CO129-350 - Public Offices - 1908 — Page 155

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KOWLOON CANTON RAILWAY

British Section.

General Letter

No 63.

e Sir J.V.Barry & Partners

Consulting Engineers.

C.d

153

C.O.

32972

Chief Resident neer's Office

9 8 08

Kowloon

11th July 1908

{

Gentlemen,

1.

On 23rd June last when His Excellency was walking through the line with me he noticed cracks in the abutments of a couple of the road bridges, which seem to have made him rather anxious, as I got instructions about two days after to stop work on Bridge 4 till further orders.

2.

On receipt of this order I had an inter- view with the Honourable Colonial Secretary and explained that this order was interfering rather in the purely engineering side of my work, and that, to stop what I was now doing in Bridge 4 was shifting responsibility from me on to the Gov- ernment. In an interview with His Excellency I explained that I was adding weight to Bridge 4 to test the foundation

I said I did not consider before starting the arching.

the crack as at all sericus considering the nature of the foundation and the fact that I was floating the bridge with

a very small weight per superficial foot

of

foundation.

3. His Excellency agreed to my proceeding with

the work but asked that the Honourable Director of Public

Works might have a look at the work.

4. The Honcurable Director of Public Works visited

the work and suggested that the bridge should be taken down altogether, the foundations piled and the bridge rebuilt.

5. I had an interview with the Honourable

Colonial Secretary on the subject and told him that I con-

sidered