W. V. MAUCHLIN.j

19

D.—4a.

6. Did you find the discipline good while you were there ?—I think the discipline in the Addington Workshops is, if anything, rather more severe than jt is in outside shops. 7. And, generally speaking, you would agree that the charge that has been made against the Addington Workshop men of loafing is unfounded ?—Well, one might qualify that to a certain extent, because you are asking me questions, I take it, with reference to the general run of the shop, not of particular individuals. Ido not think there is a great deal of difference between the average workmen there and the average workmen anywhere else. In my experience there is practically no difference. With the keener discipline the likelihood of any slackness on the part of the men is discounted to a very great extent. 8. Can you say anything of your own knowledge as to the quality of the work and the workmanship at Addington ?—The quality of the work turned out is first-class. 9. Was the output of the work satisfactory from your point of view ? —I am not in a position to state whether the output right through was up to contractors' standard, but in my opinion the methods of work in the Addington Workshops —mixing repairs with new work—adds necessarily to the cost. Very frequently a man has to lay down a piece of new work in order to go on with a hurry repair job, and consequently there is a loss of time in changing his machine and tools. 10. You have had experience elsewhere as well as at Addington. Taking the plant generally, so far as your knowledge of it is concerned, what would you say of it ? —I should say it was fairly up to date. You have, of course, machines that are somewhat obsolete, but it is not good policy on the part of a manufacturer to throw out a machine that is obsolete because there is something better in the market, provided the obsolete machine can do certain portions of the work. 11. In other words, I gather that if the. work is distributed as suitably as possible amongst the various machines you would think the result would be satisfactory ? —Quite. 12. The Chairman.] Have you noticed any loafing at Addington ? —Yes. 13. Have you noticed any more loafing at Addington than you have noticed in private shops ? — No, about the same proportion. 14. You spoke just now of the changing from new work to repair-work, and vice versa. During your time was this often the case % —Very frequently. 15. How many times a day or week did such changing come under your personal notice ? —With some of the men it would, of course, be pretty frequent, whilst other men were not changed at all. It is rather a difficult matter to say how many times per day or week any individual man or set of men would be changed, but the fact remains there were changes. 16. You cannot give any idea as to how frequent these changes were ? —At some seasons of the year they would be more frequent than others. For instance, just immediately before, say, Carnival Week, the majority of the men would be taken off new work and put on to repairs, to get all the gear and engines that they could out on to the road for the holidays. 17. You do not wish to convey the impression that men were repeatedly changed, but only that when a press of repair-work came in because of holidays or other exigencies of railway work ?—I may have led you to misunderstand me, but in answer to Mr. Beattie's question I was really answering him on the point as to whether the workshop was being conducted on good paying-lines. 18. Were these changes carried out with apparently little object, or were they changes necessitated by the fact that stock had to be got out in a hurry to meet the requirements of traffic ?—These changes came about owing to the peculiar exigencies of the service. 19. Mr. Roberts.] Have you noticed any difference in the output.of the machines in the shop you are in now compared with similar machines at Addington ? Are they driven harder in the private shops than at Addington —is there more got out of similar machines ?—I do not think any more is got out of similar machines, but in the Addington Workshops they have machinery that you will not find in any other shop, in Christchurch at all events. But for machines of a light capacity I think the men who are employed at the machines in Addington get as much out of them as do any men employed in any of the local shops. 20. Doing a similar class of work ?—-Yes. Richard Edward Robertson examined. (No. 7.) 1. Mr. Beattie.] What is your present position ?—I am brake-inspector for the Westinghouse Brake Company. I travel all over New Zealand in the interests of the company, and to assist the Railway Department on air-brake matters. 2. Your services are entirely paid for by your company, I believe ?—Yes. 3. Are you in any way under the direction of the New Zealand Railway officers ? —None whatever. 4. You are here in the interests of your company, and in the interests of keeping up the brake from your company's standpoint ?—Yes. 5. Do you recollect a contract being entered into between the Westinghouse Brake Company and the New Zealand Government Railways for the equipment of the Hurunui-Bluff Railway stock ? —Yes. 6. Were you in charge oi that equipment ? —Yes, the whole time—about three years. 7. And, of course, on behalf of your company ?—Yes. 8. Where was the equipment done ? —At Addington Workshops. 9. During that three years you have had free access, I presume, to all the workshops ?—Yes. 10. Did you have opportunities of- observing as a practical man the work that was going on ?— Every opportunity. 11. What has your practical experience been generally ?—I worked for many years in Sydney in the large engineering-shops. I have been with the Westinghouse Brake Company about sixteen years