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VIEWS OF THE ENGINEER IN CHIEF RasPKCTrNO his Powers, Ddtiks and Krsponsibi LITIES. < TTTtT i i1i l.li(jh, 1874. t J(^ NORTH SHORE RAILWAY. VIEWS OF THE ENGINEER IN CHIEF RE'-fT.' MM. II 1-1 ri»\VKI!». Ill I ll> AN h IU>r' is » I |:| |,| i | |>. A- ' uS M.' I 1,1 1 V, I I 11 III I-: luN rijAi T iiK Ai'Kii. 'iiii. ;sTJ, i-iiit riii: cn.N-.i 111 1 n i\ \Mi Kucii'MiiNr 1)1 Tin: l,•AIl.\\A^. JCf^. A coiifroN t'lsy li;i\ iiiu' aiLsoii hclwcfii ilu' Cmit iitrioi-. an t!u» appniiiluicnt ami salari<'s ol'iln' l']iiL!iiu'oriiiii' Stall' upon the road, in whicli llio Conliartor cluiin.s, tlial. inasnnich as hf pays till' cxpt'iiscs ol' lilnu'incciinii-. ho has a riu'ht to niako all tlu'api)oinln»i'nts, and to rcuulaic the salaries olp r- sons «>mploy<'(l upon the Si a 11". Aud inasmuch as the C'ontraolni has roCusod lo pay thr rolls of the lilnuijuHMinu' Stair I'oi' the month or.Iunc. IXTI. assiiiiiing' atnonu- other reasons theidor. that the salariosare imt isuch as he had pre.seril)ed ; and that the pay rolN eoniain (he namos ol persons whom ho did not eni[)ioy. neiihor was ho consulted, as to their l)pinli(»ii oi' Iho IJoard of Direclors. 'rht'it'lure. lilt' lollowiii^' liuslily jncitiinMl views are inosi respect lully snl)iiiitie(l lor ihe e(nisiartiiienl. except such as rerpiire him to ohey thf orders emanatiiiii' I'rom the Eniriiieer Deparlnn-nt. w ilh rerereiice to tho proper executi(»ii lA' the work em- hraced in the contract. 1 1 the fact thai the contractor |>ays ■ the expenses coiiiiecled with eni:ineeriiii>'."" uives him the riuhi to appijint the dillerent memhers of the Engineer- ing" iStair and to reunlate their >alaries, it would seem that he could also claim the same ligiii with reference t<» the • tlher oilicers of the IJailway Comi)any. iiiuhM- the clause in the contract, which provides that the contractor 'shall [)hice tln' Railway rompany in funds to meet the ordi- nary expenses of said company, and of its l>oard of ]Ji- reclors." Tin* fact that the Chief iMiiiineer receives his salary direct from the Contractor, has alnnidy ])eeii used to considerahle eti'ect in destroying" the coniidence of the pul)lic in the character of the road that is nnjuired to he constructed under the contract ; and serious douhts have heretofore ])een expressed, even hy mehilu'is of the lioardof Directors, (the names of some of whom are still (juite fresh in my memory.) as to whether the specilicatioiis were sulliciently stringent in that respect, to secure a lirst-class railway, under the ex- istinii" contract. RESPECTING Ills POWEHS AND RESP0XSIB1LITIE> The lirst of thcsi* chinuos wjis relont'cl to aiul iinswt'rcd sit the closo ol' my roinut, uuKlf to the I*r»'!sicl«'iit, jiiid in'\\ lioavd ol" Directors, uiiclcr date of May '2^t\i. 1^. IVoin \vhi<*h tli»' lollowinu are »»xtract.s; '' I am lully a\var«' tliat an impn'ssiini prevails in tiic i»ul)- lie mind that tlio i)roiits that will a<. under their present contract lor const nut iny tlir Xortli Shore Railroad. ur«>i i'jiormons. and <|uili' out ol' pioportion to the actual cost of tin • road, and the risk> wlijrh ilicx have assumed in conm-clion with the und"rtakine impressions have been strengthened by ieart oi' \\\\> report. with relereiice to the prolils of the contract, are believe«l to l)e a sullicit'ut answer to the impressions Hrst alluded to." 'The statements contained in the newspaix'i' articles re- ferred to, and which were extensively j)ublished durinn my reci'Ut absenci' in I'jurope. f(»r the evident purpose ol prejudicinii' the minds of the n«'W members oi the present Hoard of Directors auainst myself, as the lilniiineer of tin- Company, as well as ai^ainsl the contractors who have un- dertaken to buihl the road, seem to justify, if not demand, a more extended notice.' " I deem it exceediiii'ly fortunate that, at this the lirsi m«'etinii' oi' the i)reseni Hoard oi J)irectors. 1 am per- mitted, as an act of justice lo myself, and duly lo the JJoard. to make such explanations with reference to the contract, and such a vindication of my own position in conutMtion with it, as will, if believed bv tin' Hoard, ex- 4 VIKWS .»F THE EXdINEEIJ IN CHIEF (»H(M*iit«» iiif IVoiii iht' cIiiMiios iuid ijisinuiilioiis ronti\in»' '•j'loiTtMl lo lUf (siihslantially us lullow.s : • Tin* cost ol thi' North Slion* Kailway uinlor tlio pn'snil • '((iitract will 1m' !iii(),l^42 prr mile inoif than the tstiniatfd cost ol'thi' Montreal Xorlhcrn (.'oloni;ints wheio comparisons niiuhl he instituted, hut en(>ui»h has hcen advanced to show tin* necessity of a thorough revision of the t-onlract iMitered into by the North Shore Compiiny with the American Contrac- tors, and also [)resided over hy an American liiniiineer. w ho is in the interest ol'. atid under the i>ay of the