Wellington Independent. THURSDAY, 25th OCTOBER. THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT AND KENNARD BROTHERS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXI, Issue 2432, 25 October 1866, Page 4

Wellington Independent.

THURSDAY, 25th OCTOBER. THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT AND KENNARD BROTHERS.

NOH SKT DOWN AUGMT IN MAI.ICK."

The dispute between the Provincial Government and the contractors for the erection of the Patent • Slip, is unfortunately no nearer any settlement than ever. When a deputation lately waited upon his Honor the Superintendent to urge that the erection of the Slip should be commenced and completed as soon as practicable, he expressed great anxiety that such should be done, but at the same time asserted, t that the proposals' made by the contractors were so unreasonable as to forbid their acceptance. The terms as proposedby Messrs. Kennard in their letters of last March, were that the G-overnment should pay the •osfc of providing artificial foundations, and that any damage which might be sustained at any future time, in consequence of the sinking of the ground on ! which the foundations were fixed belowlow water mark should be borne by the G-o---vernment. When the Superintendent declined acceding to this proposition or making any counter proposition, nothing further could be done till a reply was received from the contractors. This reply reached Wellington by the present mail, and it certainly does not advance matters a single inch. It is not usual to publish documents while a negotiation is pending, but as the public are much interested in the matter, we shall state exactly how it stands. The contractors in replyingto the Government state their view of the case at considerable length, and in fact, give a complete history of the dispute from their own own stand point. They assume, somewhat gratuitously, that the Superintendent is not acquainted with the whole facts, or else he would not have taken his present attitude/ and then they proceed to state much that was perfectly well known before, aud very little that was not. Their statement, however,' makes it clear enough that they were misled, not by the information sent to England by the Government about the foundations ; — because that, though imperfect, was not incorrect as far as it went — but by the construction put upon that information by Mr. Carter. " All along," in effect, say the contractors, "it was thoroughly understood that the contract was based upon the information furnished by Mr. Career," when the replies of Mr. Stewart, the Provincial Engineer, were laid before the Messrs. Kennard. They now assert that, with the information thus afforded relative to the foundations, it wouljl not have been possible to have prepared a design for the > Slip without further reference to the | colony. As the case stood, Mr. Carter's further information got over the impossibility, and enabled them to prepare a design entirely unsuitable. Somebody or other, we don't know who, seems to have altered Mr. Stewart's written statements after they had reached London, taking out the words " no stone is available," and substituting other words in ' tiieir place ; while we already know from the printed correspondence that Mr. Carter gave a written assurance to the

effect, " that the site for the Slip is sufficiently firm to carry without yielding, the foundations for the proposed Slip in Evans' Bay." We seem to have come at last to the absolute truth in this complicated dispute, and it is this .—The Government, in perfectly good faith, sent home Mr. Stewart's replies to the questions of the contractors, thinking the information thus afforded, was sufficient. As it happened, the information was uot sufficient, and but for Mr. Carter's representations, another reference would have been made to the colony. Had this been done, and a proper survey made of the proposed site, then, we believe, the dispute would never have arisen. The whole complication has resulted through,a gentleman having been placed in a responsible position, for which, as the facts show, he was unfitted. We do not for a moment doubt that Mr. Carter showed energy, perseverance, and zeal for the iuterests of the province throughout the whole of a difficult and tedious, negotiation — indeed, the correspondence places this beyond dispute I—but1 — but the possession, of these qualities did not make I up for a total inability to give correct information on matters of fact. How any gentleman should be able to tell the exact nature of a site which he had not seen professionally examined, we are at j loss to understand. We are not even aware how Mr. Carter came to represent the province at all in this matter, because no letter conferring the appointment on him is to be found in the correspondence. It is true that Mr. Carter was appointed to superintend the preparation and shipment of the material for the Queen's Wharf, but that did not authorise him to negotiate the Patent Slip contract. Mr. Morrison may have employed him iv both capacities, but so far as the Patent Slip was concerned, we do not think tho Superintendent authorised any such appointment. It was unfortunate, ali ke. for the province and Mr. Carter, that he should have been placed in the position, he occupied. The province losses by a hamperednegotiation, and Mr. Carter, after working very hard for the province during several months, finds that through a single unfortunate mistake all his efforts have been rendered very much worse than useless.

And now, how does the case stand ?• Well, pretty much as it did before. The contractors repeat their former offer, and state that, failing its acceptance, their agent in Wellington is instructed not to proceed with the erection of the slip. In fact, they go further, and assert their determination, in consequence of misrepresentation, not to proceed with the work under the existing contract. While stating this in emphatic' terms, they at the same time aft'ecfc a strong desire to do nothing which may be detrimental to the interests of the province, and will await the reply of the Government before taking any further proceedings. The further regret that Mr. Howard Kennard, has hitherto been prevented from visiting the colony, but express a hope that he may yet do so, and settle all existing differences. In the meantime the Government are requested I to appoint an arbitrator in England to act on their behalf; and finally, they pro- j pose that the Government should take the work in hand of. erecting the Slip, in i which case they will hand over all the necessary plant, place Mr. George's services at the disposal of the province and otherwise afford every, assistance in ! i their power, provided the Government ! will agree to pay them £40,000, that being the sum on which they were to be I guaranteed interest at ■ the rate of seven per cent. . / I A meeting of the Executive was held yesterday, at which the question was mooted, but no decision has yet been arrived at. Another meeting will, we believe, bo held to-day, when the matter will be further considered. As the case stands we are of opinion that the position taken by the contractors is alike unreasonable and unI tenable. Admitting that the information given by Mr. Carter was incorrect, and that artificial foundations for the Slip are necessary, the Government && prepared in the meantime to pay the cost of constructing them, if the question of their ultimate liability is left to arbitration, in terms of the contract.- The contractors will not consent to this, as they; wish the agreement to pay to be unconditional, and they besides demand that the Government shall guarantee them. against any loss that may be sustained in the future, from the possible sinking of foundations, which it would be their business to construct so as to avoid all such risk. The Government would not be justified in assenting to the latter proposal,* which would saddle the province with an indefinite liability, nor is it possible for them to pay the whole cost of a work which was to be undertaken by Kennard Brothers for a certain guaranteed interest. The Government never dreamt of undertaking such a work, indeed there are no funds available for it. The basis of the whole arrangement was that Kennard Brothers should erect the Slip and be guaranteed a certain interest- on their outlay. The matter might, we think, be arranged if one of the contractors were on the spot. What justice demands is, thatthe Government should pay a reasonable price for the formation of artificial foundations, and that the contractors should erect the Slip on the terms specified in the original agreement, without any other guarantee being afforded. We say that this might be done if both parties could meet nice to face. A. single interview between Dr. Featherston and Mr. Howard Kennard would do more to settle the existing dispute than six months correspondence.

•If the Patent Slip dispute is not to be as mterm n.ible a3 thefamous chancery suit of Jarndyce v. Jarndjce, Mr. Q-eorge must either be furnished with a power of attorney, or. Mr. Howard Kennard must come to AVellingtoii.