THE PUBLIC WORKS OFFICE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3367, 20 November 1872, Page 5

THE PUBLIC WORKS OFFICE.

In the House of Piepresentatives, on the 15th ult., oa the motion for going into Committee of Supply, Mr Reid made a speech, in the course of which he said:—" With regard to the discharge of my duties as Minister of Public Works, I will merely say this : that if I had been twelve months in the Public Works office, I would not have felt it very creditable to myself, and I think this House and the country would have been justified in requiring my resignation, if I did not leave that oflice in a better state than I found it. The very short experience I had of that office proved to me conclusively that it was not in a satisfactory state of organisation ; in fact, that it had never been organised. Ido not attach any blame to the officers, a« I believe they are efficient. 1 beliwe, if the political head of the department had devoted that attention and care which he ought to have bestowed in order to satisfactorily organise that oflice, and put it in proper working order; the officers are efficient, but they have not been properly treated. The Chief Engineer, who haa been brought out here at considerable expense, lias been placed in a most unfair position ; he in supposed to be, and ought to be, responsible for action taken in hie department, when in fact he has been treated more in the capacity of a second-rate clerk in regard to works constructed in the Colony. That gentleman did not know many of the works contracted for and engagements entered into, and he was unaware of a good deal of the correspondence that was carried lon in regard to these works. All these things do not reflect credit on the department." Further on in his speech, Mr Reid said:— " 1 ask the hon. member [Mr Vogel] to lay the[Brogdcn] correspondence on the table, and let the House see whether our action was melt as to lead them to suppose that it was to the advantage of the Mesara Brogdeu that we should have retained office. In what state did we find these matters when we entered into office '( We found the Brogden contracts in ft mess. We found two letters from the Minister for Public Works [MrOrmond], me informing them that No. 1 Contract was at an end, and that their sureties might be released ; and another informing them that it was not at an end, and that their securities could not be released."