CO129-412 - Governor Sir May - 1914 [7-8] — Page 306

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297

HJN

11th June 1910.

Hon.....

Dear Sir,

W. Chatham, 0.M.G.

I shall feel obliged if you will kindly give instruc-

tions to the Treasury to pay me $5,000 referred to in Ir.

Fisher's letter dated 18th April 1910. I have written to him

on the 6th instant and again reminded him on the 9th June but

up to the time of writing I have not received the promised

payment. The money is very urgently wanted as to-day being the

great Chinese festival and my men are all clamauring for settle-

ment of their accounta. I trust you will kindly see your way

of assisting me for you are quite aware of the heavy loss which

I sustained in connection with the building of the New Law

Courts. In the first place it is customary for local contract-

ore to make one tender for any signle building but in my case

I a cepted the work under separate contracts. I thought the

punching down of grabite is separate from the granite work

like plastering is apart from brickwork. As I made no provi-

sion in thepunohing down of granite I sustained the heavy loss

of almost $20,000 (Twenty thousand dollars) to the sub-contrac-

tor for doing this work to the Government without obtaining any

nayment. As it is necessary to pay daily the men for this

punching down business you will observe the extreme difficulty

for me to roceed on with the work without sufficient funds

in hand to meet contingencies unprovided for in my original

calculations.

I have an immense lot of of over size granite whi ch

means additional loss to me, I trust you willkindly see that

it is possible for the Government to indemnify me for the great

outlay which was not included in my tenders.

The statue of Justice and other granite figures were exe-

cuted in more elaborate styles than required in the plans and

I lost a good deal of money in these works. I hope you will

grant some compensation for same, beyond the amounts allowed