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D OTTAWA: PnKE PTlESS STEAM PRINTING HOUSE, ELGIN STREET, OTTAWA. 1 8 7 4.. ' '! 8 Oki 1 f mfliioncoH, and tho natural (li»like of men in chargo to be brought into conflict with nieni- hors of Pailiftment, when they feel that the Hyiapathy of tlioso in authority is pretty suro to be favorable to the supporters of the Minihtry. It Ih natural, tliorol'ore, that nien ahouUl ilohiro, umlt'r .such circumstances, to gt-it (ilong with as little oontontion as possible. Tho Freight Agent at St. John had charge of the Freight Department at that place, and in the pciformanco of his duties was responsible to the Htation IVIastor, Because Mr. Pick, the Freight Agent, was boliovod to hold a high position in a society supposed to have gi-eat political influence, his assistance was sought, naturally enough, by all parties seeking Parliamentary honors. lie appears to have deen^ed his inlliienco suflicicntly great to justify him in disren garding tho instructions of his superior, or of obeying them only in such a manner aa absolutely to defeat tho best ellbrta to maintain discipline and secure the pi'opor conduct of the Station V)usinpss. Tho result was, as might bo cxpoctoil, a continued feud, which Mr. Drydgos has termed a " divided responsibility." On several occasions I hold investigations, and did the best I could to promote a better feeling and iiuluce the Freight Agent to co-operate with his sui)erior, but without S.;v^\JUvwl The Station Master, finding that he was pov/erless to remedy the difficulty, deemed it better to let things shape their own course, and have as little as possible to do with the Agent. This may account for tho Station Master's ignorance of tho items which comjiosed the balance of the accounts of the Freight Department at his Station^ at thw particular time when Mr. Brydges was there. The accounts were correct and propei'ly nuiJe v\>, except in the iUm of I'roight in Store," in which the debts were included. The irregularities consisU-.d in permitting these debts to exist for a day, and in en- te' ig them as Freight in Store, as well as in his neglecting to insist at the proper time upon the payment of the charges for demurrage. w I ft I'-'/i Tlio stair at tlii.s Station liiiH boon ruilucod to uonio extent by chaugcs and tlio om- ploymoni uf nioio coiii|)etent nion. Tlio Auditor did not visit tliin Station, bocauso, ho had not tiin(! to do ho, ;nid brcuuHO lie wan satisfied from tho audit at Hcadi|uartci'8, that tho accounfcH were in tho main conect. On tlio disniis'ial of tlio Station Master at Point Du Clien(s T gave Mr. Piek cliargo of that Station, tho duties of which he haa since performed in a satisfactory man- ner. No person has been appointed to (ill tho jilaco vacated by him at St. John, where the work is well conducted. In relation to the balances at Stations, I beg to say that although the amounts in a few cases have been large, yet, it is ditTicult at all times, to avoid having balancoa, which aii; in most cases, remitted shortly after they apj)car. Tho Station Masters and Freiglit Agents as a rule, remit daily and especially, each Saturday, and the last day of evoiy month. These remittances aro sent by an early train, so that the Cashier may get theia the same day. Tho station accounts nro made np to Satiuday evening, and tho evening of the last day of tho month, so that all monies received between the time tho remittuuce was sent in the morning and the close of tho day, must appear in the balance. To adopt any other course, would enable an agent to use the current receipts to pay arrearages and thus commit a fraud. In order to check any undue retention of Railway money, I have given inst' tions to the Station Masters, when showing the balance at any given time, also to show their receipts after their last remittance. The services of tho Travelling Auditor, will also now be available to check mittcrs of this kind. I have now to refer to the agency at Point. Du CJhone, where the Station Master did not appear to yuod advantage, ou the occasion of Mr. Brydges' -visit. The Freight accommodation at Point Du Chene, until the pi'eseut year, has always been so limited, that during the shipping season, the greatest confusion prevailed. The pressure from this cause was so gri^at, that it was dilHcult to do the work, ami it haa been a matter of surprise to many, that the agent got through with it. When the improvements which had been in progress at that place since 1S72, wei-e 10 about finished, the violent gale of August of last year, carried away the Freight ".lOUse. and destroyed a largo portion of the wliarf, .-io tiiat the confusion became intenyfiod, and tho work could with difiiculty, be j)erfornied nt all. J>Mri:;gaIl tJi'.