Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVENT EVENING GISBORNE, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1830.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4742, 16 December 1886, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISH ED EVENT EVENING

GISBORNE, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1830.

THE LOWEST TENDEE. Tjiosr who h«',ve read the discussion on tho Palme-vston road contract will at once come to the conclusion that the Borough Cour cil are drifting into a law suit which may take a considerable amount of tact and perhaps money to get out of. The iwtter appears to become more and more intricate, and the vhole thing is now bristling with law points. One Councillor put it very correctly at last meeting; when the said that the trouble had arisen through the lowest tender being accepted. That such is the case is apparent from the fact that Corcoran, this cc ntractor, has sublet two-thirds 6f the contract for the whole contract money. It will beromembered that the contract was taken at a Tery low price, many thinking at the time that it was impossLhle for tho work to be completed at the sum mentioned ; still, in the face of this, Corcoran became tho contractor. Without going into the question of delay that occurred in the carrying on of the wor's, it will be sufficient by way of explanation to state .that Corcoran entered into n private arrangOmotifc with Mr O'Neill to metal the road, he promising to at once go on with metallifig the fo.itparhs. Corcoran gave an order t>> O'Neill on tho Council t> draw all monies c ming to him. This order was accej ted conditional on the whole contract bum" completed, ; und two progress payments were irad;. Corcoran never fulfilled his portion of the contract, and tho sureties (Messrs Friar and Dovery) were notified that tho work was not being carried on. The sureties ultimately decided to carry on the contract, intimating to the Council fha^ rimy in no way would a<k>.v;.vk-dg9 the tub contractor, OTSieill.

This placed the Council in a very awkward position, for while acknowledging that O'Neill wfis entitled to his moiiGy for thu work he had faithfully performed, they could not ignore the existence of the now new contractors— the sureties. O'Neill, Snding himself in a precarious position as regards his money, then stopped work, ! and at the Council meetingsaid that in his agreement with Corcoran he never under- : stood that ho was to wait until the whole contract was completed. To make the matter more complicated, an attachment order was received from one of the workmen attaching any money (up to £14 odd) coming to Corcoran on the contract. It will be seen from this that the whole affair seems to be drifting into such a tangled state that unless some arrangement is arrived at between the sureties, Corcoran, O'Neill, and the Council a, law suit appears tobeinevitable. In this respect the Council have had tho experience of other local bodies to guide them, and that experience should plainly warn them at any risk to strain every nerve to an amicable arrangement. O'Neill is entitled to his money, and, as an honorable obligation on the part of the Council, should be paid. In the acceptance of the order the Council gave him the impression that his money would be safe. It is ridiculous to think that he would hazard his contract money contingent on a promise of Corcoran. Ho has workmen to pay, who aru suffering hardships f«>r the want of that which is justly due to thorn. The order no doubt sets out that the contract must be completed before O'Neill gets his money, and the Public Works Committee evidently thought something of the kind of trouble that has now arisen would take place. Councillors row see what effect the acceptance of the lowest tender means complication, confusion, waste of time in lengthy discussions, and probably lawsuits. Though the bad effect of the systematical accepting of the lowest tender has i repeatedly been brought under tilt* notice i of local bodies it has been continued. A locai body has no right to accept a tender . which they must know can only be carried out at a loss to the contractor. The Engineer's estimate is a good guide to <^> by. It might be said, as it often is, that it is no business of a local body if a contractor tenders at a low rate. The present : trouble in the Borough Council is a decisive answer to that question. Not alone do wo contend that the lowest tender , should not be accepted, but that the contractor should be a thoroughly reliable and competent workman. Perhaps the experience bought in the present instance will be a great saving in the long run, for if Councillors only take time to go thoroughly and searchingly into tho question of tenders they must agree with us that the lowest in nil cases is not desirable, or tho cheapest in tho end. Of course- there will be a great cry made by tho lowest tenderer -should he not bo accepted, — and ho will say that he could have faithfully done the work at a saving to the ratepayers. This should have no effect on members, who ' no doubt will consider the price aud ability of the contractor before they make a final i decision. As bearing on the same question it is pleasing to note that Cr Whinray is about to move that a clause be inserted in any specifications with the object of protecting workmen's wages. The object is a laudable one, and one that deserves the greatest possible consideration. It has come under our notice frequently (more especially of lato) that men have been put to great hardships in obtaining their wages. How often do we hear of men with wives and families who have been put to the expense of going through the legal formalities of sueinsr their employers under the Workmen's Wages Act, and attaching money that may be coming due to a contractor. It is a disgrace that such things should be, and if the Council cannot reserve to itself the right of paying the workmen some stringent clause [ should be inserted in the conditions whereby a contractor should be made to , pay his men weekly or fortnightly as the case may be. There may bo many objections to the Council paying tho workmen, but any trouble or annoyance — provided it can be done - should bo subservsont to tho interest of workmen. It is to be fumed the question will bo taken up with spirit at tho next meeting, and that something will bo done to meet the now existing evil.