Contractors, at the expense olihe ProviiK*' ' The article doses with the lollow iiig paraiiia[)h : •' Let the (.lovernmcnt and n«'W lloard insist that the surveys, plans, estimates, \'c., I)e revised hy s<»me eminent Canadian Eniiineer in whom the puhlic have conlideiK-e, and we will secure actually a ///•.s7-r/\ f and heyond iiny injury that can he olleeted hv the puhlieai ioii of cowardly aiticlcs (»1 this kind, it would certainly he useless lor me to atiempi to holster it up hy aiiv other means, at this late »|;iy in my pioiessional life." The second ol the ehaisi'es ahoM" i«'i'err«'d to, was an- swered in communications IVom this oljice umh'r (hite ol June .')lli, ami .Inly 14th, 18T-I. respectively, the latter covt'rinii' a correspomlence with several eminent Canadian I*]niiineeis upon the suhject. a i>riiit» d c(ti)y lA' all which will !)e I'ound in vour ollice. I'roui w hieli the lollowinii' are extracts : • 1 am inl'ornn'd that at the nieetinu oi the Hoar*! ol l)i- rectors, hehl yest«'rday. il was intin)iited hy some of the IMrectors, tjnit the existini;- Contract does not provi(h» lor a lirst class railroad."' ' J^o long as tliesi' charges were con lined to newspaper articles, written hy unknown and irresjxtnsihle ]>artics. who admitted that they luul not e\en seen the contract ami specili<'ations. 1 have not felt called upon to notice lh«'m, any farther than was done in my report ol" Maf 2"*, IH7-'> IJut inasmuch as the matter has now hecome a suhject of serious discu.ssion in the Hcmrd orJ)irectors, several of whom are new menihers, it seems hoth just and proper that it should receive sonu' attention at mv hands." 6 VIEWS OF THE ENQINEKR IN CHIEF " With reference to the Specifications which are attached to, and form part of the contract, I have only to say that they were prepared by myHelf with greal. care as to all th«' details of the work; and that they embody all the im- portant conditions and Nafeguards that are to be foand in the Specilictttions under which the most expensive and ini|)ortant Railways in Canada and the United States have been constructed." " They were revised and approved by a committee ot th«* Board of Directors, on the 2Gth of February, 1872, at which time the Mayor of the City of Quebec went through them with me in great detail, and suggested nome change»< which were at once incorporated in the Specifications. The entire contract and specifications were afterwards approved }>y the Board of Directors ; and, so far as I am aware, the provisions which they contain relative to the character of the work therein contemplated and fully pro- vided for, has never been questioned until the present time " After analysing the reports of the different Engineers who had exi)ressed opinions upon the subject, the report of July 14, 187.'J, concludes as follows : " It will thus be seen, that of the four prominent and very justly distinguished Canadian Engineers, who have been kind enough to express an i>|.Inion upon the subject re- ferred to them, two have given a somewhat qualified verdict against the specifications ; and two haA'e express«'d an unqualified opinion in their favor.'" " Assuming that equal weight should be attached to the opinion of each of these G-entlemen, the case must be re- garded aAibout equally balanced, so far as their opinions are concerned. But if the opinion of Mr. Blackstone, toge- ther with that of the Chief-Engineer of the Company, are entitled to any weight in the matter, the scales would pre- ponderate decidedly in favor of the specifications," REtiPECTINd 1118 I'OWERH AND RKrtPONrilBlLlTIES. 7 " In whatever liifht the result ol' the diMCUssiou may be viewed, by the Board ol' Directors. I tnint it will be con- ceded that the points at issue have been presented by the Ghief-Enijfineer. in a fair and impartial manner ; and with a sincere desire to arrive at a Just and (>quitable solution." " I can only remark, iu <*onelusion, that, su lung as the work remains in charj[fe of the present Chiel-Kngineer, no pains or lalx)r will be spared on his part, to produce a work that shall be creditable alike to the Company, the Contractors, and the Eng:ineer ; and one that shall fully meet the just expectations ol' ihe Gover.'nent, the City ol' Quebec, and the i)eople at large, all of whom have so great an interest in the speedv, and pro'> r construetiuu of the Koad." By reft'iriiig to the letter:' of th«' ditHreiit Engineers con- tained in the same pamphlet, it will be s^en that Messrs. Shanly and. Keefer, who approve of the sijecificatioui?. do so mainly upon the ground that tvrry ojh'U qu<'stio!i is left to the decision of the Engineer ; and that he thus becomes directly responsiblf to the Kail way Comi>any for the char- acter of the work. Whereas, Messrs Fleming and Ozowski disapprove of the spi»cifit'ations, for