THE CHEVIOT ROAD WORK.

Timaru Herald, Volume LV, Issue 5739, 2 August 1893, Page 4

THE CHEVIOT ROAD WORK.

An Oamaru man now working on the Cheviot road, m a letter to the Mail grumbles at the prices fixed for some teotione of the work by the authorities. He says :— " The authorities here are very obdurate. They certainly intend to make a first-class road at the least possible cost. I can safely gay that there is not a contractor m the colony who would tender for the work we are now doing at less than 30 per cent, advance on what is being paid. There is not a man among us who does not prefer the co-operative system to working for the nigeer-driving contractor. Here the inoompetent man only earning 5* per day is allowed to do so peaceably and very often at the expense of his mates, while under the co-operative system the competent man has the advantage of bein>; paid accordingly to the amount of work done ; thus the more competent the higher the wage," The writer relates that a heavy rain flooding the creeks cut them off from the store and the works and " with a very few exceptions all hands ran short of provisions and one of the Oamaru gangs had to subsist for a day and a half on mussels. We being <ne of the luoky gangs, found we could spare a little for those wjrse off, so two of vi decided to go | round the bluff with some potatoes for our townsmen. When we reached the Oamaru camp we were surprised to find that hunger bad driven one party of five to bed. We hailed them and informed them that we had brought them some potatoes, and they were ooon engaged m culinary operations. Proceeding to the second party we found four of them engaged m cooking mussels for a snack prior to turning in* On receiving the potatoes one proposod to throw the shellfish away, but he was overruled by the majority, who slung the billy with the potatoes and then proceeded to attack the mussels, beiog too hungry to wait."