The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday Morning Tuesday, August 20, 1889. “DON’T-ASK THEM.”

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 340, 20 August 1889, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday Morning

Tuesday, August 20, 1889. “DON’T-ASK THEM.”

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s, Thy God’s, and truth’s.

There is a very different way of doing things in Gisborne to that which prevails in Wanganui, and we must say the latter place has a great advantage over us. The members of that Harbor Board do not use such “arguments ” as—“ Oh, we do not think the Government will do this for us ; therefore, because that is our opinion, we do not feel inclined to ask. Better worry on in the ignorant way we have been doing, and trust everything to chance. So much has gone now, and at the worst there is proportionately only a small amount to follow, and although our Engineer has not been as successful as we were led to expect, he is the best Engineer in the colony, and we’ll sink or swim by whatever new scheme he devises to get us ’out of the muddle he has got us into. Of course we have told him his plan won’t do it; so, as we have supported him, he’ll have to stand by our plan, which, being more expensive, ought to be better.” No, there is a very different way of doing things in Wanganui. A contractor there felt so certain that he could make the breakwater a success that he undertook to do it on the principle that if he did not succeed he was not to be paid. Unfortunately he did not succeed, and lost a large sum of money upon the work ; he was widely sympathised with,' and he informed the Board that after his., losses he could not continue the work at his own risk, but he still felt cofident that it would be a success—that it had not had a fair trial—and he offered terms to make another attempt. The Board, while expressing sympathy with Mr Law (that is the contractor's name), did not feel justified in spending public money on what there was too much reason to believe had been proved a failure. If the work had succeeded it would give twenty feet of water on the bar. The members of the Board however, discussed the matter, and criticised the scheme, one member saying though he opposed the expenditure of further money on the work, he thought Wan-

ganui ought to be proud of having such a public-spirited contractor in the place. It was resolved that the contractor be given time to consider whether he could not modify his terms so that the Board could try and meet him, and to communicate with the Marine Department in regard to the matter. Immediately after that communication had been made in Wellington, the following Press telegram was received in Wanganui i—" Be harbor works, Mr Blair, Marine Engineer, will visit Wanganui as soon as a plan is received, to inspect the site of the proposed works.” Mr Law then at once started for Wellington to present the plans to the Department, Now, we need hardly point oiit in what way this information is important in respect to our own case. One is really an insignificant work—though its success would not be so—and the district could very easily bear a loss if the whole thing were a failure : but how is it with us ? There is the experience of the past to guide us, and there is the knowledge that the ratepayers are already too heavily taxed to be able to bear increased burdens on the strength of engineering experiments. Some of the members of our Harbor Board try to-excuse their own action in the matter by accusing other people of trying to get up a •• scare.' The Wanganui

Board, when they found that things were not satisfactory, at once communicated with Government, and, as we have stated, a first-class engineer is going there to inspect the site of the proposed works. It will be interesting to watch how matters fare in regard to the Gisborne plans—the Engineer’s plan and the Board’s own plan.