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CRAY MANAGEMENTI QUESTIONS.I…
CRAY MANAGEMENT I QUESTIONS. Council Debate them at Length. Mr. Dix sends in his Resignation., Aid- W. Watkins Defends Him. Mr. Martin's Indictment: Six Hours Debate. A "peciMi Council metting to consider the 11 of the resignation of Mr. H. A. Dix. Corporation's manager at the Cray Re- ■ieivoir Works, was held on Wednesday after- noon. the Mayor (Mr. Griffith Thomas) pre- sidim:. There was almost a full attendance. The following is the text of Mr. Dix's let. ter to the Town Clerk:—"Cray, 27th,—Dear sir,—Whilst placing my resignation in the hands of your Council and giving them three months' notice under the terms of my ap- pohitn.ent to relinquish the position. I beg to ask you to be good enough to have the en- closed tetter read out at your next Council nnt-ting, which is a statement of my replies to the criticisms and accusations which have recently been directed against me.—Yours faithfully. Hurry A. Dix." l i e Town Clerk submitted the minutes of th.. Waters and Sewers Committee, which st."t-. d "Resolved that the manager be asked to t.-nder his resignation." TIIP Mayor also read a letter from Mr. H. A. Dix, stating that although he had ten- dered his resignation to the Town Clerk, yet in1 th'- ught. in fairness to himself and his re- putation, a competent authority should te asked to make an independent inquiry into the management of the waterworks under- taking. Alderman W. Watkins moved the minutes Of the Water and Sewers Committee be adept': d. Mr. Roger Thomas seconded. 1 Alderman W. Watkins said he had seiiouaiv considered whether it would be advisable, .s chairman of the Water and Sewers Committee, ts be silent that dav. but he bad come to the conclusion that it would not be honest to hur-elf or the ratepayers, or Mr. Dix, to take that course. Therefore, he hoped they would be lenient with him. especially so as ltc, was not very well. There was an im- pulsion in Swansea that the Cray had been seriously mismanaged, and that more money ha-ri been spent than ought to have been. Now, so far as he knew, all they had to deal with that day tva-s since Mr. Dix had taken posses- sion of the place. Whether any money had be"ll spent or wasted before they had nothing t.) du that afternoon, but he ventured to say ir his opinion that since Mr. Dix had taken possession, matters were enquired into im- partially. Money had not been misspent, Fievious to Mr. Dix taking possession, the work had been badly managed and badly c rricd out. Previous" to Mr. Dix going there tiio work was out of level, in some places the tllnN 1 was much too small, and in other places three times too big—so far as the ex- cavations, so badly was it constructed, ine resident engineer then had power to see the work carried out properly, and he thought the blame should be saddled on the r;gLt shoulders. So bad had the work been carried out that the arbitrators argued that ot least £.5,000 would have to be SJ.1CI:t to 2.1j if v the blunders which had been com- mitted either by the contractors, or by the war.t of foresight by the resident engine). j here was not a tittle of evidence to .say or "nC" itS to more money hM beet! "Vllt at the Cray than ought to have bet'n There had been no evidence given fo prove that there had been any mismanagement or any expenditure of money which should not have been expended. He thought rate- payers should be informed that immediately Mr. Dix was appointed. the committee—wise iy. perhaps—o>r some of them, doubted the abiiity of Mr. Dix so fir as the detailed scheme and how lie intended to carry out thi work. Mr Dix was givt-n some time to do that work. and he brought a scheme forward. In the plat: lie cLew up he showed what rail- ways wer? intended, and roughly what cra-"es he required, ,:nd speaking from memory he (the sjteaker) believed the plant requird would be certainly from JB16,000 to £20,000 He i'junu that up to March 25th plant .& preliminary work had cost £ 18,707—he was no: particular to jBl or £2. The value of the materials—which Mr. Dix had nothing to do with br., mg and h? had made no hirge pur without the consent of the committee— already used On the ground was £ 17.424. The total wages paid there wait no evidence to prove that the total was in excess of what it ought to have been. The total wages paid w i$ £571,506. The committee had built since they toog over the w^rk 26 or 27 new huts, and considerable repiirs had to be made to the old huts, which was necessary. On huts the committee had spent bout £7,000. Roughly speaking, the estimated cost in his opinion for the completed woik, taking the Schedule, would be about £ 230,000. There- Schedule, would be about £230,000. There- fore, the expenditure up to March 25 and to complete would be £330,697. When they j''ducted from the value of the plant and cue sale of the same and materials at the they would get about £ J5^000—that would leave an expenditure of £ 315-697. Mr. Dix, he reminded the Council, was asked at the time not only to give a plan. but how he intended to carry out the work which had been approved of entirely by the committee and Council. Some gentlemen were not favourably disposed towards Mr DJX at that time, but they admitted, so far as the plans were concerned, they showed considerable ability, otherwise he would not have been able to design and show how he in- tended to carry out the work. Every parti- cular Mr. Dix had given the committee had beer; carried out. Mr. Dix had estimated the cost of the completion of the works at that time-and this had been approved by Mr. Hill—was £308,072..Fur extras there would probably be incurred £30,000, whilst a- big contractor would have charged £ 70.000. He (the speaker) calculated that there was £22.375 to the good provided the work could be. done and completed for the scheduled price, which he maintained. He had told Mr. Dix unless he could clear J650.000 on the previous estimate, he should iay he iMr. Dix) had badly mismanaged. He netted that there was no • vidence tiu-t Mr. Dix. so far, had mismanaged the under- taking, and aheged that when the manager was appointed, he went into a, hornets' nest. Undoubtedly the gentleman on the ground fully expected to carry an tha job themsieives at the time, and h~ knew it was said that "We are not .-satisfied, and we will make it warm for him." And so 'hey had. One instance Mr. W at kins narrated. He went to the Cmy at eight o'clock in the morning, and Mr. Dix. the^ manager, was s en coining along t!