THE SUMMIT ROAD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9430, 2 January 1909, Page 5

THE SUMMIT ROAD.

y - v - _ ■■-.■■ ■■ - MR PATERSON'S STATEMENTS;; CONTRADICTED. ;'■"■;*. Mr Kelly, foreman in charjje oftae ■■■, men at work pn the Summit Road* made a statement to a, " Star reporter to-day in regard to the assertion of Mr Paterson, secretary of *fl« . General Labourers' Union, thatrthfl men engaged in the work had difficulties in obtaining their supplies. ..A remark by Mr Kelly that the tradesman's cart had not been to the seen* of the work for ten days had been con- . strued by^Mr Paterson as an admission * that no supplies had been - delivered during that period, whereas stores wer* . ; procured from Governor's Bay by pp* . other cart. Mr Kelly says he. jflllfc: J tinctly told Mr Paterson that the mett ; at no time ran short of supplies, aiw 0 that they were' paid 9s a day (Is a day above the usual rate) as compensatraa for any temporary^ inconvenience, twer ; ; might suffer in y this respect. Tar K : A Paterson's statement that men l£ft ;\;! work to procure supplies waa mislead* >'£ ing, as on the occasion in qnestion the , foreman was the only man who went '* into .town, and that only because h» :l£ had business with the engineer. Tli* -j? ,men ceased work at noon on Satiny days, and it was only natural the| "p should take back some supplies for ;§ the week if they came into town. Mr Kelly is emphatic that no man applied /^ to him for work until after the pabtt; : ration of Mr Paterson's statement in Tuesday's "Lyttelton Times," after which about fifty applications were tg- -^ ceived. Thirteen men were engaged, _■'-& but up to that date only three had pwfc ;| in an appearance. Tn the early stages ,ol && the work, -Mr Kelly says, he bad to -. -|| send one of' his men to look for ,;% navvies. The paper referred to hfsMx ,;';? Paterson as having been given by^him to some men who desired work tp pre~ J S sent to Mr -Kelly was not presented until the day after the -paragraph, j»p- ; peared in the ■" Lyttelton Times " any 4 cernins: it. In conclusion, Mr Ki^ g stated that^ one of the navvies .engEgett-.--^ on the work, a man of ,thirty y«u* experience, said the Summit Road job ;:^ was the best he- had ever been pn^Jk ;^| his life. [:...:. ' _^_3l_ - : -;t|