538
19.
At this period Major General Black was Administering the Government and it was not until after the arrival of his Excellency Sir Henry Blake, G.C.M.G. that any further communication was made to the Committee. Then, for the first time, in December, 1898, an extract from a letter of General Black's to His Excellency the Governor, in which military objections were urged to the construction of the Road, was communicated to the Committee. General Black's letter, a copy of which is enclosed, is dated 2nd December, 1898.
20.
To this the Committee replied in similar terms to those above-mentioned and pointed out that early in 1897 the Government had undertaken with your approbation, and without objection on the part of the Military Authorities, to commence the Road forthwith and to gradually carry it on until completed.
21.
The Committee were subsequently informed that the question of the construction of the proposed first section of the Road from Kennedy Town round Mount Davis had been reported upon by General Black and General Gascoigne, who were both opposed to it on military grounds, and that His Excellency the Governor would not therefore feel justified in approving of it at present.
22.
The Committee have no desire to even appear to question General Gascoigne's opinion, but it is obvious that, for an Officer in his position to incur the responsibility, immediately upon his arrival in the Colony, of differing from his predecessor in office on such a question, is hardly to be expected.
23.
As nothing is said in this, the latest communication received from Government, regarding Mr. Ormsby's objections to the construction of the Mount Davis section of the road, the Committee infer that His Excellency the Governor was prepared to overrule these objections which were chiefly grounded on the excessive cost of it as compared with the remaining sections. From the evidence given by expert witnesses when the scheme was under consideration, the Committee are disposed to think that Mr. Ormsby has over-estimated the cost and that, if tenders were invited, it would be found practicable to construct the entire section with the funds in hand, which now amount...