*e wo; k*, tlres^ed like a gentleman. For a me uieA. lie (Mr. Walking) was very indignant, wbtr his attention was drawn to Mr. Dix the words, "Yuu can see how that man miu- ages the work. He is coming out. like a gentleman. He taxed Mr. Dix about it. and he explained that he had turned out that rooming about sax o clock, hud gone to the tunu<?l and about the works and took bivuk- fast ;d 7.30. Expecting the committee that morni ig, he eliangde his muddy clothes. And hero I "am," added Mr Dix. He IMR. Wdt- kinvs) positive from observatic.'is made that there had been a. deep laid conspiracy on the part of some wicked men to ruin that man (lite manager). That was the reason why he had stuck to Mr. Dix In otlir i^inarka Mr. Watkins urged that ."t was admitted that the manager had been guilty of a little ovea sight in not ordering the last lot of cement- earlier, whde regarded the alleged iriMiiiiriency of "plums in the dam, no complaint wkateVi-r had < er been received fiom uithe-a- the J>o! ougb cn-mcer (Mr Wyrill) or the rodent en- gint.i- ¡)1r. Aitehingham) who hud on the ether ii aid b.en told by him (Mr. Watkins) to cio ill they could to save t/;o ratepayers' money. He did not think M1 Dix had been given a lair trial, and charac- terised a man who had given evidence against him as "30 scamp," whose statements could not- be trusted. A charge. sonittLiinr* "tent JB5, preferred against Mr. l)ix, was not proven, white many of the committee did not believe ;t, and a further allegation nt..de bv Ma-. Kitchingham was simply th It he (the i resident engineer) heard money jjngliug ml the room. That was th.e soj-t ot cvidencf-■ they bed had against Mr. Dix, but tbrc was no proof that- the allege.'Inns were trn.. j Mr. Hair s essayed to pot a question, where- upon Mr. W ::f]v.n.~ said, amid much 1 aught", j that ho -I'd ;;i>t wish to enter im<) ru.v uis- Mr. Harris' question was as to 'he* dufer- I euce in cbe oi-st by the suJvtimf.hn of eon- I cit te 11 si.i.ne for the dam. •Mh*. Watkins replied tliat Mr Dix's esti- mate was for a concrete dam. Answering further questions. Mr. Wat km? admitted that it was stated at the confer- en.ee at the Cray that the estimate was for a stone dam. He (Mr. Watkins) only found out the mistake subsequently, and ilr. Hill could not have rem- inUred it at the moment. At this stage the shorthand notes of the conference at the Cray were called for. and a long di.-er;ssion ensued over an amendment to the effect that the meeting stand adjourned till these notes be printed and circulated. Mr. MerreUs It will cost a penny rate. A rnembt r If it y, ill cost a shilling rate we should hive it, as it may save a man's reputa- tion. Mr. David Davies urged that in justice to the public, who were seeking for the truth, the debate should not be left with the ex parte statements hitherto made. Aid. W. Watkins said when he entered the Chamber that afternoon he had no idea that any amendment would be moved. There had been no evidence taken on the other side. Mr. Morgan Hopkin urged that members of the Council should have records to refer to. and he asked wdiv should the, be dominated by 19 members of the Council? Before the verdict was pronounced. Mr. Dix was en- titled to every fair play, and that could only be obtained by the printing of the notes. Mr. D. Harris said he wanted the notes read fully there that day. There were 400 or 500 men at te Cniy. It was nenr the summer. and it was essential that a decision should be come to. In the interests of all concerned a definite result should be arrived at. Dr. Hawrngs said he had expected an illuminating discussion which would enable him to give a vote according to the evidence, He thought to break off the meeting now would be must unfair. (Hear, hear.) Nine voted for the amendment, which was lost. ^l1" C*AT'lyni Morgan thereupon called for the reading of the notes. Mr. fatton said he wished to speak on the mam question. They started on the matter on the Sunday, when a. written document was s*gned by Mr. Tarr and Mr. Solomon. That document was prepared and written down by whom he did not know. Mr. Solomon I took it down. Mr. Tutton said at that time there were three persons in the employ of the Corpora- tion and one who was not, but who was still hanging about the work. They were either a father aad two sons or three brothers. The quarryman had received Hot ice on the pre- vious Friday, and on Sunday W met Messrs. iarr and Solomon, and made the statement, which the latter had taken down. With all due deference, Mr. Tarr and Mr. Solomon could not in the ordiuarv course of things know quite so much as those who had been connected with the work from the beginning. The quarryman, as he stated, was then hang- ing about the works. The man í-<.Iid he had nothing to show on which he could base his statement. He relied upon his memory, and tatter enumerating some- of the things, said, 'That is all. Something else was named, and then the man remembered it was so. It was strange that the man could fix upon ab- solute quantities and place the price upon the same- after the length of time. and he should like to know whether t.he man did not re- ceive some assistance in working out those figures. Mr. Tutton proceeded to remark that when the work was taken over from the contractors, every scrap of anything in the shape of account was destroyed, so that it was impossible for anyone to accurately state the cost of the bungalow, in respect of which it was, he thought, strange that this should cost more than the 27 huts M". Dix had erected. If that was *0 who was to b1ame? Again, one of those men who were accusing Mr. Dix of not only laxity but a.bsolute wrongful and wasteful ex- travagance a„nd incapacity, was before the committee. He referred to Mr. Harvey, and aithough he stated that he had \r ir>cd Mr. Dix, the funny part of it wa^ that the sub- ordinates were immaculate while the head man was vulnerable. It was not usual for the head man te be bought practically for a song, while the subordinates were not to be sc bought. That, again, way another of the elements upon whieh they were asked to prac- t ira Uy ruin their manigcr. He was not tak- ing that position because of any special ad- miration for Mr. Dix, whom he had brought to book in committee as much as any other member of the committee pnxsent. Mention had been made of the unworthy suggeston or Mr. Kitcliitigham in reference to the charge of bribery, and Mr. Tutton reminded the Council that human nature was human nature all the way through, and that at the wofkj it was supposed that Mr. Kitchingham was to be the new manager, that was if the Council did not decide to adopt Mr. iiill's suggestion f.nd ontei' :te another contract. That was the position at the works at the present time. Those things had been alleged by those three men, Shand, Harvey, and Kitchingham, and others as well. He did not want to extend it too far, but he could extend it to such a considerable distance that might possibly open the minds of some of them. Coming to the work done. I Mr. Tutton raid he did not pro- pose to read the whole of a statement that had been handed him in his remarks brief or otherwise. Mr. David Davies Otherwise. (Laugh ter.) Mr. Tutton Very well, we can shake hands across the table. Oh yes. I am even willing to give in to you. (More laughter). Mr. Tutton proceeded to say that the work done by Mr. Dix was admittedly excellent, and that the manager's faults were apparently faults of omission in reference to the. "plums" in thedamandthestockofcement. Regarding the latter, that only occurred after the pre- sent allegations were made. while the* need of 40 per cent, of "plums" was only men- tioned when Mr. Hill was on the ground for the purposes of the recent enquiry. Up to that time he did not think anv specific pro- portion of "plums" had been named, though the evidence was that Mr. Dix had increased the quantity from about 25 to 29 per cent. In regard to the ordering of cement, it was tj16 Mr, Dix did not do evervthing. did not go through the cement sheds him- self perhaps.