474
(c) Exorbitant prices charged by local contractors.
(d) Insufficient plans.
(a) Sickness.-The Chief Resident Engineer states (paragraph 2) that con- tractors cannot be persuaded to start work during May to October.
In the case of the "City Waterworks Extension," referred to in my notes of the 12th September, 1906, the contract (amount $495,000 or, say, £50,000), was signed on the 16th March, 1904. Temporary quarters for the men and sheds for storing materials had to be erected and, consequently, none of the actual work was begun until some weeks later. The following is a statement of the number of men employed on the work during the months referred to by the Chief Resident Engineer:-
Average Daily Number.
Rainfall,
Inches.
May
585
7.70
June
141
19.64
July
631
7.22
Angust
506
27.64
September
469
9-77
Good progress was made with the work during the period referred to, though sickness was very prevalent.
=
In the case of the Kowloon Waterworks, which are situated in the locality of the tunnel works, the principal contract ($508,700 say, £52,000) was signed on the 20th May, 1902. Fair progress was made with the work during the ensuing months, but the contractor who secured the contract is notoriously a dilatory man, the reason for accepting his tender being that all the other tenders were far in excess of the estimated cost. The rainfall for the 1902 season was:—
May June July August
26.73 inches. 15:44
16:26 26.50 19
+1
so that circumstances were adverse and much sickness prevailed. The number of men at work in September, which was a very dry month, was 400.
I have only referred to these two works as most of our large works are in or about the city of Victoria, where sickness is not so prevalent, as a rule, as in the outlying districts.
(b) Poor Quality of Labour.-There are doubtless better and more rapid workers than the local Chinese,, but, taking into consideration the climatic condition under doubtful whether which they work during a considerable portion of the year, it
any imported labour would do better. The fact remains that works of great magni- tude and of excellent quality have been carried out by local labour is the best (sic).
(c) Exorbitant Prices charged by Local Contractors. This is an indefinite statement. About three or four years ago, when there was a superabundance of work going on in the Colony, it was difficult to obtain reasonable tenders, but that period is past and contractors are glad to have an opportunity of tendering for work DOW. Prices are again at a reasonable level and no difficulty has recently been experienced in letting contracts for works under the charge of the Public Works Department to reliable contractors.
So far as I am in a position to judge, the Chief Resident Engineer does not appear to have taken proper steps to obtain tenders from good local contractors. They are accustomed to be provided with proper plans, specifications, and quantities on which to base their tenders, and they are also accustomed to undertake extensive works, such as might be included in the construction of several miles of the new railway. It is useless to expect them to tender for the construction of one or two bridges or a few culverts-they will only deal with the work if the contract is a comprehensive or extensive one.
475
(d) Insufficient Plans.-There is undoubtedly some force in this reason, but, on the other hand, the line had been set out on the ground. Cadastral plans of most of the route were in existence which contained much useful information. They were generally to a scale of 32 inches 1 mile, but some of them were less-16 inches - 1 mile.
I would offer the following further comments on the Chief Resident Engineer's letter:-
H
I see no occasion to have recourse to special measures for importing coolies for this work. The Naval Yard Extension Works and Messrs. Butterfield and Swire's Shipyard, each of which is costing about £1,000,000 sterling, have been carried out without adopting any special measures. When Mr. Carpenter was carrying out the northern section of the railway, a force of 1,500 coolies was assembled without difficulty and, towards the conclusion of the work, the number reached nearly 5,000. Work was only in progress for 5 months, when it was stopped by Mr. Eves's orders.
So far as I can gather, the Chief Resident Engineer has succeeded in importing 150 coolies in a period of about six months! The scheme is evidently a failure, but I gather from his letter that he proposes to adhere to it.
As regards completing the rest of the line and allowing it to remain idle until the tunnel is finished, I think it of great importance that this should be done. There are several high embankments which will take a long time to settle and there are also very deep cuttings which will be beneficial to allow to experience a couple of wet seasons before the line is opened for traffic.
I think that, if the attempt to let the work in detail is persevered in, any economy that may be effected will be more than counterbalanced by the heavy cost of supervision by an expensive engineering staff.
October 9, 1906.
SIR,
Enclosure 3 in No. 308.
W. C.
Chief Resident Engineer's Office, Kowloon, October 6, 1906.
Weekly Report No. 21.
IMMEDIATELY after the typhoon of 18th, preparations were made for rebuilding the sheds blown down, but these were greatly impeded by the heavy rain on the night of 26th and another typhoon on the night of the 28th and the 29th,
The rain of the 26th did a lot of damage to the works at the south face, filling
the bridge works and nullah diversions and saturating the hill sides with water which poured into the shaft and filled it with water.
The typhoon on 28th destroyed all the matsheds and workshops which were being re-erected and also destroyed a lot of material which was being sent round to Lok Loh Ha by sea.
However, in a couple of days I hope enough sheds will be finished at the north face to house about 300 coolies and then night work can commence on the tunnel.
The godowns at Tai Kok Tsui have been started and I hope by the end of the month will be ready for material again.
The first shipment from home will soon commence of metre gauge rails, drilling plant, and miscellaneous stores.
The contractor, who imported the coolies from Shanghai, ran away on account
of the great sickness among the coolies. These coolies I am arranging to keep till well enough to start on the work again. Their language is the chief difficulty, as no one can understand what they say, and they refuse to work for anyone at all.
Local men seem now more ready to accept my terms for bridges, &c., and are starting work in a more business-like way, and as the cold weather shows signs of setting in I hope in a month's time to be able to report more cheerfully about the work.
All the Fan Ling contractors have signed, but none have made an actual start yet.
I have, &c.,
G. W. EVES,
Chief Resident Engineer.
His Excellency
Sir Matthew Nathan, K.C.M.G.
18885
30%
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
6
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
し