Councillor Ewington in Reply to Mr Holland's Statements.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LVI, Issue 8628, 10 December 1906, Page 3

Councillor Ewington in Reply to Mr Holland's Statements.

e:;v--i should like an opportunity _of | replying to ilie remarks m Air | Iloliiiv.l's letter iin reference to the road | maehmerv ord.red by the Com.cij.' | published ia Vviir i.-sr.e of OUi j net. As Mr. ■ I to-Hand has'left lis ;.tt;v. k rather i.-'.te. I , might refer you 10 van; reiort of me Ceun- i eilds meeting lied en Lull X-vemKr. v.lu-n I the information, to which Mr inmnnd takes , exception, was published Mr Holland ; taxes me with not ascertaining whether ; .reports and figures, which 1 placed before ■. the Council, were reliable. Tne figures and j dimensions were supplied by Mr Holland j himself, and these same dimensions 1 sub j mined to expert-, without specifying make of engine or giving any indication. Mr j Holland accuses me of making inaccurate ; statements and hints that I trial to ccprc- j date his make of engine. 1 may reply that. ! informant was altogether wrong on that ! for. at the meemig, 1 placed the two j makers or. an equal f< oung. dhepmt • ; wished to be sure on was whether we were realiv getting a stronger engine t-r the extra meuev": and tne only mformahoi: placed before v- was supplied by the a.:euts decide the matter, I inoros-d that the specificate ns supo,fa be su.umtle.t t>- the Cniif Inspector of Machinery, or some o'her expert, for an opinio:;. This the Council did not agree to, so 1 .therefore, determined to satisfy myself as a representative of the ratepayers, and gave notice of motion, holding over the order for fourteen days, to enable mo to procure the information, which 1 did. I placed the specifications (as supplied to the Council before four recognised authorities without disclosing the owners' names of either engine, simply marking them A., .15.. and C. so that I* would be sure of getling_ a thoroughly unbiassed opinion. Three replies came to hand before the motion was discussed, and one later, all of which prove the 6 h.p. engine to be the stronger of the t.vo, it showing the greatest indicated horsepower. This being the ease, and finding that there would be a saving of £111 of the ratepayers' money, I maintain that I was quite justified in endeavouring to have the motion rescinded, in which the Council decided to purchase the seven (?) horse power jAtngine. Mr Holland, in his letter, to mention that after the tenders had been opened and considered, he ascertained that his price was £10/_ above the 6 h p., and more than £4/ above the other maker's 8 h.p. He then immediately submitted another tender for the same engine, which was altogether unfair to the other tenderers, and I strongly objected. This amended tender was still £111 above the 6 h.p., and £2 above the 8 h.p., both ot which were tendered by Mr Anderson. Again, I say Mr Holland should have received his information from a more reliable source. He states that I am agent for the Austin road graders—that particular make being specified by the Council. I may now inform Mr Holland that the N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Co. hold this agency, which has been out of my hinds for nearly two years, and I was not therefore actuated by any pecuniary motive. Mr Holland challenges me to hand over the expert's report lor publication. This I did at the time. Not only did I read the copy of specifications sent to the experts and the answers to same before the Council, bat I immediately afterwards handed over the lot to the />//'/// 7V///CS reporter. Hence the publication of the facts" on the following day. In reference to Mr Holland's remarks that he is -ttupplving several extras, it is quite, true "miat he mentioned a sight fesd lubricator and injector, etc., but it is a well known fact that a traction engine is not complete without those fittings, and in any case the value he sets on them is altogether excessive As regards the rock crustier which is beimi supplied by Mr Holland, Mr Anderson's tender for the machine (same maker and size) was £20 less, but was not considered by the Council on account of its beiim late. Since Mr Holland's tender was accepted he thought it advisable to sell the engine specified and substitute another. It is c to be hoped now that he will supply a more powerful engine and give us value for our money. Mr Holland in his letter has not 'kept to the report, but has based his remarks upon information which is proved to be altogether unreliable. This fact will account for his being quite at sea in many of his statements. He makes reference to the Council specifying a Morrison scarifier. This was considered at the time to be the best article, and I have yet to learn that it not procurable from all makers of engines. Mr Holland makes a lot of his boiler having more heating surface than the 6 h.p., but forgets to mention that the G h.p. boiler is larger than his / hp He certainly has five feet more heating suron his small boiler, but he claims himself that 15 feet equals one horse-powei, therehe is still two-thirds of a horse-power according to his own reckoning. The actual boiler surface measurements as supplied by the tenders are as follows: —Avelin" 6 h.p., 113 feet; McLaren, 7 h.p., 118 feet;° Aveling, 8 h p., 152 feet. It will be seen that while there is only five feet between the 6 h.p. and the 7 (?) h.p., there is 34 feet between the latter and the Aveling 8 h.p., therefore, allowing Mr Holland s 15 feet per horse power, it would appear that the 8 h.p. Aveling is over two horse-power stronger than Mr Holland's 7 h.p although the 8 h.p. costs less money. Mr Holland has no reason for complaint, as his interests are well looked after in the Council. I am absolutely convinced on the experts figures (including Mr Croll s) that the b h.p. tendered by Mr Anderson is a more powerful engine than the 7 h.p. tendered by Mr Holland, although the Council has decided to purchase the latter at a greater cost ol £111—I am, etc., J. C EWINGTON.