^ A baker looked after his oven, but he didnt like to go into it. The man who was charged with the duty of reporting to Y ■ Dix quantities was one of the men 11., had men-ioned Shand. Another com- plaint was with regard to the sand. It was quite possible Mr. Dix mav have been "had" over the one cargo, but they had made a re- duct iop of 9d. per ton. Probublv anyone else would have made a mistake. Another thin<r aga ilist him was because he did not send a rusty little tap to be in two places at once, and for that :md the other things it was said thev should deal drastically with the man. As re- gards the bungalow it had been admitted that all the me-a were at work. Asked if all the morit v charged for was worked for, the man! who made the complaint said "Yes." One thing seemed wanting at that time—a closer allocation of the monev. as men were drawn from the bungalow to do other jobs on the w. rks. In the face of the statements made, it would only be just to consider the matter thoroughly, and not rely altogether on the testimony of men who ought not to be on the work. If the work were given to a con- tractor, depend upon it he would not finish the j< b for the love of it. Mr. W. Tarr said with regard to the state- ment taken down. he warned the man before he made it. and he wished to assure the Coun- cil that neither he nor Mr. Solomon faced t h:- matter with any prejudice. Mr. Tarr refer-ed to the "phIIllil," and spoke to examining the explosives book when the quantity r f gelignite l^v the quarter was seen to be'850 lbs., as against 40 tbs. before. In consequence of ill Ir, there could be no gainsaying the fi't that the matter was a serious on.1 aiid wcrthv of consideration. Mr. H. CI. Solomon said the statement- was read over to the man who made it two or three times. Asked if he had. nnvthing to add, he said, .o; I am prepared by all I 'ljye said. So far as he was concerned, he had not spoken to Mr. Dix twice iii hI" ti-fe. Then it had been said that a shed was not put up for the masons. a.nd that some 30 hours per day had been lost in consequence; but surely that was It watter-and so were all others but the ;11- leged £5--of management, and did not reflect upon Mr. Dix's honour. Mr. Solomon could only assume, after the signed statement, that some members of the committee were inclined to accept the word of a. highly-paid official as ag;riist that of the workmen. He could read i an honest man when lie saw one, and it was! b*'cause they firmly b -Sieved in the signed statement against Mr. Dix that he anrf Mr. Tarr had been parties to sending the allega- I tions to the sub-ciiiiimittee. They had been told by .llr. Watkins about the bricks, but i •;hey \«":v not toll that jus' after that quan- tity of brick" had been condemned by Mr. j Kitchingham, they were sent back, eventually to be found in the end of the works towards the tunnel end. 'Yr. Solomon thought the Council should have been told the whole <f that. Then they were told that Mr. Kitch- tngham mii.t h;v listened, at the door to hear the money jingling in Mr. Dix's room. Nov. on the following morning the committee met on the following morning the committee met Mr. Harvey, who told them that Mr. Dix had tdd /1'\1 lie would not pay him for ctrtain of the ciuslud stone, and further, that he could finish up that night. The com nittee went up to .see Mr. Dix, "anj the first thing he -J." Mr. Solomon went on. "was there Mr. Solomon sps.-ke in a whisper). llon t I speak too loud the man can hear in the next 'I oince. -\Ir. Solomon contended, thereto e, that Mr. Dix s knowledge of the office was such that He knew there would be no need of Mi. Kitchingham having to listen at the door. inn was next made by Mr. Solomon of ¡ toe tact that. on this occasion M" Dix oro- duced a box of cigars, which the • ommittee accepted, and very good cigars they were, ) ««r;- —Mimas—but that L'" a detail. Some- hing else was offered, but that was not ac- cepted, ancl Mt\ Dix. questioned about Mr. Han ey s dismissal, said he did not want the man to h-ave- that night, but could work rut the month. It was quite evident, therefore, tliat fMfr Dix had spoken t.o the man to that extent. Mr. Tutton He had a month's notice be- fore that? Mr. Solomon Yes, sir, on the Friday, and I on th Monday morning Mr. Dix went down to the quarry and stopped one or two lot., of these stones. In conclusion, Mr. Solomon I said he would be glad to get a reply to the whole (If the allegations made against Mr. Dix. The only reply that had been made so far was the one that had appeared in the I newspapers, and that an ided about 75 per cent, of the allegations. Personally, he had no an.n.us aga-nst Mr. Dix. and should nly '"•1o'1f< d if the Council found tTiey M \r able to give him it ,olear discharge. Mi. Mentis said the beginning of the 'Y. i ,e^an 'orne 14 or 15 months ago over tl.'<l 'f' #°u f°me fa mo us—the bungalow, alterations to which the com- P970 tP' t(u Tnnild ire about £ 260 or Thl t c n thtT.e vas a lor'S interval, and Th 5", or <1?ht ago Mr. Roger u comm^ieP put a question as to j ) Purfhflses of sand. Mr. Dix replied he had ^ot a few hundred tons, and then Mr. ''f'' hilS haud in his pocket-, and puthng out a sample, asked. "Is it anything .'rlr U+u i ''Certainly not," adding that lus was different to that Aid. Lvans Far better than that. Mr. Merrells Yes. far better. At any rate that was what Mr. Dix intended to convey. He (Mr .Merrells) expressed surprise that such gand should go to the Cray as it was not fit tor the work. Mr. Dix then distinctly said that he had not received anv bulk of it at the Cray, but he (Mr. Merrells) knew that a week previously 200 tons of it left Swansea for the Cray. He regretted he did not at the time go to the Cray to verify the manager's state- ment. At the next meeting of the committee the mat.fr was mentioned again, and then k i to,11 the committee that he had tn ought t o the notice of the contractor? the tact, tnat the sand was not up to sample, with the lesult thlt they had reduced the price from 4s. 3d. to 3s. 6d. per ton. The facts as ascertained on the ground were that Mr. Kitchingham had said the sand did not sieero tit for the purpose intended, and that only a truck or two should be ordered on trial. In- stead of carrying out those