CO129-356 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1909 [4-6] — Page 479

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he had worked. I have very thoroughly investigated this matter, and I think there is no need to trouble Your Lordship with the details, but I was glad to have the opportunity in my further statement to Council of correcting any idea that the Government failed to fully appreciate the difficulties which those under whom the work had been commenced had to face. Mr. Eves points out in his present letter the increased difficulties encountered in the prolongation of a Tunnel and the impossibility of assigning a "numerical value" to them, but appears to lose sight of the fact that it was he himself who initiated the comparison by giving the cost per lineal foot in each year.

8. The announcement of the fact that the Tunnel was now estimated to cost $700,000 more than was anticipated last year, while a further increase might be expected for the rehabilitation of the defective bridges together with a popular idea that the Estimate presented by Mr. Bruce ($5,053,274) covered the whole cost as originally estimated of the Railway not unnaturally gave rise to a general feeling in the community that there had been much waste of money and mismanagement. Mr. Law informed me of this current feeling and said that Mr. Murray Stewart, Chairman of the Local Branch of the China Association