C.O. 9334 Railway Minute. RECR REGO 17 MAR 09.
Irmediately after his arrival Mr. Barry called on me and we had a long conversation, in which I explained the existing position in regard to the cracked bridges and my views on various railway subjects, and put him in fuller possession of the facts which had induced me to adopt the course of appointing a Committee. He told me that much new light had been thrown on the matter, and much explained which he had not previously understood.
He spent the next day or two in inspecting the Railway and on Sunday he again lunched with me, and informed me of the conclusions he had come to. At the same time he said that as he was deputed as the Agent of the Consulting Engineers he could not report formally to me, but must report to them. In brief his remarks were to the following effect: Mr. Eves said that there were many matters which he would have liked to represent to me personally, but he believed that he had not access to me except through the Colonial Secretary and could not see me except at a Railway Meeting.
He also said that the Railway Meetings were of the greatest possible use to him, but that they had not been held regularly, and often when he much wanted one he was told it would not be held. He admitted that he had never asked me personally and that he had never pressed for a Railway Meeting, or said he required it. I explained that as the ordinary subjects under discussion were usually settled on minute papers which were referred to the Chief Resident Engineer and on which he put his views in writing there were occasions upon which there had appeared to be no subject for discussion on the usual first Tuesday of the month but that I do believe Mr. Eves had invariably been asked whether he had anything to bring forward and it was only when he said he had not that no meeting was held.
In order to avoid a situation disagreeable to Mr. Eves I had not had a meeting just after the report of the Committee on the Bridges. I believed that only...
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