PUBLIC WORKS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 1594, 31 March 1873, Page 3

PUBLIC WORKS.

"♦ (From the Wellington Independent, March 25.) Wo are glad to observe that the Minister of Public Works is adopting the plan of publishing in the Gazette the unaccepted as well as the accepted tenders for railways. It is interesting not only to know the amount of the successful tenders but also that of those which have been rejected. The Gazette of Thursday contains a statement of the tenders for the following lines of railway : — Bakaia and Ashburton; Wellington and Masterton (Hutt contract) j Waitaki and Moeraki (Waitaki contract) ; and Nelson and Foxhill (Waimea contract) ; and for bridges over the Ashley and Ashburton rivers, one across the upper end of the Manukau harbour (Onehunga to Mangere), and for the sleepers for the Canterbury railways. For the Kakaia and Ashburton railway there were eight tenders, the lowest being £15,269, and the highest £19,148— the average being £17,344. For the Hutt con- j tract there were six: tenders, ranging from £19,970 (the lowest) to £35,045 (the highest); four of these were from Wellington contractors, amongst whom there was some rather wild calculations, the highest and lowest tender being each from Wellington men. The average of the tenders was £23,383. j For the Waitaki and Moeraki contract there were nine tenders, the lowe9t being £9,998, and the highest £17,739. Most of the tenders ran very close together, there being only a small appreciable amount of difference between six out of the nine. The average of the tenders was £12,332. For the Waimea contract (Nelson and Foxhill) there wero five tenders, the highest being £23,367, and the lowest £11,989. Th» highest tender in this instance came froVj a Wellington firm. The average of the tenders was £15, 109. For the bridge over the Ashley, in Canterbury, there were eight tenders, the lowest of which was £20,979, and the highest 27,561. The tenders were mostly very close to each other, the average being £24,409. For the Ashburton bridge there wero five tenders, the lowest being £19,853, and the highest £29,379. The average of this work was £25, 766. For the Mangere and Onehunga bridge there were nine lenders, the lowest of which was £14,997, and the highest £24,230— the average being £18,922. There was consider- ' able competition for the contract for 100,000 sleepers, and the tender of an Invercargill firm for totara and black pine was accepted at 3s 4Jd each delivered at Lyttelton. For the same kind of sleepers the Canterbury tenderers asked 3s 6d and 3s 7d each, and a Wairarapatenderer'spricewas3s9d. ADunedin firm offered to supply blue gum sleepers at 2s 10£ d, while the price of the Eockingham Jarrah Company was 4s for Jarrah timber, and a Lyttelton firm asksd 4s lOd for jarrah or" West Australian mahogany. Wo are informed that the arrangements for the purchase by the General Government of the Port Chalmers and Dunedin railway have been completed, the price being £175,000. The company asked for £220,000 — that is to say, that the Government should take up all its stock at par, and also a93uuie the liability upon the £100,000 of debentures issued by the company. The company's stock consisted of 12,000 shares, the nominal value of which was £10 each, but the Government purchased them at £6 5s each and taken up the £100,000 worth of debentures. The bargain may be said to be an eminently favourable one for the colony, as it includes all rolling stock, plant, and stations, and a railway which will be directly and largely profitable. This purchase will also preclude the necessity for the Government building a station in Dunedin for the terminus of the Clutha railway, a work which would have been expensive. As it i 3, the Government will be able in a very few weeks to run traffic upon a portion of the Dunedin and ! Clutha line with the rolling Btock included in the purchase of the Port Chalmers lino. The purchase has been the subject of lengthened negotiation, and we have it on good professional authority that the line would not have been dear at £20,000 more than tiie price agreed upon.