RAILWAYS BOARD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22392, 13 April 1936, Page 11

RAILWAYS BOARD

TIMBER SUPPLIES QUESTION OF TENDERS STATEMENT BY MR. REESE [BY TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION] CHRISTCHURCH, Saturday A further reply was made to-day by Mr. D. Reese, a former member of the Railways Board, following the statement by the Minister of Railways, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, published on Saturday.

"I have examined the whole of the records covering the last five years' operations of the New Forest Sawmilling Company," said Mr. Reese. "1 now find that, notwithstanding my care that no business should be done with the railways, there was one instance of tendering—the instance quoted by the Minister—and that was for local inquiry, the Addington workshoi/s. That tender was not accepted. Neither Mr. Sullivan nor myself had any knowledge of this tender when we first spoke. "The second point is that the West Coast Sawmillers' Association is alleged to have tendered against the Mamaku mill. It never did. It may be upon one happening that Mr. Sullivan's original statement was based.

"During my absence from Christchurch with the Railways Board on an extended tour of inspection, a departmental inquiry for 1,000,000 ft. of timber. which had been circulated among millers on the West Coast, was submitted by several of them to the secietnry of the association, Mr. A. O. Wilkinson. These millers suggested that as this was a specification which no one mill could handle, whatever could be handled should be divided among those mills. Even then only half of the original 1.000,000 ft. was tendered for — unsuccessfully. On my return to Christchurch Mr. Wilkinson told me of what he had done.

"I pointed out that I had always insisted that the association should, while I was a. member of the Railways Board, refrain, from business dealings with the Railway Department. At the next meeting of the association my point of view was accepted and a resolution passed that the association would not tender. "In one way, and in one way only, could the Mamaku mill be mentioned in connection with the tendering—the cost at which the department said the Mamaku mill, if operating, could have cut the timber was used for the purpose?; of comparison with tenders. All this happened nearly 12 months after the Mamaku mill had ceased operation, and nearlv a year ago."