34

[C. R. VICKERMAN.

1.—14.

you in those profits." He went oh then to explain a lot of things that the men wanted. As you say. he deliberately came and made use of the information he had obtained to try to force you to raise the price of labour. 265. Mr. Okey.] Were these estimates made public?—l think it is the usual thing to make known the Government estimate. 266. Eon. Mr. R. McEenzie.] Is it a fact that Mr. Bogue's estimate and details of every estimate in connection with this work were published in a Public Works Statement some years ago, and are now on record in the Appendices to the Journals of the House? —I do not know. I know that Malloy told us he had written to Wellington and got the information. They had a copy of the specification as well, which I was rather surprised to see in their hands. It had come from Wellington. 267. Eight Hon. Sir J. G. Ward.} They would not get that from the Department? —He said they had written up and got it from Wellington. I do not know from whom they had got it. There would have been no difficulty in getting the specification if he had applied for it, because it is a public document. 268. The Chairman.} You were not surprised that he had the information which he had? — 1 was surprised that he had the estimate for the tunnel, but not surprised to see the specification. It was more the use he made of it than anything else. [Witness handed in several statements.] Mubdoch McLean recalled. (No. 5.) 1. Mr. Davey.] A suggestion has been made that some undue delay took place in starting work at the tunnel, especially at the Bealey end. Can you give us any explanation of the statement that you did not commence the headings as soon as you could ? —We started the work almost as early as it was possible to start it. In the first place, there was a fairly large cutting at the Otira end that required to be made. There was also a connection to be made between the bridge and the starting of the contract. A large bank had to be made. As soon as we were able to get right into the face we started with hammer and drills. But it was not for some four or five months that we were able to get the cutting out and start with the hammer and drills. When the then Premier, Sir Joseph Ward, went up to open the tunnel, the work was in some chain or chain and a half, and for the explosion that took place the hole was driven by an ordinary hammer and drill. 2. You did your best? —There was no undue delay in starting at either end of the tunnel. At the Bealey Flat end was a heavy rock cutting extending quite a long distance. Men were somewhat scarce at that time. There was no two years' delay or anything of that sort before the heading was started. I will give you the exact date of starting the Bealey end heading and the exact date of starting the Bealey end cutting, and the Otira end cutting and heading as well. 3. Hon. Mr. B. McKenzie.~\ Was the bridge over the Rolleston liiver at the Otira end of the tunnel built before you started ? —lt was completed. 4. There is an embankment between the tunnel and the end of the bridge, is there not?— Yes. 5. All the spoil that came out of the tunnel you put into this embankment? —That is right. 6. So there was nothing to delay starting the heading?— Not after the cutting was taken out. 7. What quantity of cutting was there at the Otira end? —A fair amount. I will give you the yardage at both ends. 8. You put a temporary bridge over the Bealey, did you not? —Yes. Mark Fagan, Secretary and Workmen's Inspector for the Inangahua Miners' Union, examined. (No. 6.) 1. The Chairman.] Have you any statement that you wish to make?—l have no statement to make. I have not been in touch with Mr. McLean for something like three years. We are the only union that has ever had an agreement with Mr. McLean —that is, a collective agreement concerning those in the tunnel —and I thought 1 was called to-day probably to answer questions in connection with that agreement. I am prepared to answer questions, but I have no statement about Mr. McLean or his tunnel. I have not been in the tunnel for about three years. [Copies of agreement produced.] 2. Mr. Seddon.] Did you at any time have a conference with Mr. McLean? —Yes. 3. What was the reason for it?—lt was because of the strike that took place there. The men were out fourteen or sixteen days. They were members of our union. 4. You went up to represent the union ?—I went up and met Mr. McLean, and we succeeded in fixing the matter up, and I went back to work again. 5. How long did this conference take? —We may have been about three or three hours and a half at Mr. McLean's place conferring. 6. Mr. McLean agreed to your request, did he? —We had Mr. Halley, the Conciliation Commissioner, assisting us, and a compromise was effected, which was satisfactory to both parties. 7. How long ago was that? —About three years ago last month. 8. Was there any other conference between you and Mr. McLean ?---That was the only occasion, I believe, on which I met him. It was shortly after that that we disbanded our branch -of the Miners' Union at Otira. 9. And afterwards the workers at Otira came under another branch : did they form a union of their own? —After that they joined what is known as the West Coast Workers' Union, and the men working in the tunnel for Mr. McLean have belonged ever since to that union.