102
504
Hong Kong Annual Administration Reports, 1841-1941 REPORTS EXHIBITING THE PAST AND PRESENT
The original estimate amounted to. Amount disallowed
£. S 637 9 21 314 3 d. £323 6 1
Authorized for the other services, which, with the exception of a small amount due on one of them, were executed for 2697, 6s. 10d.
The Honourable Major W. Caine,
Colonial Secretary.
(True Copy)
I have, &c.,
(Signed)
CHAS. ST. GEO. Cleverly,
Surveyor-General.
W. CAINE, Colonial Secretary.
Enclosure 2 in No. 38.
Surveyor-General's Office, Victoria, February 19, 1849,
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to make the following Annual Report upon the state and progress of this department during the year ending December last.
The superintendence of the works executed by the department devolved temporarily upon Mr. Strachan, who was appointed clerk of works and civil engineer after the decease of Mr. Pope, and he continued those duties, until the arrival of the Honourable W. Napier, as Mr. Pope's successor, in July last. In the office I received great assistance from Mr. Strachan, as a draughtsman, in the preparation of the plans for the proposed Government House, which, together with the detailed estimate, were transmitted to England in Report and Estimate, No. 1. of 1848.
The contracts and working drawings for the Aberdeen-road were all completed early in the year; upon this road I subdivided the work into 17 contracts (to suit the means of the generality of contractors who tender for such works at a distance from Victoria), and thus the whole work progressed very actively, and I was in hopes of seeing at least all the earth-work quite finished before the hot weather; but as it proceeded, many of the contractors found they had miscalculated (that is to say, if they ever did calculate the cost of the work); some absconded, others I had great difficulty with, to force them on with their work, and some I had to finish by days' labour, and charge the amount upon the respective contracts.
This system is advantageous in some respects, as the competition is so great that prices are lowered; most of the men, however, guess the amount of their tender; the result, therefore, is quite a chance; if they fail, they generally abscond, leaving the labourers unpaid, and it has frequently happened that I could not induce other men to go upon the work until all payments due upon it had been made; with masons, this is particularly the case, in consequence of the trade union, which delayed the completion of three contracts for bridges; the fault, no doubt, originated with the contractors, who could not pay the men. The sureties in these cases are applied to, who are compelled to complete the services, or pay the money due, and leave me to finish the work, and pay the balance remaining, if there should happen to be any.
The completion of the Aberdeen police station was the only new work out of the town which required our attention during the year; this being finished, the clerk of works was enabled to give more time and attention to the road above alluded to.
In my previous Annual Reports, I have dwelt at considerable length upon the difficulties and danger we have had to encounter in executing out-of-door work at a distance from Victoria; the difficulties, more particularly the getting access to our work, have been much improved by the opening of the roads, that the same time and fatigue are not now necessary; thus much of the danger is avoided, but it is and ever must be great in this climate, where exposure to the sun has never been done with impunity. I have to record the death of one of the overseers employed upon that road, Mr. Lowrie; and two of the others went into hospital with fever, and were subsequently discharged from the employ.
In Victoria the completion of some services to the gaol, together with the erection of the Coolie stands, sundry contingent works to buildings, in repair or otherwise, the extension of the harbour master's pier, the plans and estimates for such, and the duties of supervision, occupied a very considerable portion of our time; the greater part of this, however, falls upon the clerk of works, in addition to which his services were necessarily demanded in visiting the roads and superintending their repair, which from the want of shelter along the road, was only performed once a fortnight up to July last, when the further repair or maintenance it was indispensably necessary to stop. In alluding to this circumstance I cannot but express my regret at it; for although repairs to roads are heavier here than in many other places, I am confident the total annual repairs would not exceed 500l. upon a length of 30 miles of road, and with this sum I could effect several improvements in the usual manner upon the sanction of the Governor. The question has arisen, of what use are these roads, there being little or no traffic theron, or likely to be so, from which any revenue might be derived; the country is very thickly-peopled and but little cultivated, and it is now stated they are of no use in a military point of view; of this I can be no judge, but certainly during the last command it was thought advisable to complete the circuit of the island, and to effect a means of communication with each of the military stations by road, and which it is not always practicable to do by sea; with this object
102
504
Hong Kong Annual Administration Reports, 1841-1941 REPORTS EXHIBITING THE PAST AND PRESENT
The original estimate amounted to. Amount disallowed
•
£. S 637 9 21 314 3
d.
