Sessional_Paper_1902 — Page 332

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SIXTH MEETING.

COUNCIL CHAMBER,

Monday 30th December, 1901.

PRESENT:

The Honourable J. H. STEWART LOCKHART. C.M.G., (Chairman).

The Honourable JOHN THURBURN.

Colonel L. F. BROWN, R.E.

ROBERT GORDON SHEWAN, Esq.

G. C. C. MASTER, Esq.

E. D. C. WOLFE, Esq., (Secretary).

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R. K. LEIGH, Mem. Inst. C. E., sworn:--

By the Chairman.—Mr. LEIGH, this Commission, as you are no doubt aware, has been appointed by His Excellency the Governor to enquire into the efficiency of the Public Works Department, and, knowing that you yourself were once a member of the Public Works Staff and have had a large experience of Hongkong and its public works, we thought that, by examining you as a witness, you would be able to help the Commission in its deliberations. You have been in Hongkong how many years?

tice ?

A-Close on 22 years.

Q-And you came out originally as a member of the Public Works Department ?

A--I did.

Q-For how many years were you a member?

A-About three years.

Q-And after leaving the Public Works Department, you went into private prac-

A-I did. I joined the firm of DANBY & LEIGH.

Q-And you have been in that firm ever since?

A-The firm is changed, but I have been in a private firm as a Civil Engineer and Architect ever since.

Q-With regard to the Public Works Department, one suggestion has been made, and that is, that if the Government were to let out some of its public works instead of undertaking them itself, that course might lead to cheapness and efficiency. What is your opinion on that point?

A-I think it would.

Q-Why do you think it would be cheaper?

A-Because I think we can get prices that the Government cannot get.

Q-What is the reason of that ? Do you think that private firms can get better prices than the Government?

A-It is acknowledged so all the world over. for work than the Government.

Private firms can get better prices