THE CALLIOPE DOCK CONTRACT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9257, 10 January 1889, Page 3

THE CALLIOPE DOCK CONTRACT.

TO THE EDITOK. Sik,—l believe lam only one of many who sympathise with Mr. Lanigan in hia present position in antagonism to the Harbour Board, and their denial to him of thab justice and consideration to which he has entitled himself by the faithful manner in which he has performed his portion of the contract for the construction of the Calliope Dock. He has erected a dock second to none in the world in regard to construction, and its capacity and worth have been proved by the easy and effective manner in which H.M.s. Orlando has been docked without a hitch, and thus far the substantiality of this great work is established. Of course, in regard to the items of Mr. Lanigan'a claim, I am no competent judge, but judging from the correspondence which has taken place, 1 think it is clear that he has established such a claim as, in the eyes of all unprejudiced persons, should entitle him to an impartial arbitration. As one interested in the fair fame and good name of our port and city, I feel that the action, or rather inaction, of the Harbour Board in this matter is a discredit to us. Mr. Lanigan throughout appears to have shown an amicable desire for a straightforward settlement. He has submitted his claims, and they have nob been disputed, nor has any settlement been offered to him. He objects, and rightly so if his statements are not disproved, to Mr. Ware acting as arbitrator in his case, on the grounds that he is prejudiced and a servant of the Board, but he has offered to accept any other competent arbitrator the Board may nominate. The Board assumes that it has not the power to appoint a fresh arbitrator. Surely Mr. Ware has the power to cut the Gordian knot and retire from a position which in any case must be embarrassing to for what just man would seek to occupy such a position as that of arbitrator on an important case when one of the parties had already stigmatized him as a partisan. Before writing this letter I waited the result of yesterday's meeting of the Harbour Board to ascertain whether any action would be taken on Mr. Lanigan's last letter. I do not quite approve of the tone of that letter, although 1 confess that the contractor, smarting under the injustice to which he has been, subjected, between the" engineer and the Board, had some justification for making the little expose relative to the banquetting at the opening of the dock, but he was surely entitled to some greater consideration than that contained in the brief resolution arrived at in a close meeting of the Board, that they were willing to pay him on production of certificates, more especially when the Board well knows that it is impossible for him to obtain those certificates. Ido hope, sir, for the credit of our port, that the unseemly dispute will goon be settled. It is a disgrace that the claims of a man who has faithfully performed his work should be thus dealt with, or rather left undealt with, and every business man will understand the great disadvantage under which he labours in having his working capital locked up and his credit jeopardised.—l am, &c, Citizen.