PLUMBERS’ CONFERENCE

Evening Star, Issue 22261, 12 February 1936, Page 5

PLUMBERS’ CONFERENCE

REMITS CONSIDERED The annual conference of the New Zealand Federation of Alaster Plumbers was continued yesterday in the Commercial Travellers and AVarehousemen’s Club. The president (Air T. AV. Knox) presided. A remit from tbc Wellington Plumbers’ Association —■“ That the short life of certain materials—for instance, sheet iron and water piperequired for use by plumbers be discussed, and that any representations thought lit be forwarded to the manufacturers concerned ’’—was considered by the conference, the discussion centring round the unsatisfactory results in recent years from the use of galvanised iron piping in water-heating systems, instances being quoted from Dunedin, Invercargill, Timaru, and Wellington, where the life of such piping was only two to four years, due to the chemical constitution of the water in those particular'districts. It was stated that in many oases the trade was blamed for the failure of the pipes, when in reality the material itself was at fault. It was also pointed out that galvanised iron piping bad originally been made from puddled iron, but the puddling process had now apparently been lost, and the piping was made of steel, to which the galvanised coating did not offer the same protection. As a result there had been a large increase in the use of copper piping, which was more expensive, but also more permanent than galvanised iron. It was resolved to approach the New Zealand Institution of Standards drawing its attention to the matter. Another Wellington remit dealing with the proposed amendment to the Liens Act was also discussed. The clauses of the amendment, which sought to protect builders and suh-eon-tractors from the results of speculation by contractors, were as follow:—(1) All money received for, or on behalf, on in pavment of any contract or any portion thereof or any extra pertaining thereto

by any contractor shall be held by the said contractor exclusively for the purpose of such contract to be paid to such workmen, sub-contractors, or merchants as may supply labour, plant, or goods for carrying out or completing any part or parts of such contract, and until so paid such money shall be paid into a bank carrying on business under the authority of the General Assembly’ to a general" or separate trust account. (2) Speculative jobs, where no contract exists, shall be deemed contracts for the purpose of this Act, and mortgage money or sale money shall be paid into a trust account and treated as provided in clause (1). (3) Such moneys shall not be available for payment of the debts of any other creditor of such contractor, nor shall such moneys be liable to be attached or taken in execution under the order or process of any court at the instance of any such . creditor (4) The word “contractor” in this section includes a company or other corporate body. (5) Any contractor who knowingly acts contrary to the provisions of this section is liable for every such offence to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or three months’ imprisonment. (6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to take away or affect any just claim which any contractor as aforesaid may have against any moneys so received by him The proposed amendment was endorsed by the conference, and it was decided to give wholehearted support to the New Zealand Federation of Master Painters in its endeavour to have the Government introduce the amendment to the Liens Act along these lines. Apprenticeship legislation, and the improvement of the standard of the trade by way of a wider application of the Plumbers’ Registration Act and the different health by-laws, of local bodies throughout New Zealand, were also discussed by the conference.