instructions, Mr. Dix a few days afterwards had no leRs tlmn 200 tons sent up to the Cray, the manager ad- mitting that he was tied to the contractors, and could not refrse what ilr. Merrells now described "as an apology for the sand." He ¡ (Mr. Merrelb) contended that without the authority of the committee Mr. Dix had wiven these contractors an open order for the supply of sand at a cost of 4s. 3d. and 4s. 6d. per ton. I as against 4s. delivered on the ground as per offer recently made from a Swansea contractos to supply sand from the Swansea docks. If it was only upon the question of sand alone. Air. Dix had deliberately misled him. and whatever might be the position of the manager in the future, he (Mr. Merrells) had lost "all confidence in him. It could never be re- stored. Mr. Dix had deliberately misled the committee on the bungalow and the sand questions, and the man who could do that openly could never hope to retain their confi- dence. In his letter the manager stated there were thousands of tons of stone on the ground. When he (Mr. Merrells) was last at the Cray I there was scarcely a bit of crushed stone on the ground. Then Mr. Dix said he was fully prepared for the summer. He (Mr. Merrells) was very pleased to heat it, but at present he could hardly believe it. ilr. Tutton had said that the evidence against Mr. Dix was 1 that, of "tainted tnen. Now Mr. Harvey signed hi: statement that he gave Mr. Dix £5, that he gave, the timekeeper 10s.. and that he offered bribes to Mr. McKenzie (Mr. Dix's deputy), and Mr. Shand, the former ganger, both of which offers were refused. Mr. Dix totally denied it. and said it was a wilful and deliberate lie, but Mr. Harvey, when brought before the committee and asked whether lIe adhered to his written statement, said, "Em- phatically yes, every word." The time- keeper had unfortunately left the works, but Mr. McKenzie was sent for, and he corro- borated the statement that he had been offered by Mr. Harvey a bribe. This was about two weeks before last Christmas, and Mr. AlcKenzie added valuntarily. "It seems r to bto a general custom on this job." Mr. Of-eri el'.s referred at some length to the quarry transaction, and said at the time Har- vey took over the quarry there was a certain amount of loose stuff already worked, which lie gave to Harvey in his contract. The paes- tion had l>een asked as to the value, and the reply had been gmn £ 10. Mr. Dix admitted giving JB10 worth of stone to Harvey, and if it had been lOJ. the principle would have teen tho same. Ml*. MerrelU explained the quarry had been carried on day work. A certain am Hint of stone was loos.- upan the ground, and only re- quired loading up. Instead of that loose stuff being taken into account and measured i p, and Mr. Harvey only having to pay the cost of loading up, this man was paid the cost as if he had quarriel it in the first instant-. Harvey said Dix told him there was JC25 worth of stone, and it was worth JE10 to him. Harvey had further stated that the second day after lie received the first pay he gave £5 to Dix, which was entirely denied. Was Dix competent to nnuiage the works? He (Mr. Merrells) had fi?i ined the opinion emphatically that he was not. It did not -require an expert to see whether \\ork was being conducted on c&iuir.on-.vnsc lines and common-sense organ- isation. Mr. Hill had said. "There should be bigger plums. To-day the plums were so smaJl they wtiv .'<ei:rcely worth calling plums. "I have pointed it out to Mr. Dix three months ago." J t was also a fact that, al- though Mr. Dix had been ordered to order cement three weeks in advance, lie had but 95 tons in stock—enough to last three da vs. Further, MT. Hill had called iltr. Dix's at- tention to the absolute necessity of getting crushed material in excess of what he was then using to have in stock. Wli<-n the com- mitlee went up on one occasion, said Mr MerreUs, the v was not. a stone in excess. If anything happened to two small Txxrtable en- gines the » .:ole work would be stopped. Since last Thursday the whole concrete at. the works had been stopped, and was likely to be stop- ped the whole of the week and a part of the next. Mr. Dix had tried to wriggle out of that by putting the blame on a foreman. Ah I regarded th charges of corruption against! Dix. lie would not put much stress upon that. It any further pivxif were wante I of the m-, capacity of Dix. he had proof from the chair- man of committ e. who stated, II we had • had Mr. Hill every day to Inook after tho job, we would be thousands in pocket." Alder:nan W Watkins said he meant what he said, but. Mr. Merrells had mwj mstraed his statement. Mr. I'. 'Miartin said the opinion he had ar- r'ved at a.ft-r careful investigation as to the condition of things at the Cray, was that tha Bianagement of the works was unsatisfactory, and that it was lacking in forethought and ffhcieMy; and further, what was even woree than that-, the work, in his opinion, had faded to secure the sympathy of the men on the job. He was not going* to follow what had been said with regard to the charges of corruption. He had before him the letter of Mr. Dix, which he 11.U1 written no doubt after careful coii^/deration, ami in which he put. i everything that could be stated Wore them! in his favour. Dealing with Paaagraph, 2 in ilr. Dix's let tor. ilr. Martin said the writer tried to go behind what -eallv d¡drd bdong to kll1.. That was the quality'
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MANORDILO.
MANORDILO. Cynhaliodd y Cynphor Plw-yf 0'u Cyfarfod Blynyddol nos Fawrth diweddaf, yn Ysgoldy Brytanaidd v lie. Etholwyd Mr. Lewis Harries, Cvvmflechach, yn gradeirydd atil y flwyddyn dyfodol, a. Mr. D. Williams. Pant. vrnor, yn ls-gadeirydd, Mr. Philip Davies Nuntllwyd. yn aelod or Cyrghor yn He Mr. W. Williams Blaeinawdde. j r hwn a fn farw tua blwyddyn yn nol. Dewieiwyd hefyd Overseets am y tymor. 1311 cryn siarad mewrt perthynos i liawl y fforfld Uwybr troed sydd yn at wain trwy ran o c ir Mr. Tom Harries, Panthocvel, i Cilbrydweit. a phenderfynwyd yn unfrydol wrth ystvried v tyfctiolaethn.i sydd i'w cae', vn cyrhaedd nior bell yn ol a 70 i 'SO mlyned-l. "ei fod yn llwybr eyborddus no at wasnn'aetb y cyhoedd >n y dyfodol, f.d ag y mae wedi bod yn y goTphe.nol, er tod percherog y tir vn ecisio ei gauad i fyny.
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On Monday evening the house of Mr. Tlios. Richards. was broken into. and the sum of J320 in gold taken from the drawer in the parlour, ljichards and his assistant had gone to bed carlyon Monday, and rase at midnight to go to his work. When his wife came down in the morning the par- lour dot a- was open, and the door of the drawerf) as well, and all of its money gone. She did not think anything waa wrong then, as she thought, her husband had taken the money. A search was eventually made, and the window wiw found unfastened. No trace has yet been found of the missing money.
MORRISTON MEMS.