the reason that they are too general ; and that so much power is vested in the Engi- neer that, if he and the Contractor were in collusion, a ver\' inferior road could be built under the .specifications, and vice-verm. From all which it may very readily be inferred, what the opinion of any one, a.ul probably all of the above named Engineer^s would have been, in case the contract and specifications had provided that the subordinate Engi- neers, who necessarily have the direct charge and supervi- sion of the work, were to be appointed by, or at the dicta- tion of the Contractor. It seems to be a well established principle that power must b« commensurate with responsibility. And also, that 8 VIEWS OF THE ENtilNEER IN CHIEF tho power of aj>poiiitrni»nt iiocessarily cames with it the power oi* suspension or removal. If, thorefore, the Chief Engineer is to be held responsible for the proper execution of a work, the important details of which must necessarily be performed under the immediate supervision of subordi- nate members of the Engineering- Staff, it is difficult to see how, in justice either to the Railway Company, the Con- tractor, or to himself, h*' can discharge this responsibility effectually, without being* allowed to exercise a corresiwnd- ing control over the lilngineering- Department. The following are some of the most imi>ortant provi- sions of the contract, relating to the powers, duties and responsibilities of the Engineer-in-Chief : The contract provides that monthly payments shall be made by the Railway Company to the Contractor, during the progress of the work, " which i)ayments shall be based upon the estimate and certilicate of the Engineer-in-Chief of the said Railway Company, of work done, materials and fixtures delivered and n'ady for delivt'ry, and for payments made on account then'of." It also i)rovid'*s that ' The term Enginefir, when used, either in th»» contract or specifications, will in all cases refer to the Engineer-in-Chief of the North Shore Railwav, or to any subordinate' Engineer, wht), acting under instructions from the Engineei-in-Chief, may, lor the time being, have the direct charu'i' and supervision of the work particularly referred 1o." , It also provides that "The work will, in all cases,' be under the direct charge and control of the Engineer ; and his orders must be complied with in every respect and under all circumstances. He will have power, and it will W* his duty to reject or condemn, at any stage, or condition of the work, ail workmanship or materials which, in his RESPECTINO HIS POWERS AND RESPONSIIJILITIES. opinion, may bo imiK'riect or unsiiitable ; and the sumo must be immediately corrected or replaced to his entire .sat** isiaetion. lie will also have iM^wer to discharge from the work any Ibrenian, mechanic, or laborer, who may prove to be either incompetent, or disrespectful and riotous in his conduct ; and the person so discharged shall nol })e em- ployed thereafter upon any portion of the work." An examination of the si)ecilication8 will show further, that the term, " As the Engineer may direct," or its ecpiiva- lent, enters into almost every provision under the ditterent branches or hea lings of the specilications ; so that there seems to be no escape, so far as the Engineer is concerned, from the obligations and resi)onsibilities imposed upon him by the contract in its present form. There can be no doubt that the contractor has a right to expect that Engineers will be employed upon the work, who are i'ully competent to perform the duties assigned to them ; and also that reasonable and proper economy should be observed in all the departments oj' this important Ijranch of the service. But I do not conceive that, either by vir- tue of his contract, or by virtue of the established usage upon the public works oi" this or any other country, the construction of which are provided for in the manner in which the construction and equipment of this road are provided for, iinder the existing contmct, the contractor has any right whatever to exercise any control over the Engi- neering Department, or any member of the staff connected therewith. It further seems to be a well established principle, that no organization can l)e effective unless it be controlled by one responsible head. The moment the control is divided, the responsibilities must also necessarily become divided ; and if the different 10 VIEWS OF THE ENGINEER IN CHIEF 1)niiiche.s ol' control arc antagonistic in their views and in- terests, the result will inevitably be, anarchy and confusion of the worst nature. The conclusion therefore seems to be inevitable, that the supreme control of the Engineer Depart- ment upon the road, should either be entirely in the hands of the Engineer-in-Chiel" subject only to the superior authority of the President, and