It will be seen by advertisement that the ser .-ices of common jurors warned to come on , Monday, 20th iuet. will not be required. The County Clerk notifies that dog collars 1 for the comiug year are now procurable at his office. Up lo February 14 the fee for registration is ss, after that the fee will hi doubled, and owners of unregintered dogs reader themselves liable to prosecution. The Waerenga-a-hika Rchool picnic and distribution of prizes takes place to-morrow afternoon. The parents and friends of the school children are invited to attend. A luncheon will be provided. A Taranaki paper suggests tint if the revenue from intoxicating liquors is falling off, the non -intoxicants which arc replacing them should contribute to the revenue. Aerated waters are very largely consumed, aud could easily be taxed. Tue TreisunH" of the Hospital and the Treasurer of tlip Library have each received the sum of £10 7s towards the funds of those institutions, £20 143 being the nett result of the " Our lJoya " entertainment lately given by our local amateurs. Tiiuranga ivjoices in a clerical Mayor, in the person of the Rev Mr Jordan, pastor of Holy Trinity Church. The effort lo form a cadet corps last night *yas fairly successful. At the meeting held at the drill shed soi^e 23 namos were given in. The list was isent to the school thi> morning, when about 00 youths ojt the required standard expressed their willingness 10 join and enrolled themselves on the list. As showing the remarkable progress made by the boy P. G. Henderson, who was second iv Standard VI. in the last examination, it will be interesting t<o state that since he commenced his school d,uti,o» flix years^ ago he has gained the first prize tv No, 1 Standard, first in No. 2, first in No. 3, s.e#opd in No. 4. first in No. 5, aud now he has secured second in No. 6, which carries with it £20 for one year. The clouds of dnst blowing down Gladstoue road during the day have beeu anything bat pleasant, but in order to appreciate the advantages derived from the use of the water cart one has only to look at the Whataupoko side of the liver, u&d to congratulate ourselves that we are at least much batter off than the residents on that side of the river. The Choral Society announce that they will give their first concert in Parnell'a Hall, on Thursday, December 23. Handel's sacred oratorio " The Messiah," has been in active rehearsal for some time past for thia concert, and judging from the favorable reports of the practicca, and the enthusiastic manner in which the members of the Society have attended them, a musical treat of no common rharactcr is in store for the people of Gislo.-ne. During last \r<;ek tho Wellington Acclimatisation Society distributed a large number of trout in the Mauawatu aud R'.ugitikei districts. The Minister of Lands has received very encouraging reports with reference to the j;rocreHß of the special settlements which he hift founded at Hokian»a, Auckland. Arrangei^ents are now being made to throw open «jceral other suitable blocks of land in the sime district. The N Z. Herald says that, feeling his power ha* go&e., the Maori King has been gpeaking about going, *o Taranaki aud taking up his abode with To Whiti. There are now two million rounds of Snider ammunition in the magazine in Wellinton. Holy Trinity Church Choir Practice toEJ^ht, quarter pifit i>&\'m, abarp, — Advt. j

