CO129-318 - Governor Sir Blake - 1903 [7-10] — Page 97

COPY,

C. C.

31927

RECO

96

Hon. Colonial Secretary,

Pest 27 AUG 031

Noted. The Buildings Ordinance work is at

present carried on by Mr. Tooker, Executive Engineer, with the assistance of Mr. Haggard, Assistant Engineer. In addition to the Buildings Ordinance work, Mr. Tooker has under him the super- vision of Maintenance Works estimated to cost $223,000 annually.

The Public Works Commission recommended the appointment of an Assistant Engineer for Maintenance Works, but

this was disallowed.

At the time the Commission sat, the Public

Health and Buildings Ordinance had not been mooted.

It is unnecessary for me to point out that

the Ordinance increases enormously the work of examining plans;

the old Ordinance being simplicity itself as compared with the

new one. It also provides for resumptions and the assessment of

compensation in numerous cases, besides adding new duties and

responsibilities of other kinds.

I consider it quite impossible for the

provisions of the Ordinance to be properly carried out by the

present Staff, unless other work is to be neglected. Should

another period of great activity in the development of the Colony

such as that recently experienced, occur, either the inspection

of plans will have to be performed in a perfunctory manner, or

the Staff will not be able to keep pace with the work.

The Secretary of State is under a misap-

prehension regarding the duties proposed to be assigned to the Sanitary Commissioner. A reference to the Ordinance as at first proposed and as finally passed will show that where the words "Sanitary Commissioner" were deleted, the words "Board" or "Medical Officer of Health" were almost invariably substituted.

The