the Board of Directors of ihe Railway Conii)any : or it must be entirely in the hands of the contractor, who will, as a matter of course, exercise this control in such a manner as will best promote his own in- tiM'ests and purposes : and the important question as to which of the above persons is to exercise this control, is the one now beibr«> the Board of Directors for its decision. If the Engineer shall Vx* sustained by the Board, in the views above expressed, he will very justly be held respon- sible by all parties interested, for the proper execution of the contract, in the manner fully understood and agreed upon by the parties who negotiated and entered into the original contract. The Chicago Contracting Company never questioned the right of the Engineer to appoint his staff, and to regulate their salaries, except on one occasion, in the spring of 1873, while I was in Europe. On this occasion the mem])er of the^company residing here, in conjunction with the cashier, issued an order reducing to half pay, the small nucleus of a staff" which I had retained in the service in order to be enabled to resume work promptly upon the completion of our negotiations in Europe. But as soon as it became known to the two members of the Company who were with me in Europe, that such] an order had been issued, they revoked the order immediately by cable. If, on the other hand, the Board shall see fit to sustain the^Contractor in the Aiew which he entertains of his rights under the contract, it seems quite clear that the Engineer will be relieved from all responsibility connected RESPECTING HIS POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 11 with the contract, with the exception, perhaps, of the pro- per location of the centre line of the road, and tln' furnish- ing of suitable plans for the mechanical structures upon the line. But as regards the proper construction of the roadway upon this centre line ; and the proper carry inii" out of the details of the plans thus furnished, upon \\ Inch idone may depend their success, or jieculiar adapt al)ility for the pur^wses indicated, the Enginein* certainly could not justly be held responsible in any degree. To illustrate this principle I will refer briefly to but n single instance of the many which must necessarily occur during the progress of the work. The plans which I have designed for the sub-structuro or foundations in deep water, required for the masonry in the bridges which are to span several of the large Rivers, which the line of Railway crosses, are peculiarly my own. and much cheaper than the ordinary stereotyped plans in use for such purposes. But in order to render them por- l>ectly safe and permanent, the greatest care and attention must be exercised in carrying out every detail of the plan in the execution of the work. If the power to see that this is done, through the agency of ]ilngin»»ers and Inspec- tors of my own selection, and in whom I have the most entire confidence, is taken from me, I hold that I cannot justly be held responsible for the success of the plan. The failure to drive one single pile to the required depth, or to place one single bolt in the right position, might endanger the safety of the entire structure, which, although it might stand until after the Railway Company had accepted the road from the Contractor, would be liable to })e under- mined, and destroyed during the very next freshet that miiiht occur. It is well understood ])y Engineers, Contractors, and Hailwav men generalh', that there is no class of work or 12 VIEWS OF THE ENGINEER IN CHIEF structures, which requires the exercise oi' such constant care iind vigilance in its execution, as Jirst-cU\ss railway work. V«»ry much of this work is necessarily, like the instance above alladed to, beneath the surface, and therefore cannot ]>e detected after the work is done, or even partially completed. Therefore, to liive the Contractor who executes this work, lh<' control over the Enuineers and Inspectors who have it in chari>'e, which would necessarily 1h' implied by the ad- mission of his right to employ and discharge them, and to regulate their salaries at pleasure, would seem very much like employing an Architect to prepare the plans and de- tailed spt'cifications of a house ; and then to allow the Con- tractor or builder to employ his own supervising Architect or Inspector to s(»o that these plans and specifications are properly carried out ; or, it would be like a Marine Insur- ance Company, Lloyd's for instance, which guarantees a certain rate of insurance upon a vessel, provided it be con- structed in a certain manner, and composed of a certain class of materials ; and then accepting the certificate of an Inspector employed by the owner or builder, as to these particulars. Having very frankly expressed the above