£323 6 1
Authorized for the other services, which, with the exception of a small amount due on one of them, were executed for 2697, 6s. 10d.
The Honourable Major W. Caine,
Colonial Secretary.
(True Copy)
I have, &c.,
(Signed)
CHAS. ST. GEO. Cleverly,
Surveyor-General.
W. CAINE, Colonial Secretary.
Enclosure 2 in No. 38.
Surveyor-General's Office, Victoria, February 19, 1849,
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to make the following Annual Report upon the state and progress of this department during the year ending December last.
The superintendence of the works executed by the department devolved temporarily upon Mr. Strachan, who was appointed clerk of works and civil engineer after the decease of Mr. Pope, and he continued those duties, until the arrival of the Honourable W. Napier, as Mr. Pope's successor, in July last. In the office I received great assistance from Mr. Strachan, as a draughtsman, in the preparation of the plans for the proposed Government House, which, together with the detailed estimate, were transmitted to England in Report and Estimate, No. 1. of 1848.
The contracts and working drawings for the Aberdeen-road were all completed early in the year; upon this road I subdivided the work into 17 contracts (to suit the means of the generality of contractors who tender for such works at a distance from Victoria), and thus the whole work progressed very actively, and I was in hopes of seeing at least all the earth-work quite finished before the hot weather; but as it proceeded, many of the contractors found they had miscalculated (that is to say, if they ever did calculate the cost of the work); some absconded, others I had great difficulty with, to force them on with their work, and some I had to finish by days' labour, and charge the amount upon the respective contracts.
This system is advantageous in some respects, as the competition is so great that prices are lowered; most of the men, however, guess the amount of their tender; the result, therefore, is quite a chance; if they fail, they generaily abscond, leaving the labourers unpaid, and it has frequently happened that I could not induce other men to go upon the work until all payments due upon it had been made; with masons, this is particularly the case, in consequence of the trade union, which delayed the completion of three contracts for bridges; the fault, no doubt, originated with the contractors, who could not pay the men. The sureties in these cases are applied to, who are compelled to complete the services, or pay the money due, and leave me to finish the work, and pay the balance remaining, if there should happen to be any.
The completion of the Aberdeen police station was the only new work out of the town which required our attention during the year; this being finished, the clerk of works was enabled to give more time and attention to the road above alluded to.
In my previous Annual Reports, I have dwelt at considerable length upon the difficulties and danger we have had to encounter in executing out-of-door work at a distance from Victoria; the difficulties, more particularly the getting access to our work, have been much improved by the opening of the roads, that the same time and fatigue are not now necessary; thus much of the danger is avoided, but it is and ever must be great in this climate, where exposure to the sun has never been done with impunity. I have to record the death of one of the overseers employed upon that road, Mr. Lowrie; and two of the others went into hospital with fever, and were subsequently discharged from the employ.
In Victoria the completion of some services to the gaol, together with the erection of the Coolie stands, sundry contingent works to buildings, in repair or otherwise, the extension of the harbour master's pier, the plans and estimates for such, and the duties of supervision, occupied a very considerable portion of our time; the greater part of this, however, falls upon the clerk of works, in addition to which his services were necessarily demanded in visiting the roads and superintending their repair, which from the want of shelter along the road, was only performed once a fortnight up to July last, when the further repair or maintenance it was indispensably necessary to stop. In alluding to this circumstance I cannot but express my regret at it; for although repairs to roads are heavier here than in many other places, I am confident the total annual repairs would not exceed 5001. upon a length of 30 miles of road, and with this sum I could effect several improvements in the usual manner upon the sanction of the Governor. The question has arisen, of what use are these roads, there being little or no traffic theron, or likely to be so, from which any revenue might be derived; the country is very thickly-peopled and but little cultivated, and it is now stated they are of no use in a military point of view; of this I can be no judge, but certainly during the last command it was thought advisable to complete the circuit of the island, and to effect a means of communication with each of the military stations by road, and which it is not always practicable to do by sea; with this object
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