MORRISTON MEMS. The Rev. D. Emlyn Jones again preached at Tabernacle on Sunday. His sermon in the morning was a. very fine one. Last Tuesday evening the Rev. D. Picton Evans lectured at Philadelphia Welsh Metho- dist Chapel upon that interesting personality, "Gipsy Smith." The discourse was good, and so was the attendance. Wo can now highly commend the road from Morriston to Llangvfelach to pedes. Brians and cyclists. The introduction of the !'team roller has resulted in a. thoroughly solid roadway, and whereas the road formerly w:ts distinctly "countryfied." it is now quite worthy of a busy town. Mr. Bert Gibson returned to Morriston, wliere lie formerly laboured as school-teacher, last. week, for the purpose of accompanying hit mother, the Graig schoolmistress, to SotfMi -Africa. Bert and his brother. Rob- ert, have been successful in securing Gov- ernment employment in Oape Colony, and havt been stationed at Fourteen Streams. He loo!^ extremely well. The rppel" lorest Steel Works have been troubled of late by the breakage of rolls. ("Jbinpared with other steel works breakages are alarmingly frequent at the Forest, three having unaccountably been rendered worth- less of late, the most recent cracking last. Friday night. Rolls rarely break at a steel- works, too. Sales of work are the all-engaging attrac tions of Morriston ladies just at present.. One merry gathering is "needling" for the function in aid of the Nursing Association; another is busy wielding the same weapon for ji isale of work towards the renovation of Tab- trnacle Chapel; while yet another is produc- ing garments which will ultimately be bar- tered, so to speak, for the stones of the new St. Paul's Church, Landore. A grainaphone entertainment is an enjoy able novelty. The one given on Thursday evening, the 23rd inst., by Mr. J. R. Wil- liams (blacksmith) at Ainon E. B. Chapel for the purpose of assisting towards purcha-s ing new hymnals was very pleasing. Songs were also sung by Miss Kate Llewelyn. Mr. Tom Jones. Miss E. Fisher, and Mi. Kverson Samuel, together with recitations by Mis? A. M. Williaoms and Miss S. Poiner. Mr. Hor- ace Samuel efficiently accompanied and Mr. John Will ams (Vicarage road) made an able chairman. 's The Parish Council of Close Rural is evi- dently satisfied with itself and its appointed. Its annual meeting for the purpose of electing officers for the ensuing year was held last week at Cwmrhydyceirw, but so far as the officials were concerned it might as well not have been held, as all Last year's elected were were re-chosen. It was just as well. too, as little advantage could have resulted from a change. For instance, Mr. John Morris, who was re-eleoted chairman, fulfilled his duties most assiduously last session, no; missing a single meeting. The teachers of the Moniston (Martin street) Boys' School, and the Morriston (Xeath road) Girls' School held a very sue- cessful soiree in the central hall of the Martin street School on Friday last. There might have been just a few more present, but still the proceedings were very enjoy able. Mr. and Mrs. Wm. bavies, Miss M. A. ifones and Miss Harris (Dy'atty School) well present; Mr. James Cooze was M.C.. Mr. Bethnel Griffiths accompanist Miss Maud Harri sand Mr. Graham Liddicot secretaries; J. E. Fitt catered'. The Morriston United Quoit Club opens its splendid new quoit ground to-morrow (Saturday) when we hope there will be a great crowd present to witness whnt pro- mises to be a brilliant tournament between Will Joseph, the United skipper and In- ternational quoiter. and Evans, champion of England, and also between Johnny Davies and Will Dice Davies, Aberdare. I he club ha.s embarked upon a worthy enterprise, and is deserving of all support. The ground at ,the back of a public-house, had always been & stigma. hitherto. The Morriston Club now comes out into the open, and now has a ground surrounding befitting so successful an institution as the United. Morriston lost one of her worthiest song last Monday evening, when Mr. Rhys Rob- erts, newsagent, of VVoodfield street, passed away, after ailing for several years past. Deceias-ed enjoyed a great renown at Morris, ton as newsagent, bookseller and stationer and ha dmrhed his 69th year. He was born at Ti eboeth, and was an earnest member of the Mvnyddbach W. Congregational Chpel, when Tie'ieft for Morriston at, the age of 26. He had a great respect for the pastor, Rev. J. tiid so when lie left for Morris- ton. he still attended the Mvnyddbach place of worship. Indeed, lie hardly ever entered a Morriston chapel, journeying three times every Sunday, and twice during the week to the 0:iprs.ileni CUnpol The sermons of the Rev. J. Daniel he regularly reproduced in Welsh longhand, in note books, a pile of which he leaves behind. Mr. Roberts was an authorit yon Welsh, ctnributed theological and temperance papers to the Welsli press, an dwa-s an earnest Forester. lie started the first Morriston news-shop near the Victoria buildings, afterwards removing to the present establishment. His distinguished lead he maintained for 42 years, although his son has taken over the business this past nine years. He leaves behind a widow, in failing health, three grown-u)) daughter and two sons. On Thursday, April 23rd, the Libanus Guild, which so successfully flourished this season, concluded with a highly appropriate and most excellent Shakespearian evening. Coming as this event did on the anniversary of the great poet's birth and death, the en- tertainment was very enjoyable, and it was no great surprise that there was a strong de- sire to repeat the programme. It finished up the guild's programme very finely, being the besit evening ever held by this up to date Morriston institution. Miss Mary Davies (mistre-s of Neatli road Infants' School) pre- sided and the compilation of the programme was the effort of Miss Maud Owen and Mr. T. 11. Williams (schoolmaster). Miss Maud Owen was the- most accomplished of the re- citers, repeating bet* lines very excellently. But as all did so well it would be invidious not to mention all taking part so, we append the programme and caste:—Dialogue, "Her- bert and Arthur" (King John), Miss Mabel Buckland and Miss Nellie Margin recitation, Banishment Scene from "s you like it, Miss Maud Owen; dialogue, l'ilecp, walking scene. Miss Nellie Evans, Miss Eithel Jenkins and Dr. C. Kemp; song, "Blow, blow" (As you like it). Flossie Jenkins; recitation, '"French scene from lieniv v.. Miss Lena Griffiths; dialogue. 'Woisey and Cromwell" (Henrv VKL), Messrs. Trevor Williams and D. J- Thomas; recitation, An- tony's Oration (Julius Caesar), Mr. Thomas Rccs; dialogue, "Portia and Nerissa" (Mer- chant of Venice) .Messrs. B. Martin, Maud Owen and O. Thomas; recitation, Taial Scene" (Merchant of Venice). Mr. T. R. Wil- liams; song, "Sigh no more, ladies (Much Ado about Nothing), Miss Flossie Jenlans. The members of the Guild further "wound up" their season in a successful soiree at Martin Street School last Monday evening.
=----,.-----' lilSlfOP If…
=- lilSlfOP If El) KEY. Bishop lb. I ley. the Roman Catholic l>is>hop of M'encrv. who ha., ju-4 concluded a visit to the new niunasteiy at IVmbv.-y. w is In Swansea on Tuexlay.
Advertising
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---IRAILWAY RETURNS,
I RAILWAY RETURNS, Great Western limlway, un increase of 1 £ 3,6v.O Mjtgregctt e increase, 17 weeks, 947,000. London and North-Westem Railway, an in- crease of £ 13,000; ag-o^reiyate increase, 17 weektt £ 30,COO. Harry Railway, a decrease of £ 240;. egate increase, 17 weeks, £2624; (inolujina" re eipta of the Vale uf Glamorgan Railway). Taff Vale Kail way, an increase of £ 76 • aggregate decrease, 17 weeks, £ 9,630 r Brecon and Merthyr Railway, an increase of £ 91; aggregate decrease, 17 weeks, 114. RHONDDA & SWANSEA BAY RAILWAY. The following- are the traffic returns for the week ending Apl. 23, 1903, aa compared with the corresponding week in 1902 — 1903. 1902 No. of Miles open 30 39 Passengers (Local) £ 553 £ 545 Goods and Minerals £ 1493 .HN06 Total for the Week £ 2046 JE1952 17 Weeks X4118) £28937 Increase this week, £ 94 Increase 17 weeks £ 2,252.
