HARBOUR BOARD CRANES.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 43, 19 February 1909, Page 2

HARBOUR BOARD CRANES.

(Xo the Editor.) Sir, —(From published accounts it appears thai a percentage of the Harbour Board have reconsidered the tender for cranes, and apparently with" the former ! result, (Reappears that the British firm— Baheock and Wilcox, Ltd;—cabled to -.their local, agents that by entering separate parts of the crane 3. under different classification a saving in Customs duties : wbuM be-made to tie extent of £600, • thereby" reducing their tender to less ■than tie original German tender, and upon this information -the tender was ■ accepted. It does not-appear that any communication whatever had taken place ;'with the German firm,.who by the,same .process may have ibeen in a position to reduce their tender in a like proportion. pfo* that aspect of the business was ignored by the majority. One jmember, partly departing from . the ;patriotic gush, sentiment, tried to shelter himself under his personal knowledge of 'fie superior quality of the British over jforeign-manufactured articles, and' iwith him in a. general "way: I- agree in a huge : nie&3ure. But the writer presumes *rom -a. just-and moral point of business each Thidiviaiia'l. case should be.-deait with on its individual merits, which does not appear, to, have been done in this issue, no •exception whatever being taken to the 'quality of the foreign article. . Furthermore, th.ere does not ■ appear, to be any absolute guarantee, other than the cable, that there will 'be a. saving effected- "by avoiding the Customs duties" to the extent of -tie sum stated, viz., £600;. and, even-if correct,-the saving U considerably minimisedi when we: reflect' what is gained by the- local body is lost to the Dominion. At all events, it is satisfactory to know that we 'have representatives on our local bodies, "although in a. minority," who are prepared, to treat public business' matters on 'broad .•and strictly business lines.—-I am, etc.; " "- ' ' HONEST DEALINGS.