RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13430, 11 July 1914, Page 7

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

ASD TEE SMALL COXTIt-ACf SYSTEM. Speaking m the 'House of Representatives <mi the no-confidence debate, Mr/ W. I). S. MoeDonald, M.l., asked tlw Minister of Public Works . wtaatiher ha "'. wa-s satisfied with the system of : mall ■ «v>ntracts. He would, like t;> know if Mi- Lynn's contract on the UiEborne"^^apier line at .Xgatapa- was satiufvetory. The Liberal Government had ha/l. a large number of contract"* hi hand ; he was not objecting to them, • but he had gone over railway wurkr-t m the North Island where there wsk silarge number of men on small con-, tracts. If they were letting ten, iii t.^n, or twenty) miles of \vork> pev annum it might, be a reasonable proposi- . tion,' but what were they doing? .When • lht- contracts were completed the; men wiM-o paid off; they had no other work •M go to, and tlie contractor h;.d no o/i her contract- m view. .He .knew cf many contvads that had been coin-pli-u'd where the men had been jinnhk* to get anything further ta do. It wti \ unfair to 'the men to let -.work out m .<nia!l contracts m outily-ing district:;. Tta* s-ystem was unfair unless the Mm'- ' )?i'-t could arrange for the work to bo (rv irk* l <)" continuously,' S:> that the 7nei! would know there was. anciher-.jr.:> Uo go'" tri- Contractors had to- pay 10s and lis.per day, and they could .only u-mploy th.? best men ; whilst othera w l<(» could only earn 6s and 7a a day Iliad U> remain on the io.d, ar.d wuilo not get work. Hon. W- Frawr: They- do yot it. Mr Mac Donald : Home may, but other;cannot.. I know. Proceeding, ho s:u(] that so fjir as tlte :»iain lines w^re con j veiled the Ciisbornc-Motn and t'ho Ess! iTVnst line generally were practically ai .'i standstill. ' A fair number cf m?n ' vV ,. V v»- employed at the Tauranga- end, mid ho hoped the Minister would put on a largo sum of money to push on the East Coa>t line, which r awe3 rh rough -an undevelopedv, district that required all the assistance^ it could: posMnly get. -