Of payments being made on the spot I consider to be fully justified by the advantages gained. It allows the contractors to be always on the ground to look after and pay their men. It also avoids all risk of robbery to the contractor which is greatly appreciated by them in outlying districts.
15.
With all this I venture to say that my Engineers spend more time on the works than the Public Works Department Engineers. From what I have seen in the Colony, I consider too much trust is placed in the sub-ordinates in charge of works carried out by the Public Works Department and I consider that better and cheaper work would be done if Engineers were resident on the large works carried out in outlying districts.
16.
The first sentence of the last paragraph in page 5 is in my opinion rather strong and uncalled for, and I can only presume that the Honourable Director of Public Works has written it in ignorance of the orders I have received on the subject.
17.
I do not consider the Public Works Engineers capable of forming an opinion on the various systems under which work can be carried out. They come out to