views with reference to the true spirit and meaning of the contract, I deem it unnecessary to call the attention of the Board, at any considerable length, to the probable effect that would be produced in the minds of the Provincial Government, the City authorities of Quebec, and foreign capitalists, all of whom are expected to furnish, in certain specific propor- tions, the amount of money, or securities required to con- struct and equip a first-class Railway, under the stipulations and guarantees expressed and provided for in the contract and specifications, if it should now be conceded by the Company that the views entertained by the Contractor are in full accordance with the spirit and meaning of the con- HESPECTTNG his P0W!2R5» AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 13 H with ract, I ard, at would nmeiit. 8, all of jvopor- to con- Illations contract by thi* ctor aiP fhc con- tract. And it muKt Im» equally unnecessary for me to attempt to show the probable, if not almost certain influ- onee which such an undtM'standini!' would have, not only upou the character of the work, an above alluded to, but upon every monthly or progress estimate that may be sub- uiiltcd to the Company by the Chief Eni^ineer ; as well as upon ev«My important eiij^ineerinii- question that may arise, durin*r.the construction <»l' the road. All these matt«Ts will undoubtedly present thcmselvts to th«' minds of the Direc- tors, whenever the matter may be taken uj) lor considera- tion and final action. I detnn it, however, to be a matter of especial duty, l)efore leavinir the subject, to endeavor to divest the minds of the Directors of any idea that this is a personal controversy between the Enirinoor and the Contractor. If the views above expre.ssed are at all in accordance with the true spirit and meaning' of the contract, it must, I think, ])e admitted, that the is.sutj is a direct one between the Con- tractor and the contract with the Railway Company, which he has undertaken to' carry out. The Engineer can have no personal interest in the deci- sion of the question, any further than that, if his views are not sustained, he will be relieved from an immense amount of labour, trouble, and responsibility, for the reason, that the Contractor will have the entire control and respon- sibility of the work in all its varied branches and details ; and it is not difficult to see, as I have no doubt ht» has come to see quite clearly, the very «»Teat advantajres which he would gain by such a state of things. These advantages, if computed in dollars and cents, would undoubtedly amount to a very large percentage, 1 would say, from ten to twenty per cent, or at least a-halt million dollars upon the actual cost of the work ; and it is 14 VIEWS OF THE ENOINEER IN CHIEF therefor*^ to be expected that he will press his views upon the Company by every means at his command. If ho can obtain this concession from the Company at the present time, I r«»gard it as of much greater pecuniary value to him than the concessions which he is asking from the Govern- ment and City, with reference to the payment of their re- spective su))sidies. It will be observed, by referring to his letter of th(? 8th inst., a copy of which is in possession of the Company, that the Contractor does not complain that the lilngineers now «'mployed upon the line are incompetent ; or that the rates of pay are above the standard of the country for similar services and responsibilities ; but he complains that these Engineers have not })een appointed either })y him or with his approval; and that the rates of pay are not precisely such as he had dictated. If any one of the Engineers now employed upon the start" had failed in the proper performance of his duties ; or if the ratios of pay had been higher than those paid upon other roads, ior similar services, the Contractor has no reason to doubt that the matter, upon his representation, would have been promptly corrected by the Cl^ief Enai- neer; and that, if the lijiigineer had failed to do so, an appeal to the President and Board of Directors, to whom the Engineer acknowledges his full accountability, would haA'e received jirompt attention. The Contractor has, however, been furnished with the most incontestible CA'idence that the salaries named upon the pay rolls for the month of June upon this road, are a large percentage lower than upon any other similarly situ- ated road in the country. The evidence above referred to consists of letters i'rom the Chief E';gineers of the Intercolonial, and Montreal wm avo a ' situ- IVoni )iitreal RESPECTINd HIS POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 15 Northern Colonization Railways ; and shows that upon the Intercolonial Railway, the expenses ol' the Engineerinir staff employed duririg active constniction, in the «:^eneral office, amounted to ^516.66 i)er month; and that upon a district of 130 miles in length, the expenses of the Held staff amounted to $P,.000 per mcnth, or |30 per mile. Also, that upon the Northern Co'.onization Railway, undiM- its present orisanization, the expenses of the Enj^ineerinn' staff employed in the gvneral oHice, are ^475 per m,)nth ; and that upon a line of 137 miles in length, the expenses of the field staff" ave $3,700 per month, or $27.15 per mile. Whereas, upon this road under thd present organization, ihe expenses of the staff employed in the general office ar(» $400 per month; and upon the main line of 160 miles, when fully organized, tlie expenses of the field statt' will amount to $3,500 per month, or $21. 87^ per mile. The i)ay rolls for the month of May were made up of persons entirely of iny own uppoiiilment, and the Contrac- tor paid them without any hetitntion. May it not well he asked, therei'ore, wjjy lie paid these rolls, if the appoint- ments were improperly made ^ yVnd haAing done so, is it quite consistent that he shouhl refuse to pay the rolls for the month of June, which, with one or two exceptions, contain the same names that were upon the May rolls, but generally at reduced rates, simply because (to use his own hinguage) he finds o!i the rolls the names ot i)ersons whom he did not emplo) , nor wi s he consulted as to their being «'raployed ? Further than this, the only Resident Engineers, now in charge of construction, were appointed by me solely at the suggestion or dictation of the Contractor ; antl the Con- tractor has never presented me with the name of any person for appointment in the statt", who has not received the ap- IH VIEWS OF THE ENCHNEER IN CHIEF « poiutraiMit at once, if there was a vacancy, even in prefer- ♦•nce to the numeroUM applications on Hie in my office, which are endorsed, and whose ai)pointments are strongly urged by the different members of the Board ol' Directors. I do not conceive, iht'rel'ore, that the Contractor has any just ground oi' complaint, so far as regards the appoint- ments already made ; and if he can show that the salaries are higher ttian they should be, under all the circumstances, it is quite clear that he has an effectual remedy. But inas- much as he does not seek this nouedy, it has become quite clear, at least to my own mind, that he is aiming a deeper, and far more deadly blow at the vital principles which underlie the entire theory and spirit of the contract. It may be proper to state in this place, some of the reasons which induced me to change the heading of the pay roll which is referred to by the Contractor, as among the pro- minent reasons for his not paying the .Tune pay rolls. When I prepared the oriuinal ibrm for the Chicago Con- tracting Company, I was lalwring under the impression that by using the term " Pay roll of lilngineers and Assistants employed by the Chicago Contracting Company upon the North Shore Railway, &;c.," the Kailway Company would be i>rotected from vexatious suits which might grow out of the employment of some of the Engineering staff; and that these suits would be instituted directly against the Contractors, whom, under the contract, I regarded would >)e the real defendants in such cases. Finding however that, notwithstanding this precaution, several suits had been commenced directly against the Railway Company, on account of balances claimed by En- gineers to bo due for services rendered ; and having been informed by the Company's Attorney that the Court would not grant an order of non-suit on account of the particular RKSPECTINO niS POWEBS AND RESrONSlBILITlES. 17 •efer- •ftiro. ngly ors. i any )oii»t- laries Mices, : inas- qiiito which ■easons ay roll ho pro- CVm- on that istantH 1)011 the would ow out f; and nst the A'OUUI heading of the pay roll, and therefore, if judgment was obtained against the llailway Company, they would he obliged to pay it, and charge the amount to the Contractors who had agreed to pay all the «'xpense.s of Engl nee rinii. iSlC, I thought it advisable, in the printing of some addi- tional blanks which were required for my ollicc, to leave out the name of the Contractor, as it appeared to be of no real significance : and I therefore changed the form so as lo read as follows : Pay roll of Persons employed in (he En- gineer Department of the North IShore Kail way," wilhout statin^j by whom, or by whose authority they weri' so em- ployed, although 1 inserted over the column left for signa- tures, the following form of receipt : * lleceived paymenl in full from Hon. Thomas McGreevy, Contractor,'" which, as I supposed, would cover (he whole ground, accordiim' to the terms of the contract. This ohange in the heading of the pay-sheets was adopt- ed before I })ecame fully possessed of the i)re6ent Contrac- tor's