Memorandum on the system under which large Public Works are carried out in the Crown Colonies.
Reference to a Consulting Engineer.
The following is a brief outline of the system under which large Public Works are usually carried out in the Crown Colonies. It is intended only as a general statement of the principles governing the system and the main lines of responsibility, special circumstances frequently requiring modification of the arrangements described.
2. When railways or other important works are projected in a Colony, the course usually followed is for the Colonial Government to lay down their requirements and the various conditions to be fulfilled. When the work is a very large one, or of a nature falling outside the experience of the local officers, the next step is to refer the matter to a Consulting Engineer of high standing and specially qualified to deal with the class of work contemplated, in order that he may advise how the Government requirements can best be met.
3. To enable a Consulting Engineer to advise, it is usually necessary that he should either visit the Colony in person to collect information and make the requisite surveys and observations, or that an Engineer selected by him and acting on his instructions should be sent out for the purpose. Or the Consulting Engineer may take with him such an Engineer, leaving him in the Colony as long as may be necessary to complete the investigation. The exact arrangements must in each case depend upon circumstances. On the receipt by the Crown Agents of the Consulting Engineer's report, accompanied of course by an estimate of cost, it is sent to the Colonial Government for consideration. Doubtful points are settled by correspondence until the scheme reaches a shape in which it is adopted by the Colonial Government and its execution sanctioned by the Secretary of State.
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Sanction of Scheme.
5.