-i tiinr-, an (;lleoLual Audit at the StaLi(jii was sl'uply an ini[!0,shibilil.y, us no inventeiycc ild be taken of tho "Freight in store." Tho result wha, tliat we wore forced to be content with tho Audit of the accounts at Head fjuartcrs, where it was care fully attended to monthly. This audit, was complete up to the opening of navhjation in thejireuent year. . • The only thing remaining to be done, was to give tho station credit for tho tickets which nad been stolen by tho clerks who ran ofK in 1872 and 1873, and some itcins of freight which wore under tho consideration of Mr. Taylor; and to cnf|uiro concerning some other amounts which the agent claims to have paid. • . * Those amounts he included in the item ot " Cash on hand," when accounting for the balance Aw. the railway, as per his statamcnt, every agent being .veoeipts tlierefor, and issue Through Way Bills to each poit of destination. When these goods reach Point du < 'Iicik;, which is the distriljuting point, inasmuch as it is not possible to know which vessel may be able to take them, discretionary author- ity is given to tho Agent to send them forward as rapidly as possible. In some cases, it li<<]ip('ns that one vessel c.innot tiike them all, and tlie Agi'ut is conipelhid to engage another, or hold the balance over for a future trip. Nothing is permitt.iil to be done in a " liaii-hazard " manner, as stated. All goods going from the railway ..n to vessels arc iiecompanied iiy a manifest, iMow- ing the particidars and charges thereon, and tho proportion duo the railway, which must be paid to the Agent, and accounted for by him. The Audit has a t'om])li't'^ oheck upoti the arrangenjents made by the Agent with the vc.isels ; for witliou* ^peci.i! aiitliority, lie can only iiiakc arrangenniils with the (jwiiers l)y agreeing to jiay them the prf)porHon of the through rate lix<;d for th'^ water service, they knowing what these itro[Kjrtions are. With regard to tho Ticket Clerk at llichmoml, who li:i:i since been diselinr..;rd, I need only say, that when the Auditor visited the station in August last year, he icjiorted tliat the Ticket Agent wa;; sliort in \\'v\ vx\v\\. I instructed him at once to r( 'aini to the sin 'on, without giving tlie Tidn t ,\gci\t, notice of his intention to do so, mid make a srcond o\nmination. 12 mi He did this, and found liis accounts in order. 1 subsetjuently iidnionisLed the Ticket Agent, and as he tlien promised that such an irroguhirity should not occur jigain, I allowed the matter to pass. I may add that I felt the same political constraint in this case as in others. L/ rt , Ii\ respect to the amount of §1,750.20 standing in tlic books at PJchmond against the Acadia Coal Company, 1 beg to say that this Company had a contra account for coal supplied to the Railway, but which had not been adjusted. In regard to the Freight Tariff, as it was a matter that cauie directly within the province of the General Freight Agent, I gave him instructions aliout a year ago to pre- pare a Tariff assimilating the rates over the entire system. He was engaged upon it at tlie tioio he left the service, his desire being to nu\kf it vexy complete. > With regard to the condition of the fencing betv/ecn St. John and Moncton T beg to say that the Contract was awarded by the Department to the party making the lowest tender. As he delayed proceeding with the wovk T represented the inattei to the Minister. The Contract was subsecjuently given to another party, and the work is now progressing satisfactoiily. I quite agree with Mr. Brydges when he says that all sleepers should be got out dur- I'.ig the winter, and deposited in convenient spots along the line by the middle of April' that the work of putting them in should be divided over a considerable portion of the sum nier, so that the work can l)e done without the unnocosstiry employment of extra men. I also agree with him in the remarks that the rails requii-ed for the next year should bii decided upon during the Fall of every year, so that the deliveries should commence not later than the fu'st of May, and that they should be laid leisurely during the summer months. I may , ay with r^i^'uri'l to this subject, that the yei'rs 1872 and 1S73 wore altogether exceptions. * The consolidation of the lines, as it is well known, did not take place until the 9tli of November, 1872, and it was late therefore beibre the number of sleepers requin^d could be decided upon, nor was the quantity of rails required known until January, 1873. Tenders for .sleepers were called for and they were i)rocured as soon as possible. The winter was not favorable to their being procured, but they were obtained about as rapidly as thev were wanted. 13 The balance of the rails required wore ordered in January, but owing to the strikes, and the difflculties of getting thia description of materials manufactured thoy could not be shipped from England, until late in the ^Spring, so that the first shipments did not arrive until June. ^' < The Tenders for sleepers for 187 1, were sent unopened to Ottawa, and owing to Iho delays, the contracts were not signed until a later period than usual. The first shipments of rails for this year, were arrang0(' to bo received early in May, but when it was found that the balance of last year's appropriations would not be sufficient ''o pay for them, instructions were given to postpone the shipments one month, in order that the Parliamentary api)ropriations for the current fiscal year, might be available. In regard to the purchase of rails, as this is one of the most important feauires in Mr. Brydges' re2)orts, and as the allegations contained therein concern me personally, as I am altogether resi)onsible for having in tlie performance of i)iy duty, ordered them, I feel it necessaiy that I should vindicate myself from the churge of having purchase! at higher rates than were current in the market. In the first placo, let me correct an error in Mr. Brydges' figures. The rails for 1873 were purchased at £U 12s. and jEH, not £1G 12s. and j£17 10s. per ton. In July, 18T2, I directed Messrs. Haws &. Co. to procure and ship 500 tons of steel rails on account of the European and North American Railway (Shediac line). This lot was arranged for early in the fall of that year, at j£1G 12s, although the lowest price at which the Mei-sey Steel and Iron Company at Liverpool, would then engage to deliver this quantity in the spring of the following year was £19 sterling, net cash, or £2 8s. higher per ton than Haws & Co., purchased for, as will be seen by refer- ence to the letter of the Secretary of that Company, da^ed 22nd August, 1872, a copy of which will hereinafter be found. These rails formed part of the shipment of tlie spring of 1873. , ,,,v ;- ,_^, Just before my departure for England, in January, 1873, after a consultation with the Engineer, I found that rails to renew twenty (20) miles of the line would be required as soon as ])ossible. I took the order wi ih me, and on my arrival at Liverpool, requested Messrs. Haws &, Co., who had always done the rail w.'iy business in England satisfactorily, to see upon what terms they could secure 2,000 tons of the best description of these rails, for early spring shipment. They accordingly sent to me in London an offer of .£17 free on board at Liverpool, and as I found, after making personal enquiry, that this ofl'ei- was better than could bo done elsewhere, I directed them to accept it, upon the undei-standing that the rails should be shipped early. 14 At tills timo, it must be borne in niiiul, tuat the iron market was in a most anomalous state, strikes were raging througliout the whole of England, and makers were not disposed to I! udertake any more contracts. At the time tliis purchase was made, rails were being booked for 1874, at paces varying from .£17 lOs. as high as .£19, and from January to July, 1873, the prices of steel rails ranged from .£1G 10s. to .£18 sterling, the latter price being freely paid for such first.class brands as that received. M. W In confirmation of this, I beg to refer you to a copy of a letter from Mr. James S'.'iimj)son, Liverpool, which will hereafter appear in this report, together with a copy of a letter from the ILematite Iron and Steel Company (Jjinilted) of J3arrow, dated the 13th February, 1873, by mIucIi it will be seen that they cotild not " entertain any further " orders for steel rails for deliveiy this year." Mr. Brydges in his report says : " The highest price paid for rails by the Grand Trunk Railway at this time was j£16 per ton." I understood from Mr. Brydges, that this was for a i)urchase of six thousand (6,000) tons by the Grand Trunk Railway (f. o. b.) at Barrow, from the house which on the IStli February, 1873, refused to "entertain any farthei orders for steel rails" for that year. The question may now fairly be asked when did the Grand Trunk Company make tJieir eontract 1 The letter from the Barrow Company which I have qnoted, distinctly shows that it must have b(;en before we went into the market, and that the Grand Trunk Railway rails were not " bought at the same time." Mr. Brydges, when manager of the Grand Trunk Company, doubtless gave this Barrow firm ej^tensive orders from time to time, and being so good a customer, he was naturally in a position to get l)etter terins than smaller buyers. It must also be borne in mind that I ordered only two thousand (2,000) tons of a special section, at a time when houses were filled with orders and at a late season of tlie year for eorly delivery. The freights paid were the prevailing rates in Liverpool at the time they were shipped. Respecting the rails for 1874, seventeen hundred and sixty tons were pvu'chased in December last at £1.') 10s. for shipment to St. John, and seventeen hundred and sixty tons in January, 1874, for shipment to Halifax, at X15 15s. per ton, and I have every reason to believe that the same prudence and care, were exercised in this purchase, as in the case of those arranged for ))y Messrs. Ifaws t& Co., in 1872 and 1873. ii as in 16 Printed trade circnlai-s wliicli I have in my possession give tlic following prices during the months of December, 1873, and January, 1874, for rails, ordinary sections and specifications : — •' December 1st, 1873 £1G 00 to £18 00 " 4th, " 16 00 to 17 00 January tnC, 1874 IG 10 to 17 00 " 22d, " IG 00 " 29th, " IG 00 • These figures will, I think, show that the rails purchased by Messrs. Haws ife Co. for this railway in December last au £15 lOs., and in January at £15 15s., free on board, were below the cuiTont market rates. It must also bo borne in mind that these rails were all of a special section a/nd of fu'st-class brands. When the question of the purchase of these rails tirst oamo up, on the occasion of the iii-st visit of Mr. Brydges, I at once wrote to Messrs. Haws &. Co., under date 13th Jime, and received from them a reply dated 30th June last. The following is a copy of that correspondence, with letters from Mr. James Simp- son, The Mersey Steel and Iron Company (Limited), the Secretary of the Htumatito Iron and Steel Company, Barrow ; and also from M-essrs Sanders Bros., Liverpool. Mr. Cauveli. to Messks. Haws & Co. ./ ' 33 The Albany, " Liverpool, June 30, 1874. "Dear Sirs, " We have your favor of the 2Gth inst., and cannot but express our surprise at any such question being raised as you have laid before us. The purchases you made fron?. us, have, it is true, turned out unfavorably, though on the other hand, had there been an advance instead of a dccliue, your buyers would have congratulated themselves that the market had gone in their favor. The prices paid at the time the contracts were lu i