views with reference to his riyhts under the contract to appoint the stall, and regulate their salaries ; and it was therefore not regarded at the time, as of any special import- ance; but since the Contractor has asserted his supposed rights with so 'much earnestness and pertinacity, 1 have come to regard the change as quite possil)ly of the most vital importance to the Railway Company, as atiecting the issue now pending l)etween the Contractor and the Com- pany respecting the relative powers and responsi]>ilities of the Chief Engineer and the Contractor, under the existing contract. i^ution. Liist the by En- ijr been t would irticular If the terms " to employ " and '' to appoint " are to be regarded as synonymous, as they certainly seem to be by the Contractor, the form which he so strenuously insists ui)on. when duly certified by the llesident Engineer, approved l)y the Chief Engineer, and signed })y all the subordinate 3 m 18 VIEWS OF THE ENGINEER IN CHIEF irieinhers of the statl", bccomeB a full adiuiHKion on the part of overy one whose name is attached to the pay-sheet, that ho rt'ceivoH his api^ointnient, either directly or indirectly, IVom the Contractor ; and therefore, that the Contractor has a rig'ht to use or employ him as he pleast's. II', on the contrary, the same meanini*- cannot be made to attach to the two ti'rms ; and if, by using* the words " Em- j)loyed by lion. Thomas MeCrreevy," does not directly, or even remotely, imply that the (Contractor has the right not only to appoint, but to make such use of the lilnaineerinir stall' as he may deem i)roiH'r, 1 shall make no further ob- jection to the uso of the original form, provided the Board of Directors, or the Executive Committee, instruct me to do so. I know that the Chicago Contracting Company never attached the least importance to the form as originally pre- pared by me ; but inasmuch es the present Contractor seems to regard it as so particularly important to his own interests that the original form should be restored, I would respectfully advis«' that the most careful consideration should be given to the subject before acceding to his wishes, or rathei' peremptory denuuids. Havuig thus, to the best of my ability and understand- iuff, warned the Directors of the dangers that will inevit- ably result from an erroneous decision of the important matter now before them, I shall await the result with an entire consciousness of having at least endeavored to per- form my duty to the Company, in a matter which I conceive to be of far greater importance than any other which has come before the Board since i have had the honor of being connected with the Road. I hope that it will not be inferred, from what I have said, that I have the least personal feeling in this matter ; or that my views are influenced by any feeling of hostility to- wards the Contractor. 4 RESPECTING HIS POWERS AND REftPONSlBILITIES. 10 part that jctly, tr haK ide to • Em- ly, ov lit not eeriujar cr ob- )ard of ) do 80. nevt'V ly pro- itractov lis own L would U»ratiou to hia jrstand- inevit- ^portant ^ith an to per- tonceive lich has )f bein? ive said, tter; or Itility to- On the eontrar)', I )H»g to assure the Directors that I feel the greatest desire to see the Contractor succeed fully in his great and responsible undertaking ; and to that end, I am prepared, as I always have been, to render him all the assistance in my power, both in season and out of season, so far as I can do so consistently with the ]mramount duties which I owe to the Railway Company. I trust that 1 may be permitted to say further, and in conclusion, that having, at the request of the Railway Com- pany, cast my lot with the people of Canada ; and more par- ticularly with the good people of th« Province and City of Quebec, in connection with the construction of the North Shore Railway; and having, during the past four years, severed all my Imsines.s connections elsewhere ; and devoted my entire time, and the ln?st energies of my mind, to the resurrection of the enterpris*' from the oblivion in which it had been buried during the precedinir fifteen or twenty years, and placing it upon at least an equal footing with other first-class enterprises of the kind in this or any other country ; I shall continue, so long as I am privileged t»» enjoy the confidence of the Board of Directors, to labor in- cessantly lor its successful accomplishment, even though it should be at the sacrifice of my own personal feelings and interests; and also of every other consideration, except my self- respect, and the good name and reputation which I trust have been secured to me, by a somewhat long and eventful professional life. Respectfully submitted, SILAS SEYMOUR, Engineer-in-Chiel". To the President and Directors of the North Shore Railway Company. mre-H, 1874. 4