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4.
Paragraph 2 of the specification stipulates
that all iron and steel work shall (except with the
special permission of the Engineer) be manufactured within
the United Kingdom. It would be useful to know whether
this condition has been adhered to, and if so, what steps
are taken to enforce its observance by the contractor.
As to this I may observe that when firma abroad sublet
their contracts to firms in this country, the latter in
their turn not infrequently sublet often through
continental agents to actual manufacturers abroad.
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It
is not easy in such cases for the purchaser to know where
his material really comes from. The point is important in
any comparison of prices, because structural stcelwork
made on the Continent is
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H
while possibly good enough for
its purpose generally of less high quality and corrës-
pondingly lower price than that made under the British
standard specifications,
5.
It would also be useful to know what quality of
metal is insisted on and what tests applied. The specifi-
gation is not clear on this point, leaving it optional
with the Engineer to apply, in the Colony, such tests as
he may think fit.
At
6. Full information about this contract would be
of value to us in considering our future practice.
present we insist that all material shall comply with the
British Standard Specifications of the Engineering
Standards Committee, supplemented where necessary by the
standard specifications prepared in this office; and that
all workmanship shall be of the best. These stipulations
are enforced by inspection, which includes the erection at
the contractor's works of the whole or a substantial part
of the steelwork, and undoubtedly adds to the price. The
Colonial specification now under consideration is less
exacting