were the current figures of the day, as a refer- ence to the circulars enclosed, which are issued by the leading railway iron brokers in this country, will readily show. .A 18 " The course of a market subsequent to the conchision of a purchase is beyond the control either " of a buyer or seller, ami is a uontiaguncy the purchaser has always to couBidor, " Exceptionally nhfavorablo circumstances have developed themselves within the last six "mouths, causing a stagnation of trade and depression of prices in iron, s^.oh as no one could antici- " pate or guard against in any way. " In fact so uncertain was the future, that many makers declined to contract for forward "deliveries at all — the prices asked for all doscriptiona of raw materials being so extravagant that "they preferred to wait until matters became more settled before committing themselves to actual " saIcs "(Signed) SANDERS BROS." I think this correspondence will show conclusively that the vails were at least pur- chased upon tlie best terms i>i'evalent at the time. I was in England, as I have already said, when the 2,000 tons (the major portion of the sliipment of 1873) was bought, and can state .tliat every reasonable effort was made to make au advantageous purchase, and although I was not present when the rails for 1874 were contracted for, I had no reason to believe that any less care and atten- tion were used than in the case of the former order. The rails for 1873, through an oversight on my part, were all shipped to St. John, instead of part to Halifax. I did not discover this omission in time to correct it. With regard to the statement made by Mr. Brydges that " the price charged by the " Spring Hill Collieiy is $3 75 a ton, and by the Pictou Coal Company $3 25, and " that he has no doubt whatever that arrangements can be made to get this coal supplied " at least $1 cheaper a ton than the lowest price mentioned." I desire to say, that the railway only paid the Spring Hill Company $3 per ton for coal supplied in May, and $2 75 \)gv ton in June and pi-ior to Mr. Brydges' visit, I notified the Managing DLttotor that we would not pay more than £2 50 in July, and that the rail- way would expect +o have the advantage of any further reduction in the market, as coal was everywhere receding in price. With regard to coal from the Pictou Company, the pidce we had been paying at the junction of the coal lines with the main line was $3 25, the rate at one time was as high as $3 50, to which figuie it had gi-adually advanced, as coal was in demand from $2 in previous years, but as the price receded about the 1st May to $3, f. o. b., vessels at Pictou Landing, and the mining company having to pay the railway carriage 25c. per ton, I refused to pay more than $2 75 per ton at the junc- tion. I was satisfied from the generally depressed state of business that the rate would soon become $2 50. Under these circumstances, the saving would be only 15 cents per ton, which on 20,000 tons, arranged for by Mr. Brydges, would be $30,000 instead of $25,000 which he claims will be " the reduction in the cost of fuel under the new contract." and for l^a: control cither the last six I could antici- i for forward avagaut that ^es tu actual BROS." t least pur- ajor portion effort was en the rails I and atten- 19 p St, John, ict it. rged by the ?3 25, and il supplieil per ton for , I notified at the rail- as coal was , the piico 13 25, the vanced, as »ut the 1st ing to pay t the junc- •ate would , which on which lie But I must liero state tliat in July, I was notified by the Vale Coal Company that th« prio5 of their coal was r(Mlucod to '$2 :io or ten ceiitu pnr ton, less than the contract, and I have no doubt whatever that at any time since, the railway could have contracted ifor 10,000 to 20,000 tons at from .$2 to $2 10 per ton, so that compariug the contract J)rice with the rate at which the coal niiglit since have been arranged for, the contract occasions a loss of about $5,000 instead of a gain of $25,000. Another important qucstioa dealt with in Mr. Brydges' report is the Stores De- partment. I at once admit that the aP'iirs o"^ that dejjartment were not in the .satisfactory condition which I could have desired, and that in some cases, the stock of material was in excess of the requirements. In the foregoing part of this rrport, I endeavored to sliow the loose state into which this department had '"alien from various causes. I explained, how, on tJie transfer of the offices to Moncton, there was :io proper system of check on accounts to meet the recpiire- jnents of the newly amalgamated stores. That, as a temporary expedient I had, in order to meet promptly the requirements of the railway, to send Printed Order Books to the Station Masters at Richmond and St. John, with instructions to grant orders in my name for necessary material called for by the local storekeepers on the requisition of the heads of departments. I also explained how, at this important juncture, I was obliged to be absent for Several months, and how, instead of the system of issuing orders for stores in my name 'at Halifax and St. John, being only allowed to remain in existence for a few weeks, .intil a proper system could be adopted, it remained in force for a period of about six months, I also took occasion to state the steps which I adopted, soon after my relurn, to femedy the condition into which the Stores Department had drifted, first of all l)y with drawinjr the Order Books from Halifax