you struck with the fact that the men showed a brisker movement than the men in the other shops ?—No, I was not. 138. How does the discipline and work at Addington compare with what you observed in your visits to Petone ?—lt is more than nine years since I was at Petone, and then I had no direct charge of the men ; but I am quite satisfied that the discipline was certainly not better than it is at Addington. 139. You did not notice this brisker movement % —Certainly not. 140. Have you as Locomotive Engineer ever in the course of your duties been brought into close contact with any of the workmen ? —Not very close. 141. You must at times have had conversations with some of the workmen at Addington ?—Yes. 142. Have any of these workmen with whom you have had conversations used insulting language towards you ? —No. I must say that I have never had that experience during the thirty-two years and a half I have been in the Railway service. 143. Do you think that the certain amount of security of their position which is given to the men as the result of the Classification Act, and with the right of appeal, is taken undue advantage of by the men ?—I do not think it is. 144. Could you tell us the number of men employed in the blacksmiths' department, including the forge ? —I have not the number. 145. Do you think that in the blacksmiths' shop and forge 120 men would bo too high an estimate ? —I should say the number would be that or thereabouts. 146. How many leading hands are there in the blacksmiths' shop ? —At present there are none. 147. You say that no one has used insulting language to you in the shops ; but, supposing a man had, what would you do ? —lf the language was very bad, either he would go out of the service or I would. 148. Would you not report to the Head Office ?—First of all I would suspend him, and then report to the Head Office. 149. Do you think there would be any difficulty in getting rid of a man who was reported for an offence of that nature ? —I should not think so. John Francis McCarthy examined. (No. 5.) 1. Mr. Beattie.] What is your position at the present time ? —Workshops Manager at Newmarket Railway Workshops, Auckland. 2. How long were you Workshops Manager at Addington ? —I took charge of Addington in April, 1901, and left in December, 1907. 3. What is your opinion regarding the allegation of loafing at Addington ?—That charge never could be sustained during the time I was Workshops Manager. lam certain of that. 4. What experience have you had ? —I have had experience on marine work, sawmill work, sugarrefinery —in fact, everything connected with an engineer's shop, both in Australia and in New Zealand. 5. How long have you been in the service ? —The last time I joined was in 1884 ; but I had, prior to that, been about two and a half or three years in the service. 6. You know Newmarket, Petone, and Addington Workshops ? —I have had charge of the three shops. 7. From your knowledge, have you any reason to suppose that the Addington workmen are less efficient than the workmen in any other shop of your acquaintance ? —I think they are more efficient than those either at Newmarket or at Petone, for the reason that the men at either of the two lastmentioned places do not get the same experience in regard to new work that the men at Addington do. If a man works here at Addington for ten years he must be a far better man than could be turned out at Petone or Newmarket —that is, a man who has been on the new work. As a matter of fact, we send men from Newmarket to Addington to get experience. 8. You refute the suggestion that the Addington men are addicted to loafing ? —There is nothing in it. 9. In your experience I suppose you have seen men in private shops take advantage of an opportunity to talk to each other ? —Yes. 10. Does Addington compare favourably with any private shop you have knowledge of ? —Yes. If Addington had belonged to me while I was there I could not have got another pound of work out of the men. 11. You were quite satisfied with the men while you were there ? —Yes, they surprised me. At times it looked an impossibility to get the work done, and they did more work than I thought was possible for men to do. 12. What is your opinion with regard to the plant and appliances generally at Addington ?— There is not the slightest doubt that there is some very fine machinery at Addington, but the shop is not up to date in every respect. 13. What about the overhead cranes ?—They are not satisfactory. 14. Would electric appliances be better ? —Yes, or even a rope gear. 15. Some time ago, on the Department's instruction, you went over to Australia ?—Yes. 16. During your visit what railway workshops did you see ? —Eveleigh Railway Workshops in New South Wales, Ipswich Workshops in Queensland, Islington Workshops in South Australia, and the Newport Shops in Victoria.

3-D. 4a,