The Timaru Herald. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1901.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 3477, 23 January 1901, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1901.

The Harbour Board -.at-.their, meeting yesterday passed two.«impqrtan& resolutions in connection with the eastern mole contract. The first resolution.,was that the contract be determined at once " fey an instrument in writing .under, the- hand of- the chairman, delivered; to the. or their represented ves.' ■on the works, or left at the contractors' usual or last known place of abode er-business." resolution was drafted by the Board's legal adviser, and follows; wording; of paragraph 11 of the general conditions of the contract. The.'contractors received the notice referred to''in the resolution, so that, assuming that the Board have been rightly advised*'as to the legal! position, the contract entered into with Messrs Stumbles and Black is no 16'nggF- m existence. The saoond resolution is- also word for word a copy- of a portion of paragraph 11 of the general conditions*- off the contract. The -Board resolved' that " the moneys which"have been already paid to the contractoss shall be deemed- to be the full value of the work executed, and shall be taken and? accepted by the contractors in full payment and satisfaction of all claims and "demands under- the- eontract, and that th%<deposit and percentage and retention mo>«ey, and also all' materials, implements', and plant being\ in or'upon the works or aear thereto, for the purpose of being used" or employed ia or about the same, shall be and remain the absolute property-of the Board, and no further payment shall be made by the> Board in respect thereof 'OT otherwise." These conditions appear-to be very stringent indeed, but whether they are fair or not they were deliberately accepted fey Messrs Stumbles and'Biack when they signed! the contract. The-Board, having placed themselves on whufc they are advised 1 is firm ground in respect of their rights under the. contract, declare; in the concluding sentence of the .second resolution, that they " reserve the jrigat to hereafter extend the contractors, jsueh consideration on equitable grounds as 'may, in the opinion, of the Board, be .'found to'be just and reasonable." It rej mains'..to be seen whether the contractors {will quietly accept the-;situation and trust ito getting something substantial out of the 'Board later on, or will'bring an 'action-in ! the Supreme Court with-the object of proving that the determination of the contract under the existing circumstances was illegal. When the Board took the first step towards cancelling the>. contract by serving Messrs Stumbles and Black with the preliminary notice of intention to do so if certain progress wer.eTnot made in fourteen days, a rumour got. abroad that an action would be brought if the intention were carried out. Thfsfe rumour was renewed yesterday evening,, but we are unable to say whether is any truth in it or not; nor do we- venture to express an opinion as to whether Messrs Stumbles and Black good grounds for an action. All that we kjopw with certainty is that the Board having decided to determine the contract, have taken all- the .subsequent -steps under the guidance of their legal advisers. It will be seen by our report of yesterday's meeting of the Board that the Resident Engineer reported further on the progress of the eastern mole contract, his statements and remarks being all very unfavourable to the contractors. - .We do not pretend to determine whether he was too severe or not, but he is a capable man and has both his personal and professional reputation (o take care of. No doubt Messrs Stumbles and Black had great difficulties to contend with, but it iSj we think, clear from the reports that, making all due allowance on that score, there were good grounds for complaint against them. Putting aside the main charges brought by the Resident Engineer, there were minor matters which under the circumstances became of importance. The contractors persistently neglected to put a flagman on the Fairview road cror-sing, though it was their duly to do so, and they received repeated notices on the subject from the Resident Engineer. Again, the contractors would not make good the crossing into the Otipua road, though the Resident Engineer had repeatedly ordered them to do the necessary work. Other road crossings were not of proper length and were not laid with proper timber. The public complained of them, and the Resident Engineer also complained. But it was all of no use. The contractors would have their own way. Again, the contractors, before breaking the soil, failed to forward to +h? Boprd p-lar?. if t'-p. ""rvrds they required for quairie l :. In : .Le specifications there are 2'rovisions making it incumbent on the contractors to give the Board written notice of the lands required for quarries, and to furnish plans of tho same certified by a licensed surveyor. These are a few examples of the way in which, the contractors departed from the terms of the contract and contemptuously ignored the remonstrances and orders of the Resident Engineer. It is not surprising to find him thus exru-essing himself to the Board:—"The contractors had evaded every two-penny-halfpermy thing, and had acted as if the engineer's opinion was nothing, and as if their own opinion ought to rule." Nor is it surprising to observe in his report, as one of the grounds put forward for determining the contract, that the' contractors " had proved obstructive and recalcitrant in matters easy to bs complied with, and which involved no serious outlay." But this disposition manifested by the contractors naturally assumed importance in the eyes of the Board when they came to consider the larger question of the slow progress of the work; and ■ wc have no doubt that the stupidly antagonistic attitude of the contractors towards the Resident Engineer, the responsible officer of the Board, was of considerable weight in inducing the latter to take tho extreme step of determining the contract. With regard to those comparatively small matters —that is to say. small in themselves though not small as indicating a strong disposition to resent and ignore legitimate authority—the contractors were undoubtedly to blame, and so far thoy may thank themselves for what has happened. We still hold to the opinion I that it would have been more judicious for the Board to allow the contractors ' an opportunity of showing how quickly they could bring down the stone after the ! completion of the preliminary work; warning them in the meantime that if for the future they refused to carry out the instructions of the Resident Engineer the contract would be at once determined.