and St. John and issuing all orders direct from the General Storekeeper's office at Moncton, under such a system as I could enfoi'ce in. the face of their being no general check ledger account of each article, which left me no alternative but to rely ujwn the discretion of the heads of departments, not to order in , Excess of what was actually required. ' I have also shown that although the late General Storekeeper no doubt endeavored to do his best under the circumstances, he fell very far short in maintaining control over Ilia department. ?' . ' \. % As my time was so completely occupied with the affairs of the railway generally, it Ivas simply impossible for me to attend to every detail of the service, and I was obliged lifter giving them proper instructions (which I did) to rely upon my principal officers to attend to details, concerning their respective departments. Of course it is easy to understand that in making an inspection, such as Mr. 20 Bryilges ditl, tbero is an evitlent incliimUon not to understato flio weak points, from wliich past exporicnco sliows no railway in free, nor to manifest any anxiety to give credit where credit is due. In i-egard to the alleged extraordinary quantity of iron castings which is said to be on hand, it is to be borne in mind that our engines and cars are of an iinusimlly great variety for onr system of railway, and as such castings arc liable to be called for at any time, in case of accident or emergency, we are necessarily compelled to keep a larger Bupply on hand than would be reipiired if our engines and cars were of a uniform pattern. In order to show that this will account for the quantity of this description of material in store, I beg to refer you to an ai)pended statement of the castings on hand at Moncton and Ilichmond, which will, I think, prove that as there are upwards of 300 patterns at Moncton and 270 at Richmond, the quantity of each kind in store is not very " exorbitant." It will be noticed that the quantity at Moncton was swelled by a considerable num- ber of castings saved from the fire at Shediac, which will have to be sold, as they have been rendered unfit for use. To show how the (juestion of bar iron and castings stands at the present time, I beg to make the following statement, which gives the actual stock at Moncton and Rich- mond, on the 30th June and 30th Sejjtember, respectively : DESCRIPTION. m m Refined Bar Iron . . . Lowmoor do. Refined Boiler Plate Lowmoor do. Sheet Iron Russia Sheet Irou . . Galvanized do. Roofing Iron , Tank do Hoop do Angle & T Iron Swedes do Iron Castings Brass do Stock at Moncton. Stock at Richmond. 30th June. 30th Sept. 30th June. 30th Sept. IN LBS. 123,158 IN LBS. 84,070 IN LBS. 89,308 IN LBS. 31,468 2,636 13,683 19,732 17,420 8,257 6,059 14,378 8,298 iH5 772 33,602 49,216 1,188 1,840 8,116 6,406 '430 200 335 — 1,210 1,139 237 — 7,989 6,229 — — 1,680 1,357 — — — — 110 110 — — 1,455 1,277 — — 4,547 4,547 97,624 80,652 148,560 122,690 4,865 4,902 8,968 7,355 21 It will thus bo seen from the ahovo and the statoraenta appended hereto, tlmt whilHt there wore in stock at Moncton on the 30th September al)Out 42 tons of bar iron, they included 7.'f. difTcront kinds, that whilHt the stock of Lowmoor bar iron was efpial to about 7 tons, it included i) dillbrent kinds, that wliilst the iron castings were equal to about 40 tons, they included upwards of 200 difleront patterns ; that whilst the bar iron at Richmond, at the same date, amounted to loss than IG tons it included 47 difforout kinds ; that whil.st the Lowmoor bar iron was less than 9 tons, it included 24 diflbront kinds, and that whilst the castings were about 02 tons, they included 270 patterns. In considering these statements, it should be borne in mind that the outsizes of iron have generally to be specially imported, and a larger stock is necessary than otherwise would be. The consumption of those articles for tlic last fiscal year was as follows : — lbs. liefined bar iron 4 19,255 Lowmoor " 12,748 Boiler plate " 31,158 Sheet " 46,064 Galvanized " 2,108 Russia " 1,529 Tank " 6,336 Angle .kT. " 703 Iron castings 418,707 Brass " 21,776 Aa Mr. Brydges refers very specially in both his reports to the springs purchased last year from Messrs. Fraser, Reynolds ik Company, Halifax, I beg to ex])lain as follows : — As I have before stated. Printed Order Books were sent, in Docembe", 1872, to the Station Master at Halifax, so that on the requisition of the local storekeeper such necessary materials called for by the head of the Locoraoti\e Department at Halifax, might be procured. On th« 24th March, 1873, when I was in England, it appears that the master mechanic applied for a large supply of springs, whereupon an order on Messrs. Fraser Reynolds & Co., (who supplied the railway stores required in Nova Scotia) was made out for him by the Station Master at the instance of the local storekeeper. I knew nothing of this transaction until a commercial traveller came to me during the summer of 1873, and presented a specification of springs which he said had been ordered for the railway, but which being refused, were then lying in the warehouse at Halifax. He said ho was desirous of selling them upon reasonable terms, but I refused to buy. ft k ilii In the month of November or DouomlMir, when tlio montlily account of MesHra FrH«er, lleynolclH ik Company was priiHontcd, I foiiiitl that a (luantity of sin-ingH, oor- ru8i)OQ(Ung with tho Hpeciticatiou haiidod tu me by tho