CO129-419 - Individuals - 1914 — Page 195

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what I have done in carrying out the work has been done according to the recognized procedure of the profes- sion, (as far as Departmental methods allowed) and if any doubt exists I would ask to be allowed to place the matter before the Council of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and also the question of the want of professional etiquette on the part of Mr. Chatham.

30.

H. E. Sir Frederick Lugard who appointed the Com- mittee that was asked to report upon the delay and expen- diture of the New Post Office Buildings also required them to similarly report upon the work now under review, but the Committee were unable to deal with the New Law Courts Build- ing owing to the system that had been in use for years as no accounts had been kept, the cause of which I have fully explained under clauses 16, 17, 18 and 19, pages 11 19 of

this letter.

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The report of the Committee is still in abeyance;

in the meanwhile several of the members have left the Colony.

31.

It will be seen that, the true cause of the delay and of the unnecessary expenditure incurred is the system and methods in use by Mr. Chatham, all recognized profession al procedure has been set aside and contracts in Government interests have also been ignored and treated as waste paper by him. It will further be seen that, I am not in any way to blame as I have done all that was humanly possible to do, and if I had been left alone to carry out the work according to my own views and the established usage of the profession, instead of being thwarted in my plans, and hampered by Mr. Chatham's instructions, and general interference, there would have been little or no loss to the Government and no

necessity for a Government enquiry.