Advertising
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CRAY MANAGEMENTI QUESTIONS.I…
of the work. He wanted to make it dear that he (Mr. Dix) was not a free. agent in the mat- ter, and that there were engine rs and inspec- tors to watch every cubic yard of work put in the tunnel and every ether part, and we that it was oi" accepted good quality. He would give Mr. Hill's own words: "So far as the work goes. tha,t meant the quality, you need not be at all uneasy about that; you have got your inspectors, and the work is done as well as can be dOlle." Paragraph 6 of the letter somewhat suiprLed him. He says the specification <hoe& not stipulate the size or percentage of plums necessary. Mr. Miartin a.sked Mr. Wyrill w hether this was no. Mr. Wyrill ;-a)d there was a new clause deal- ing with concrete inserted after the substitu- tion of cement for stoic- was decided upon. Mr. Martin asked if it defined as to plums. Mr. Wyrill: Yes, it gives also the dis- tance apart, and how they are to be Laid in the bed, etc. Mr. Martin said Mr. Dix said it was for him and for no one else to decide the percent- age of plums, bait in any wise Mr. Dix had no free hand as to expense. Mr. Martin then dealt with the size and percentage of plums, together with the question of cost. If stone could be quarried at 3s. 6d. per cubic yard and place the same in a trench and thereby displace concrete which cost 26s. a yard, the difference was saved, and if they had instead of 25 per cent. of that displacement, 40 per cent. there was a reduction of the cost by an extra 15 per cent. The quesrt-ion of engineer- ing can'e in. and the difference, and thus the ultimate weight of the dam. Mr. Hill had told them that the difference in the specific gravity of stone and concrete was as 165 was to 145, and it would mean thousands of tons extra weight in the dam if it were made of the plums. Mr. Martin then;, poke of the cranes at the work, and said the smaller stones in the, radius of the derrick crane were so small as to be merely apologies for plums. The crane was fixed at right angles to the dam, instead of parallel, and that ehowed a want of foresight in fixing. On this matter the com- mittee. were met with the miserable excuse that for economical reasons the derrick was used. What economy was there in using small cranes, he should like to know? Then Mr. Dix had stated that the progress of the work could not be gtiaged by the first 18 months. Why, it was a four years work, and if one could not judge of such work in 18 months, when would one be able to.' From June 1st to March 31st last only 540 cubic yards of concrete had been done per week. At that rate the work would take five or six years to complete. Yet Mr. Hill also told them that last winter was an exceptionally ojien one for concreting, with an absence of frost, the men could have concreted all the winter through if they could have withstood the wet. What guarantee had the Council got that things were going to be better? It was no good being prepared to do a lot of work without material, and Mr. Hill had said "I am not satisfied with the supply ((f materials." Mr. Martin spoke of the shifting of the crusher where there were toius of stones on the ground to the mouth of 'he tunnel—where one week it was at work nine hours, and the second 15 hours which was another example of the hick of foresight Then there was the supply of cement, for which they had made a special .storage capac- ity of 1,000 tons, and to account for only 95 tons being on the spot the miserable excuse was offered that it was the foreman s fault. Mr. Dix seemed to have walked round the cement shed, instead of going in perhaps lie was afraid of dirtying Ins clothes. It was a part of his duty that lie should keep himself informed of such an essential point. The Council at this point adjourned to par- take of a tea at the Hotel Metropole, on the Mayor's invitation. On resuming, Mr. Martin said. after the adjournment, lie was on the point of showing. in his opinion, the want of management at the Cray. He had been about making state- ments to strengthen the position he had taken on the question of efficiency, but he did not think it was worth while bringing it 0ut then. lIe thought he had satUfied the Council that he wa> correct in saying tl*re was a want of oversight and efficiency. What was impor- tant, in his mind, was that the gentleman had failed to get the sympithy of the men oil the job. In order to weaken that point it had been stated there was a conspiracy be, tween the men. It had been stated the men were disaffected, and that all was a result of disappointment, and Mr. Martin quoted the words he had heard coming from the Cray one day. "Wh&t strikes me." &id one gentle- man, "is that I jail to find a man on the job who lias a good word to say for him." He could not accept the idea of conspiracy, be- cause there was no proof of it. Were thev t. all damned with a desire to ruin this man? Wa»« there no righteous man amongst them? He suggested an explanation which w as more reasonable, and he wo-uld give it in the words he heard on the- way home from the Cray on "the same Friday. 1 hose were "I am afraid the real cause of the thing is the man cannot stand oats." It was a horsey expres-ion, but i ioti, bill a. very significant one. In paragraph 9 of Mr. Dix's letter he said. My estimate to complete the works was approved by Mr. Ilill. I can complete- within the amount thereof. And it compares favourably w it!a Sir J. Aird's original tender, to which would have to be added certain unavoidable ex- tras and allowances for heavy in- creases in prices all lound-the markets." Mr. Dix estimated £ 308.000 would he requir ed to complete, liny must add to that the amount thai was paid to Patersons for the work done inder the contract. Thatw.t.si £53.080. which iv-presented £ 34.003 for mea- sured work. and about -619.000 buildings and plant on the ]ob. so far as he could ascertain. I'r.ssiblv the plant was not worth that monev. Take. £0.000 off. and they had £ 46.000 to b addict to the £ 303,000. That- was £ 354,000. Then thev must add what the vJorpoiation spent at the work after Patersons left. Fi': thought they spent about £ 6.400 on the ground—say £ 6,000—>Sii" John Aird's contract was £ 278,000. So there was a differ.<euce of f 35.000. Mr. Dix stated lie would do ihe work in the amount. He (Mr. Martin) wa! not satisfied with that. Allowing ditfciwiee in cost of material and ha hour, -it;. did not think it would <ome to £ 83,000. lie wanted to know >vhcr. th. w wire. Agah. Mr. Dix had spent J3109,209 up to March 25, but ai thai time £ i*.3S8 had blelt already Ili in plant and lenewali o i the ground, yjuj theiv were materials in hand to the amount, of £4,óU, making £ 21,718. Deduct that fioni £ 103.209. and it left £87.491. The totd value of th" work executed by Mr. Dix on that day was £ 61,865, leaving £ 25.626 UII;H-- counted for. Talcing the Chairman's figu/es, which went a few weeks beyond Mareh 25. thev had £83,513 accounted for, L, against £ 109,209 spent up to Mareh 25. Hit-. (Mr. Maitin's) confidence in Mi'- IJix llilll been shaken. Going to the works on Stpf, tuner 5 lie asked that there should iv worked out from the beginning every penny that had been Kpent and allocated to its proper purport. Mr. Dix asked fur a. clerk. and after that they should have had every penny of expenditure a.ih cated, If that had been done he should not IN, where the money had gone to. Mr. Dix had met thie request its to a clear statement being furnished of how the money had been spent by the following letter: — < ray. April 20. 