travollur to whom I have alluded, wore charged thoroin. Suppuging them to )>o thu numo nprings, I immediately directed tho item to bo erased. Shortly after this, 1 received a message from MesHrs Frasor, Koyuolds «k Co., asking why the item for springs was struck out of their account. . I replied that an explanation was ncoeH.sary. Soon after this, (being in Halifax) I called upon Messrs. Froser, Reynolds ik Co., to know what the transaction meant. They immediately presented to mo the order referred to of the 24th of March, informing n»e hat they had imported tho springs in accordance therewith ; that when the first lot arrived, they were not the same as the specification called for, and they had refused them, the parties shipping having at once duplicated the order as per specification (which ncluded a patent right) and that as the springs had been furnished to tho niilway in good faith, they expected to get paid for them. I then objected that the price Wsis very much too high, when tlioy said they had jiaid a very high rate for them. I still objected to tho prioc as extravagant, when they said that if I preferred it they would make out tho account at tho price which they paid for tho springs, and charge tho railway all the; expenses attending them, with five per cent, commission. , I at once said that I preferred they would take this course, which they did. An account in tliis form was subsequently presented and paid. As Messrs. Fmser, Reynolds & Co., held our order and were not limited to price, I did not see any other course to pursue. Referring to the (piestion of prices, I would state that in New Brunswick, the rule has been to purchase stores, etc., in the cheapest market, but in Nova Scotia the practice has been quite different. There the princii)le has been in force for years that (in some important matters at least) " to the victora belong tlie spoils," ,so that when Governments have changed, it has been generally expected that the supplying of stores and the printing would be handed over from one party to the other. When I was in Nova Scotia in 1869, the stores were generally purchased from Messrs. Black Bros. & Co. When I resumed charge of the railway in 1872, Messrs. Fi-aser, Reynolds & Co. had the railway account, and after the recent change of Govern- ment, I was directed to purchase siich stores, not procured by tender or contract, as 28 might ho itHjuirod for tlio uhb ol' tho ruilway in Nova Scotia, from Black HroH. Jf Co.' who oxpoctcd a commiHHion to he jtaid to them on all stores in which they ilid not thoin- Belvcs deal, hut had to go out to huy. I wiiH Hiibscnjueiitly uiatructed to purchaHe only gii h storett from that tlrm ah they dealt in. , Under Riich a system, higher prices have no douht been i)aid than if we had hoon jM'imittod to huy in tho cheajtest market, irrespective of partiej. J should add, however, that I have nicently boon directed to procure stores, and gt^t the printing done on the best possible terms. It ia true, as Mr. J3!ydgcs says, that there is no " ledger account for each article" kept in the general storekeeijcr's otHce, althoiigii arrangements for such a system had been made. With the staff then in the Stoics Department, it was impo.ssihle up to tho time Mr. Brydges was at Moncton to get this lodger started. The book-keeper was fully employed and the other clerks in that ollicc were not capable. This was one of tlie reasons why we were unable to exercise aa full a clieck as was desii-able in tho procuring of stores. The difliculty is now being remedied as rapidly as pos.sible. In the meantime only such stores are being purchased as are absolutely ncces" sary for immediate wants. With regard to the stock of stores to be kept on hand, whilst I am satisfied that we could get along with two months' supply of tho material which could be procured in Canada or tho United States, it wouUl not bo possible to do so, with the supply of articles required tv. be imported from England, Our experience has been that it takes three months, sometimes four or five, and even six^months, to procure special descriptions of articles from England. The stock, how. ever, shall be kept down to the lowest possible limit. The variation of one thousand dollars in a total stock of .$ 162,24fi .32 at the three stores, Richmond, Moncton and St. John, is not I think, a very formidable item, when it is considered that at the time Mr. Brydges asked for the figures, the books were not in a condition to affoi'd the information, and the statements had to be made from the best data to be obtained, in a most hurried manner. ' , >' Indeed, considering that at the time of his visit, the stafl' were steadily preparing to have everytliing ready by the 30tli June, the end of the fiscal year, and not by tlie second week in June — the time of the inspection — and that they were taken unprepared, I am rather surprised the returns came out as wall a-t they did. Ill 24 I have no doubt that as soon as the Stores Acoouiits arc finally adjusted, the a'ock as taken will always appear as it should, in excess of the balance shown by the books. "With regard to the paragXMph in which Mr. Brydges says ; — *' There Is no si "ment of where the wood and coal is," I may say that a»leuger account is kept in the Stores Department of the quantities received and issued at eacii station, to which coal and wood are supplied, and also of the quantity of wood on the line not delivered to stations ; but the Fuel Ledger at the