SHE WATER SUPPLY.

West Coast Times, 6 September 1909, Page 2

SHE WATER SUPPLY.

S© vet-y manj' people only acquire their wisdom afW the event that the phrtwt "wise feehin4-haiut" has become as common «t* sajfc. We do not refer to the "1 told you so" people tut to iK* "what could you expect?" genius. In connection with the settlement of the trouble fcetwwn the .Borough Council and Messrs McLean bvw 4hg water supply contract we think we will tje pardoned if we f««l a little, just a little proad that the attitude which this paper took «p a month ago has teen justified to the utmost Jetter. Our, readers will remember that the difficulty atofje some two months ago when it was ascertained that the earthernivare sections of the pipe line from Lake Kauieri to the reservoir had proved a. failure through the weather-

ing and pugging of the clay in ihe trenches causing the earthenware pipes to sag, thus fracturing the joints. The question for the Council then arose who was responsible?" — the contractors or the engineer. The Council met on the 30th July, when consideration of the knotty point was overtaken 1 . Mr McLean, the contractor, was present, and stated that his firm had carried out their instructions to th 9 very letter. Mr Reynolds stated that the contractors had done the work to his instructions and to his thorough satisfaction, and he -could ask them to do no more. It will be remembered that Mj: Reynolds was -appointed arbiter under the agreement between the Council and the contractors, and it was declared that his decision upon all questions arising between the parties should be final. At the meeting of the Council referred to it was stated that the Borough Solicitor had advised that the contractors were responsible for defects which existed. Before the meeting Mr McLean ex gratia offered to supply the labour necessary to replace the earthenware pipes by wooded ones and he estimated that labour at £250 ; the engineer stated that the wooden pipes would cost £400. But instead of seeing through a hole in a ladder the Council decided to take the advice or opinion of two lawyers. A | couple of days afterwards we wrote .an j an article pointing out the utter untenableness of this position and the uselessness of causing further legal expense. We made it clear that no action could possibly be held against the ! contractors because the sole judge of their woi*k had pronounced it good; j that no action could succeed against i the engineer because he was the Council's servant (of course it had never been proved that any blame whatever attached fco the engineer). Thus the matter stood, the expert interpreter of the law" was duly on the scene, but it is a .rmarkable fact that so far as we remember not even the echo of a shot was heard from the Greymouth Mons Meg. Meantime Mr McLean had generously not withdrawal his offer and on

Friday last he repeated it and the Council accepted, just as we said they might very well have accepted it on its first proffer. Now to the three parties to this trouble we cannot find thatmuch, if any, blame attaches at all. The contractors are entirely free from any fault; it has never been officially proven that Mr Reynolds should have foreseen the pugging which caused the trouble; and as for the Council, well there is no active fault to be laid to their charge, the only thing being the delay in not accepting Mr McLean's offer without additional expense ; bub, after all, perhaps they were justified in not moving until they knew beyond all shadow of a doubt they must foot he bill. We understand that, the Council has decided that tho wood to be used for the substituting pipes must be either silver pine, totara or Oregon pine, and that Mr Griffith's, Mr McLean's pipe expert, proceeds, to Wellington this week to. ascertain whether suitable Oregon is to be had there. If not then an attempt will be made 1 to get totara from Auckland. We are informed, however, that the new work will in no way interfere with the constant supply of wat§V, The change from white pine will cause the whole "extra" to cos.t from £800 to £900, and alas "Wee peerie winkle pays for a'," and so the ratepayers who have in this, matter not had much to say in calling the tune have nevertheless to pay the pipe-r. But even here there is a consolation: it might have been worse; it would have been worse but for the contractors' offer, and so to the ratepayers we say — For a crust of bread sa thankee When you can't get currant cake-