Mr Steward, in addressing his constituents at Waimate asserted that there Would bo a deficiency when Parliament met of not le3s than L' 200,000, to nme.t which there must be either a large retrenchment or a considerable increase of taxation. He counselled a large reduction of the education vot<;. "A limit must, in hia opinion, be sit to tho expenditure in this direction, and tliat soon. The State was bound to see that free education i was provided f.»r tbo»n who were unnhic to provide it for themselves, and by the i>ift \ of scholarships and bursaries should place ; the obtainment of the highest class of edu j cation within the reach even of the poorest ; , but h ivitigdoue thatitwouH, in his opinion, hive discharged its duty, and was not calied upon to take the whole bunion of educating all its subjects, whether rich or poor." The Wairnrapa Star says :— " We stated j the other day that we believed that since the present Government cune into office, over a thousand men, women and children had b.-en placed in homes of their own on tho Forty- i mile Bush. We have since then Ivjcu supplied wkh some figures from a in the Imsh who ought to be an excellent authori:y on this subject. By estimating the holdiugs, and allowing as an average five members to each family, he computes that [ there are ISSO souls, either living or about to reside on r,he village settlements, 600 on defurred payment and perpetual lease sections and about 1500 on special settlements, inakine a tot;tl in round numbeis of 2500. An achievmene of this character is something of which any Government may well be proud." An interesting ceremony took place at Holy Trinity Church this afternoon (at least from young ladies point of view), which attracted the attention of a numerous circle of friends to witness tlm marriage of Mr E. J. Chrisp to Miss K. K. Towuley, eldest daughter of our respectei townsman Mr John Townloy. The happy couple attended by their parents and friends proceeded from the bride's pa!erual residence to the Church, which was crowded. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. J E. Fox, the choir rendering a full choral service, the voluntary service and Wedding March was performed by Miss Shelton. The bride was attended by four bridesmaids, Misses Towniey, Large, Wells, and Johuston. The groomsmen Mr F. W. Skeet, and W. H. Chrisp, brother of the hridegroom. After the ceremony the happy couple with their friends adjourned to the residrnoe of the bride's father, and partook of the wedding breakfast, when the usual toasts and congratulations were indulged in. The newly wedded pair lcava for Auckland on Sunday morning on a tour round the North Island. The following are the dresses worn by the bride and bridesmaids: — The bride's dress was of rich uhite carded silk, trimmtd with pearl beaded galloon, handsome lace, and garlands of oian^e blossoms. The front of the skirt was caught up j in pleats on the foundation skirt, to form apron dnpery. A panel for one side was formed of two rows of pearl galloon, down to ihe centre of which was placed a garland of orange-blossoms. The long full train was protected "n tlieed^e by a pleating of silk with a lace flounce above it. The high basque had two points in front, pearl galloon forming bretulles and edgirjg tho sleeves, M'ith sprays of orange- blossoms at the throat and at the poiut of the basque. Miss Wells and Miss Johnston wore dresses of pale blue nuu's vriiiug. Ou tho skirt there were deep lace flounces forming a pmel at the side of each, with ample apron drapery.also trimmed with lace. The basques were pleated fronts with a waterfall of lace at the side cf each. Mi?s Tovnley and Miss Large wore white uuu's veiliug trimmed with Haniton lace, j pink sashes and veils, and apple-blostoms. Presbyterian Church couutry services next Sunday :— Matawhero 2.30 Mr R. H. Scott ; Ri»y station 2 30, Te Arai 6.30 Mr J. A. M'Kinney. — (Advt.) WesleyanChurch.— Next Sunday, 11 a.m., " The Humanity of Chris); ;" 7 p.m., "Some Evils of Intemperance ;" Patutahi, afternoon. — Advt.