SMEETON’S HILL.

Northern Advocate, 17 August 1932, Page 3

SMEETON’S HILL.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —After observing in Friday's issue of the “Advocate” some com-, incuts on the Smeetou’s Hill cutting, I crave a little space to throw a few sidelights on- the subject 'for the benefit of those who are not acquainted with the facts. Having been- employed on this particular job for approximately eight months, I ought, to be in a position to enlighten the councillors, and also the general public, with some facta, which they will no doubt consider before arriving at hasty conclusions. When the job was commenced, we workmen had at the most four days per week. Later this time was reduced to three days, then to two and a half days for workmen with two and more children, while the remainder of us received two days when we were lucky. Next w T e come to the conditions we laboured undeh When the job commenced, the council sent us some picks, shovels and half a dozen broken-down wheelbarrows. These, wo were informed, had to serve the purpose until such time as the council could procure a more suitable conveyance for removing the spoil. All through last summer wc picked solid rock from three to eight feet in depth to form this much criticised cutting, without any explosives, and wheeled the spoil, or rather stone —extremely weighty stone, too —anything up .to nine chains. After considerable pow-wow between our headman and the County Council, the latter obliged us with, some explosives and a small hand tip truck, but no rails. How wc were supposed to operate this approved method without rails was a mystery Avhicli battled the keenest brains in our gang. Apparently the donors of the truck forgot all about the rails, for we never got any, so we carried on with the ancient barrow system until eventually the council requisitioned a motor lorry. We took tally on the day ’s work when we had a lorry and discovered that we were putting out approximately four or five times as much spoil as we did with the barrows. One of our learned councillors informs as that, to use his own words, “It should have been finished a month ago.’’ Tie means the cutting, I take it. Perhaps it would have been had they used a little commonsense in the first place. A week will suffice to put the cutting through, so I think, considering all the adverse comment and cnticism, I have done the right thing in describing a few of the conditions under which we laboured. The gen oral public must know that 50 per cent, of the men engaged were no more navvies than the councillors themselves, afcd perhaps if the ones

| who have done-all the talking had given us a practical demonstration of how navvying should be done, tho cutting would more than probably be completed a couple of years hence. In conclusion, F think you must agree with me, alter considering the conditions from all angles, that the men engaged have made a more than creditable showing, j am, etc., N. CARNAC.