THE TENDERS FOR THE REFUGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9380, 1 June 1889, Page 3

THE TENDERS FOR THE REFUGE.

TO THE EDITOR. • Sir, —My duties having taken me out of town lately, a paragraph which appeared in your issue of the 29th instant escaped my notice, until my attention was called to it to day, relative to the information given to the secretary of the Charitable Aid Board, that the bricks being used in the Refuge were not according to the specification. The writer of that letter has made a statement about me which I will take the liberty of calling upon him to prove. I take this public opportunity of denying in the most positive terms that I ever gave the information referred to, and I call upon Mr. Garland to confirm this denial. At the same time I may state that it was a common topic of conversation amongst the builders when they met in Queen-street (whether true or false I am not prepared to say) that the contractor had purchased one hundred thousand bricks for this work from Mrs. Hepburn at 26s per thousand, to be delivered on the wharf, and a carting contract was taken for delivery on the site of the Refuge at 7s Gd per thousand, thus effecting a saving to him of about 30s per rod. Any person who states that these bricks cost more than Hunt's states a downright falsehood, and while I have no hesitation in stating that Mrs. Hepburn's bricks are fairly good, and a great deal better than others I have seen in the market, yet I maintain that there are no bricks in Auckland that will compare with Hunt's, and I feel confident that the architects would not be doing justice to their clients if they did not specify the best procurable materials for all their works.— am, &c., James Heron, Builder, i May 31, 1889. Next Lowest Tenderer.