1903. Dear Sir,—I received your letter of this dat.afte) closing time, and J. at once took steps lo re-assem1>!le my staff and get together the information asked for. You will readily understand the, figures, a,rc stated as approximately as jtoaedbk. consider- ing th extremely short s^Moe of time at my disposal L v i '.i-niott'row morning. An e-timate of eo>t 10 complete the work from a point unanticipated, cannot under these circumstances have '.he advantage of the mature thought it demands and requires. The figures I have atriyef) at are as follows :The value of plant and pieliininary work on the ground, exclusively of any left by Messrs. Paterson, including heavy and light plant, parts for repairs ,IUd renewals, material for temporary roads, baulk and other timber for trench gantries, bridg'-s, etc. Miteiial, £ 18.707. >2', Value of materials for per- inanent work already used or on ground, I u'l £ 17.424. (3) The amount of wages paid, in- cluding all labour for erecting and maintain- ing plant and all temporary roads, buildings, etc., to March 26. 1903, £ 57.506. (4) Number of huts and cost of construction number, 25, and one extension (one incomplete), including all repairs and renewals to old huts, bedding and bedsteads, and all fittings and painting, £ 7,000. (5) Value of work erected (a) on the da tn, £ L>6.323 (b) on the tunnel, £ 24,663 (c:) generally. £ 2.460. (6) Estimate of cost to complete works from March 25th. 1903. in- cluding estimate of £ 30.000 for extra work below contract depths. £ 23,953 of which has already been executed, but quite exclusive of any iron work, of which I have no particu- lars. £ 230,060 less estimated value of plant. huts, buildings, timbtr. etc., at completion. say. £15.000. Total. JB215.060. -Your.s faith- j^ulty, etc. Thel e was no information in that letter, continued Mr. Martin, explaining how all the money passing through Mr. Dix's hands had been expended. The whole thing was in- complete. Another question that affected his confidence was the bungalow. Three weeks ago ilr. Dix told the committee that he did not know what had been spent on that work. Was that a right state of mind for a manager to be in? If lie did not know what had been spent on the bungalow, he did not know what had been spent anywhere else. And vet the Council weie asked to accept the manager's figures as to the co.-t of the works. Could that man letain his confidence? How could he? Thev asked him to dismiss his good sense to do that. but he could not do it, and he would not therefore be able to give Mr. Dix his confidence. Mr. Hopkin asked the Council to pause be- fore doing an irreparable injury to the Gray manager. If Mr. Dix were held to be to blame, then Mr. Wyrill, he was afraid, could not go free. Mr. Moy Evan" thought the Council ought to be satisfied on t'jree points (1) the cost to date since Mr. Dix's appointment, (2) the quantity of work already done, and (3) whe- ther proper provision has been made for future work. Mr. Martin had asked whether there v tre any righteous men on the job? He (Mr. Evans) should imagine there was, but they had not consulted them. Practically the only ones who had been questioned were those dis- cliarged men who had an object in getting rid of Mr. Dix. Before the Council came to a conclusion let them have a fair enquiry, and make further enquiries at the works. Mr. Martin It has been made. Mr. Moy Evans As far as I am concerned it has not. Mr. Tutton added that Mr. Dix a.nked that the sub-connnitt c should do this, but it was not conceded. Mr. Moy Evans said the Council had not sufficient data to form a. proper judgment, not even the figures submitted by Mr. Martin because they refeired chiefly to the dam and the tunnel. But what aibinut the outside lab- ',ur? He wa.s not satisfied with the informa- tion at present. Mr. David Davies thought the Council tad, dealt- with the subject with that sobriety of language that showed that the members real- ised the importance of the work in hand. At the time when the proposal was considered by the Oounc.il of carrying out the work by direct administration, lie, with a few others, was in favour of continuing to let it by contract. He reca lied that fact because it emphasised a point he desired to make. The reason he ob- jected to direct employment of labour was that although theoretically a Corporation ought to get better results from such a work —'ought to get a. saving of profits—actual practice had demonstra ted over and over again that a Corporation -could not get th-os.1 resilts. He thought they did not need to go beyond the discussion that day for a very striking de- monstration of that truth. Why was it that Corporations old not get tho same results as ,et tll, private companies and private employers? It was because of the absolute impossibility of getting Corporations to treat their servants .).s they were treated by private employers. Assuming .Ylr. Dix was still employed by .Mr. Nott and did not give satisfactory work, Mr. Dix would disappear at once; but because Ie happened to be a Corporation servant, they had weeks of investigation and discission, ant 1 alf a dozen hours more spent that day in fur- tiler discussion, because the Corporation was absolutely incapable of securing that service from servants that private employers insisted upon having. One of the incidental effects (f the investigation had yet to be considered. They lad occasion, >njiie weeks ago. in con- nection with another committee, to point ut that at the Cray there wa. all army of offi- cials, like fVrteinus Ward's regiment of col- one!?-. and yet in "pite Hf months of appar- ently excess of inspection, those serious de- fects had been there unnoticed up tit.) recently. He quite agreed with the view already ex- pressed that the moment. the Council decided that tlw- defects did exist in reality the burden of the consequences could not fall on one head alone. Other heads ought, to fall as well. He wanted to say in the presence of one gen- tleman affected by it. that he gathered Mr. "vrlll visittd the woiks frenuently—several fl, days weekly sometimes. And he (Mr. Davies) wanted to know if Mr. Kitchingltam was re- sponsible for the quality of the work. and Mr. Dix responsible for the general organisation, what was Mr. Wyriii s position? He would want that, point fully cleared up. because if they apportioned the work at the Cray in that way and they made no provision for Mr. W yrill s services* why did he go up to the Ciay at all? The moment they agreed that theie were serious defects in the carrying on nf the work. their duties weie enlarged. Probably heads would not fail, becau: those officials had not to deal with private employers. The result of such a policy was seen, not only in Swansea, but elsewhere, for there was no employer so badly served by its servants as Corporations, the reason be ng that. Corporations had not the courage to do what private employers did every day of their lives. He had no faith in direct employment by Corporations, and if they continued the same course as at present a year hence they would have again to lament the same consequences. That was not only the experience of Swansea, but of Newport, Birmingham, and every Corporation where they employed direct labour. That was his general point, but another point he wanted to make was in reference to the Council being mged to allow their judgment to be suspended because they might destroy Mr. Dix's reputa- tion. That would be a sad thing at anv time, but the chief concern of the" Cor- poration