602
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granting a bonus to Mr. Eves, Your Lordship will now
understand that the sum is in no sense a 'grant in lieu of
leave'
or 'deferred pay, and Mr. Eves has no claim at all
as of right. I cannot pretend to be satisfied with the work
done by Mr. Eves, Since he left the Railway I have learnt
that the failure of the bridges has been due not merely to
"misapprehension of the supporting power of the soil", but
to errors in construction and material and many other
bridges have had to be strengthened; that his advice
regarding the Terminal Station was unsound, and his
Estimates of cost very defective. His errors can hardly be
said to have been expiated by his resignation, seeing that
his replacement by a Traffic expert would in any circumstanc-
-es have synchronised very closely with the date on which
he actually left. On the other hand I have freely acknow-
-ledged his efforts to promote economy, and his ability in
the organization of his office, and I consider that he did
his best and stayed continuously at his post without asking
for leave though he should never have been selected for the
post. In these circumstances I consider that a bonus of
£250 will meet the case.
I have the honour to be, My Lord, Your Lordship's most obedient, humble servant,
Mangandy
Governor,&c..