time of the inspection was very badly kept, and not in a state to afford correct information. I will refer again to this matter when dealing wilh the fuel. In regard to track stores, the statements made Ijy Mr. Brydges are correct. The clerk Avho had charge of the Road Department accounts in the Engmocr's Ofiice, neglected his work under one pretence or another. His conduct was, after a lapse of time, reported to me by the Accountant ; and finding that drunkenness was the cause of the neglect, I at once discharged him. The case was an xcoptionallj aggravated one and I resisted the numerous eflforts which were made to I'estore him. I may say, that this man was directly under the sujwrvision of the Engineer, who was no doubt also influenced by the natural aversion to report neglect or misconduct ; at all events, he did net reix)rt him. The work has since been brought up. |Vevy few of the stores are "obsolete," but those which are, shall be disposed of with- out delay, and every possible exertion made to retluca the stock of material, so that when ^the eld rails now to be taken out of the track are disposed of^ and the stock of wood is consumed, I have no doubt the stock will be very much reduced. I Jiave no doubt idtimatoly tliat the stock will not exceed from .$200,000 to .*260,000, wliich may ])e taken as the working cajatal of the railway. I will nov/ deal with that poition of Mr. Brjdges' rejtorts in which he refers to an alleged deficiency in the stock of fuel. I*^^ would appear as if 4,800 cords of wood had been purchased, at a cost of |6.40 per cord ; that a considerable quantity of the stock on hand Jad been allowed to remain on the Nova Scotia Railway for several years, in a decayed condition ; and that on the 30th June there Avas a deficiency of S,500 tons of coal, representing $11,789.85. I will first refer to the coai, upon which Mr. Brydges has the following paragraph ; — " But there is another very unsatisfactory feature about the coal supply. Certain " stations have been cleared of coal, and after deducting the amount charged out from Uli# i:a 25 " each of these stations, from the quantity delivered to them, tliere has turned out to ho " a 'leficicncy of about 2,500 Ions at a cost of $11,789.85, which there are no apparent " means of accounting for, and which has h;id to be charged out to the ccst of locomotive " working, during the last year. " This very startling state of facts only came out on the completion of the balance " sheet the day before I left Moncton. I have caused enquiries to be made into the " matter, and shall, before long, have furtljer partioulars upon tiio subject, but it is <' inooini)rehensible how in a yeai"'s supj)ly of something like 20,000 tons of coal the»-o " should be found to be at a few stations so enormous a deficiency as 2,500 tons, involv- " ing " loss of nearly $1 2,000." Tliis is no doubt " very startling." There is, })owover, no such deficiency. The following arc the facts : * When on the occasion of Mr. Brydges' second visit my attention was called to the pirge deficiency rei)resented to have taken ])lace in the coal, I was rather surprised, as neither the General Storekeeper or Fuel Ins})ector had said anything to n\e upon the subject. « ■ • It seems that on the 31st INTurch last, tho Storekeeper caused the deficiency which appeared upon the face of the fuel ledger to be written olf, without enquiry as to its cor rectncb.s, and witho\it calling my attention to the matter. When I heard of it, my first inqn-cssiou was, that thei-e n^ust have been some blundering in delivering the coal to the engines, but afterwards, I feared, that it had been short received. I wab aware tliat the railway had not recovered from tlie effects of the extraordinary circumstances preceding and attending the severe winter of '72-'7."^, when cord was often taken wherever it could be founil without regard to orders or rules. * I was prepared to hear of, and 'indeed expected, a deficiency, V.ut not to such an extent as that shown. , I knew that no adjustment of fuel stock had been made on the 30th June, 1873 but T did not learn this until it was too l.nte to obtain correct returns, to that date. It was a difficult matter to take the stock, and I was obliged to duect the Store kefsper to adjust the fuel account as each shed became vacant, and in this way to get the whole matter rectified by the end of the financial year. Upon considering the matter, it was important first to know it all the coal repre- 26 sented by the vouchers to have been purchased, was actually received. To satisfy myself upon this point, I ascertained that the consumption per 100 miles run of the engines (the alleged deficiencies being included) was as follows : — 1872 .. 75.41 bushels. 1873 '. 74.71 1874 66.57 " This assured me that ohere was no serious error in the actual receipts, but to be certilin that my view was c -^rrect, I examined the vouchers and found that where the purchases had been made by tho chaldron, the quantity had been converted at the rate of 44| bushels per chaldron, instead of at 36 bushels, I wo lid here explain that our coal accounts fn the fuel books are kept in bushels. The effect of this error in a single item of 795 chaldrons (which appears in the accounts) was as follows : — ' Bushels. 795 chaldrons at 44J bushels 35,377 795 chaldrons at 36 bushels 28,620 Balance over-charged to Station 6,757 It then occurred to me that a.2 4 2 1 5 1 1 8 r^ 4 (•) 5 4 4 7 16 2 8 2 9 7 6 1 8 12 5 15 8 103 3 4 2 2 8 4 5 5 2 2 9 5 2 1 1 1 2 9 2 5 4 2 4 2 3 5 1 1 2 3 8 LBS. 44 Pine bends 53 Pino beiida 28 31 Bull Stand . . 