should be the interest" of the ratepayers. If men placed their reputa- tions in jeopardy the Corporation were not to blame. They simply had to do what Mr. Nott would have done under similar circum- stances, and the moment they were convinced that, Mr. Dix was not yielding satis- factory Selvice. they should get. rid of liim immediately. The matter of reputation was simply this, that feu- the first time in his life Mr. Dix w as doing a very big job-his previous (smaller jobs he liad car- ried out no doubt with oredit-and there wais no reason at all if he was found unequal to his present duties that lie should be re- tained. At the present time the ratepayers of Swansea, had to pay £ 10,000 a year to make up the deficiency between water rentals and the amount they had to pay on account of water expendi- ture in the past. They were now faced with an expenditure of half a million of money, which meant a standing charge that would increase that deficit by £25.000 a year. That was a serious thing to Swansea. There might be :t little in- crease of revenue when the work was com- pleted. but nothing in proportion to the amount of the deficit, Within a few years hence he estimated the deficit in their water rentals would be between £ 30.000 and £ 35.000, and how was that sum to be made up': They had to consider whether all the money spent had liLeti .pent not only pro- perly. but expeditious! There was such a thing as waste of time as weli as waste of money. He came there with an open mind on the matter, but he did think that the effect of the statement* nride by Mr. Merrills and especially by Mr. Martin must be conclusive as to the main point. He could not imagine anything being said by aA expert that could, change the substantial effect of those figures, the main basis of which was even provided in a return made by Mr. Dix himself. Mr. Moy Evans had suggested that some of the money had been spent on the roads. But was it to be seriously suggested that £25,000 or even £ 15,000 had been spent on the making of the roads? No there was through all Corporation works of the kind an invisible leakage, so that while theoretically the thing could be done for 4s. it cost 5" and Nemesis arrived when the ag- gregate cost was ascertained. In regard to the running out of cement, Mr. Davies said they had a right to expect from the manager a reasonable foresight. Could they imagine Vivian and Sons running out of coal or a printing office out of paper—the very essentials to the existence of those undertakings as going concerns? No; and if Mr. Dix had given them an intelligent supervision he would have had prepart-d for himself returns showing the exact quantity of cement used, the stock on hand. and the supplies expected. The fact that lie had left all that to a foreman was the worst possible indictment of his manage- ment. He (Mr. Davies) gave Mr. Tutton and Mr. Watkins credit for being conscientious in their views, but no one who came there Avith an open mind could doubt that the bur- den of the arguments that day had been against Mr. Dix. Later oil he would have something to say as to the future carrying on of the work. but, to b: frank, he thought it was equally gloomy to the ratepayers whe- ther Mr. Dix was retained or not. It was be- cause of the difficulty cd dismissal from Cor- poration employ that was to him the reason why corporations could not get as good ser- vice out of their men as private employers got. Alderman W Evans felt convinced that a conspiracy existed at the Crav to get rid of the manager. Mr. David Harris said there had been grosi mismanagement, and quoted reports from Mr Sidebottom to the effect that he had hun- dreds. of times complained to Mr. Dix of the lack of "plums" in the dam. Mr. Hill's feel- ing that the work should be completed by contract- was also bad, and Mr. Harris con- tended that it was remissness on the part of Mr. Dix that had brought about the leakages complained of. Mr. T. Corker said he could not unders-tana how Alderman Evans had come to the conclu- sion that. Mr Hill was satisfied with the work clone. They could see from Mr. Hill's reply that he was not. Mr. Corker referred to the "black gang'' at the Cray, which consisted cf engine drivers, fitters, blacksmiths, and la- bourers, some of whom worked 88 and others 1 91 hours a week. From the outset Mr. Dix had been told to cader sufficient cement in ad- vance. Yet once he had run short, and order- ed quickly 1,000 tons, which was 5.s. a ton more than the contract. That was prlt,t;e-i.Ily JE250 thrown into the gutter, Mr. Tutton said as regards that matter, Mr. Dix was carrying out the order of the com- mitt.ee. ,0 Mr. W. Davies said the men brought pro- minently to notice had previously worked for Mr. Nott, and had been asked to go up on the Cray job. Mr. Dix did not enipl iy S wan sea men under any conditions' it was a fact if a man came from Swansea, .\ir. Dix would not appoint him. The foreman car- penter, Mr. W. Davies alleged, wa.s a her- ring-cross maker from Peterborough. Mr Lee said it was not true that- no Swan- sea- men could get employment at the Cray. Mr. W. Davies said that at Coronation, week eighteen carpenters were stopped at the Cray, and thirteen vere Swansea residents. Alderman Watkils said when the liisit charge was brought against Mr. Dix, he im- mediately said if it could be proved he would raise both hands and order Mr. Dix off the grounds at once. Mr. Dix "vas charged with being a dishonest man- The Mayor said that was not quite so. Alderman W. Watkins said on the occasion of the hearing of tic charges, Mr. Dix came with nearly tears ;n his eyes and sa.id. "You have listened to these three men; all I ask is you ask some other men on the work. Rightly or wrongly, the committee refused that. That was the only reason Le had (h- ject"d to the committee's concluct. The Mayor then put it that the miirues be received and aclojpted. The minutes in/duded —"Resolved that the manager be asked to tender his resignation." The polling was as follows For: Ald.er- m. n J. Griffith, D. Jenkins, E. Prother<>e, Roger Thonia,?, W. Watkins. Messrs. Corker, D. I) avies, W. Davies, D. Jones, Dryden, Harris, Dommett, Lee, Howel Lew is, Mar- tin. Matthews, G Morgan, Morris, Payne, Sinclair, Sokmon, Tarr, B. Thomas, and'the Hon. Oda Yiyiar.-totaI, 25. Agaiost Al- dc'.r.an W. Evans and Messrs. Mov Evans ,-md Morgan Hopkin—total, 3. Tire Mayor did not yote, Consequently the minutes were adopted. Upon the proposition of the Mayor, .ccond- od by Mr. D. Harris, the resignation was ac- cepted. Mr. David Harris moved that Mr. Dix be paid three months' salary (£150) in iieu of notice Air. Lee moved that the question of tem- porary manager at the Cray be left in sho hand? of the Water and Sewers Committee, and that they report upon the subject gener- ally at the next meeting of the Council. IMfi*. Corker seconded It was then proposed that the Sub-Cray Committee be substartia.ted for tlie Water and Sewers Committee; bm Mr. Solomon moved that the words "Council in committee" be added to Mr. Lee's resihition. Mr. G Morgan seconded.—Carried. Mr. D. Davies proposed that the Council proceed at once to select a. temporary mana- ger. Mr. D. Jenkins .seconded. Mr. ;oy Evans proposed the appointment of Mr..Wvrill temporarily. Mr. G..Morgan seconded. Mr. H. Martin proposed that Mr. McKen- zie, second in charge, be appointed tempor- arily. Alderman W. Watkins seconded.—Carried. The meeting of the Council was fixed for six o'clock on Friday. The Council meeting, which started at 3 o'clock, terminated at 9.40 p.m.