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Q-Are you engaged on any other works?
A--The estimates for the training of nullahs on the upper levels, Robinson Road, and Bowen Road, and I have some work to do with reference to the Wongnaich'ung Recreation Ground, pegging out the different sites.
Q-With regard to the Taipó Road, have you been engaged on it since it was commenced?
A-Yes.
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Q-Do you consider that the road is being carried out expeditiously?
A-It could have been carried out quicker, but the difficulty has been with labour, and last year we had the difficulty not only of labour but of prices, which ran up to an extraordinary degree, and we had some difficulty in getting a contractor to take on the work at anything like reasonable prices.
Q-How far has the road gone now?
A-It is actually completed, 13 miles. That leaves five miles to complete.
Q-When will it be completed?
A—It ought to have been completed by the end of this year. There is a difficulty with regard to the completion of the bridges. We have not got the joists out from home. They are all steel joists, and have been on order for eight months.
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Q
What is the reason of the delay ?
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A-I don't know.
Q-Will the 18 miles be completed by April next year?
A-Yes, if the joists arrive early.
When was the road commenced ?
A-A few weeks before the New Territory was taken over, so as to get the work in hand.
Q-The contractor began the work, then, about a fortnight after the New Territory was taken over in 1899 ?
A-In April, it began before May, 1899.
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Q-Do you pay by measurement?
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A-The first section of the road up to Tai Wai was paid by measurement.
Q-And since then?
A-The next two miles were paid by contract. The two miles after that were paid by measurement, and the next four miles are on contract.
Q--Who measures ?
A-I do, Sir.
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Q-Do
you entrust the measurements to any of the overseers ?
A-I do all the measurements myself.
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Q-How long do you calculate you are engaged on your duties each day?
A-Well, for instance, I know when I was working in the New Territory I used to begin in the summer time at daylight, and as I was living in a matshed with nothing else to do, I worked up till bed time.
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