ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 30, 20 February 1863, Page 2

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

WE DO NOT BOLD OURSELVES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OPINTOXS EXWU2BSKD BT ODK CORRESPONDENTS. To the Editor of the Invercargill Timts. •' Sir, — Will you kindly grant mr a "pace in your valuable paper to insert the following." The Invercarpill Tovrn Board advertised for tenders for the 4th February^ for . the'Toimihjt and gravelling; of Tay-str.eet.-X tendered for t the works fully prepared to meet the demands of the Town Board upon tiny question. and point. Myself and Campbell were the only tenderers for the work. They need noc pretend to say that I did not attend at the opening of the tenders ; I made myself known to thf m. -I spoke to Mr M'lvor and Mr M'Arthur; they said it was not settled. Next morning they s«nt for Mr Campbell ; I saw him entering Mr M'lvor's premises. In all justice why should they not send for trie as "well as for him,,wh*h my tender was £460 less. Mine wi« a fair arid reasonable tender for the works. I examined the engineer's plan thoroughly, and they were drawn out as distinct and giving as .-frill justice to the contractors'as any plan* : J -have-ever seen. I have executed works from" plans drawn:out J>y snme of the first and most eminent engineers in Great Britain from the year- 1835..t0the present time. I have executed several single railway eontraers to the amount of £60,000 each' contrast, and completed them to the ; satisfaction v of. all eonr-erned in every branch of business required in the works. I always paid 20s in the pound. Have the Town Board acted fairly and justly either by me or the public. A contractor ought to show a scientific piece of work for £3000 ; the formation of Tay-«treet is aa easy a piece of work as 1 ever saw laid out, and can be done quickly. I could do the work well nnd live by my tender. Who is to pay this £460 extra. Is it the Town Board cr the public. I should like to know if the Town Board enquired of Campbell if he has executed works he intended doing, and if he gave proper satisfaction to all parties concerned, and was. he able to complete them or was he not ; or why was my tender not published as well as Campbell's. It has been the custom here, as well as other places/ to publish the amount of the unaccepted tender* aa well as the accepted tender until now, and why waa it not done in this work ; does it not look like dodging. Ido not know how many partners there nre in the firm of Campbell and Co. A clearer piece of 'partiality could riot be acted; is it becoming to men holding public' trust to act so. Mark you, sir, I consider that lam not the only loser in this affair ; they have fixed others as well as me to pay the £460 14s 6d. It looks very unhealthy, and 1 think all who read this will think the same ; the want of judgment always oversteps reason. I will add no more at present, but remain, dear sir, Yours truly, Ri M'lktosh. — ■'■ •»

To the JSditor of the Xwiercctrgill Times. Sib,-— What are we driving at? In your oonporarv's issue on Wednesday appeared an article on the difficulty of finding room for the new arrivals per Sir George Pollock, and simultaneously appears a notice from our municipal Soloni warning all persons who may have erected tents within the town belt to clear out by the 28th ! ! ! Do we want to drive away ail the diggers by way of Dunedin,— are we desirous of locking up all the lands by our exorbitant demands ? Goodness know* rents are high enough, as many can tell to their coit, and expenses of living ditto, while trade is not by any means as lively as it should be; and yet we are doing all we <_an to disgust people with the place. Do raise your voice against this abominable system. Your* truly, t. ». . Invercargill, Feb. 19, 1863.