72 25 (( 30 (( 37 KfifiGutrif: str*iim 76 35 1,171 Steam chest cnvprs . .i*. ... . 57 It t( i< 77 89 1,254 OK 01 II << 76 1,248 (I *( 66 Hit 63 Ill* 41 till , . . 80 * II l< 50 1, l< 38 1,254 1,142 I< 11 50 III! 42 II II 70 II '1 aT»r»\"' nlmifrli 48 6,691 " " cars 12 11 " S iiloufh 35 1,611 tt n , , , . . 56 it u 30 1,610 tt it ^ ; »t H , ti it 50 55 48 1,146 48 tt tt 42.. 75 90 04 75 54 tt it 84 1,117 1,141 Sidilloa 78 Housings 8team packing 81 82 80 1,095 II II 165 37 1,270 1,227 1,144 58 II 67 II 55 11 50 1,694 60 35 85 II II 72 1,200 II K II .< . 165 131 <1 II 224 II << ■*■'..... 213 180 It 11 78 (< «< 120 m\ m 34 Richmond Store. — Continued. No. of Patterns. No. of Pieces. Desckiption. • Weight of each Piece. 1,1G1 1 5 22 <; 1 1 2 1 1 t 1 2 2 2 I i 4 3 3 1 3 6 5 1 1 6 3 1 7 8 1 26 1 2 8 65 12 9 9 62 59 40 23 137 18 20 28 41 43 15 17 11 5 6 38 74 68 11 9 15 2 Draw bar castiiiM LBS. 42 .. «-"„""«» 62 1,613 <( (( 100 1,004 (1 It 124 Pipe, 3-way 75 . ~ \ ti tl 89 ' ' 1 - " bend 76 62 ' (1 139 Engine bufFera 120 Pistdn rings 128 Gear wheels 202 »( II 209 Bolt machine 212 1,191 Housing or oil box engine 159 5S 30 (iO 52 17 11 1 47 53 20 80 57 73 190 148 52 19 7 11 21 9 7 127 31 11 15 <) 4 153 9 29 U 20 7 30 11 1 2 30 7 (5 6 14 13 3 18 2 18 2 20 208 84 52 Door hHiIos L1I8. 4 Door slidos 1 TruHH stay braokctH, D uurs 22 l,(i29 Hocking blocks 1(> bottoms 12 l,()52 Bearinj? " 14 Kockiui' " 21 >> CI 7 1,()9(J Chiilini' plates 5 U ti '^ 1,705 1 Jrake rod brackotft 3 i( (( it li 1,()97 Washors , , •> a 3 " (lot) .582 1,(575 Brake stand brackets 3 1,(144 Bolster hanger brackets 4 Spring washers 9 Top plates, A Cars 5 • ,{ tt (> (( (( 5 t( ii 5 it << (> 1,873 Oil box doors 5 Oil box doors (> l,(!f)8 Bearing box 1(5 l,(j()9 " Idock 7 1,<)14 Truck stan Washers I Konkor stands 21 I*rau8eni atav brackets - . 5 Tirake screws G 3i 17 ((it «i 1,080 TTondpr brakes . .....««*...>•* 24 Throttle valve ........* 13 41 Castings . ... i 12 1,168 1,190 11 »i 10 (< (( 13 1,124 1,1<)9 1 U)3 (( (( 11 (1 (< 13 11 t( 25 1 1()5 " " . . . 30 i,r.i() 1,247 1,250 Pieces stay brackets 23 30 23 riimtint^a . »...., 11 Thimbles i Pnlleva - • • 3* Oil box doors 5 36 11 iciJMOND Store. — CotUimieil. No. of rattcrns. I,(,'81 ^^'r,o No. of I'icccH. 1.5 I 1 I.-. II •)■> ;{ I a 4 180 40 24 71 11 I'i 7:{ 1Q<) 8 Hi 11 9 S 7 fi 4G 9 6 10 DjWCUll'TlON. Brake Btaml ImliU'i (Jiwt iron piiin liOt of thimbles IJnvkt shoe eiigiiu! Sigiml iM.,.t briiukots. . . l*iuko Imnyor bracketa . liolhtrH I'ullcys, (huil)le " siiii'lo Sanil box 110 AD STOCK. T Piiiil slide chairs Fluniiiig rail wliile chaira. crossing. Wiiig rails Joint slide chairs . Connecting chairs . H Hail chairs H H H 11 H II H H slide . joint. " joint chair " " slide. Swritch frames, 2-throvv. . . (( (( t> t( 3 Weight of each rieoo. 7 :w 'M io:j IS :t 7 27 IJ t; •M lit •JO •24 :m f)7 m •20 (i.5 :r.\ x\ 70 .S8 70 48 r)0 7.-1 44 i;}!) ISO 1-20 (SigJT J. R. FI5A.SER, STCRKKEErrU, Halifax Store No. 2. ight MONCTON STORK. Statement siiowinii tiik Numher of Pieces oe Castinos ox Hand. No. of No. of Piitturiis. I'iocoB. I 82 10 12 u 15 » 4 18 10 If 2 IB 30 20 41 > 2()i 33 i •_'l 1 27 7 30 20 34 5 85 8 48 9 4P 3 50 7 M 7 r.9 7 (19 5 75 3 80 3 82 3 84 o 85 oo 87 o » 5 8t 4 91 8 95 I 105 9 1«7 3(> 121 1 115 Iti 178 13 173 9 185 1 198 G 155 •> IOC 15 188 ' 1 103 4 187 1 1()5 10 DEBCttimoN. T'licking rinj^ for Nob. I ami 2 cngincH Tnick friction bloclis for V. cars PJHtoii packing Laiiip hrackut Rocker aatliUo Axle box wedges Hangers Bracket Ito'.'ker grate seat Coal grate for miss eugiuea, Spindle caps Axle box covers Front truck beam ends Spring pocket, ir ' is engines Spring face, miss engines Front oil caps, niis.s engines Pattou's centre front truck beam Springs for fare feeders Drawing stowage box for Nos. 3 and 5 enginus. Thimble for engines Nos. 3 and 5 Steam pipes for 31 and 32 Brac;ket for break spindle and cars AVashers for giiard rail Break rod Brackets Draw bars for snow plows Cab coinice pieces for cab roof. Copying press Front truck thimble for miss engines < irate 1 lar for brass furn.ice Housings for old hand cars Crate bar engines, 37 and 38 Piston follower Tank valve ( ! oose neck engine, .30 and 38 Diamond smoke stack miss engine Axle box for Harris cars Horizontal steam pipe I'ront truck, thimble miss engines 40 and 66 . Horizontal steam pipe , Weight of each Picco. i-rs. 12 9 19 28 2i 47 7 2i 2i 26 60 3 6 38 51 30 5i 14 (» 14 15 248 4 2 3 70 80 45 18 34 7 4 35 85 58 16 116 43 232 12 241 7 38 MoNCTON Stoue. — Continued. No. of \o. of Patterns. Pieces. 151 4 198 1 201 16 292 7 259 23 279 ■ 4 295 f> 252 o 265 I 209 48 254 3 291 1 278 2 268 1 277 69 207 48 290 2 305 43 359 3 361 10 335 4 327 5 363 12 325 4 389 1 390 5 309 4 365 4 440 28 455 54 445 5 46? 4 467 2 473 6 497 o 435 7 400 30 405 3 447 5 4M 1 460 15 434 T 413 .T 406 , 1 402 1-2 5:50 4 588 11 538 1(> 536 4 261 1 338 6 503 11 .'>46 1 ')42 20 545 1 573 47 .561 84 . .^74 227 578 8 544 1 548 4 DEsctiirTioK. Weight of each Pie<;e. Goose neck for engines Piston glands engines 32 to 30 Miss rod seal , Kailw.ay wag;;ou wheels Side valve spring Rayher spring seats Cylindc cover front Short doubiO exhaust pipe , Washers for wood lathe Front truck pvle box Drawing axle box wedge . Slide valve for engine No. (iO Air vessel engines 39 and i)() Cylinder flange fumes for shop tools . Division rings for engines 1 and 12 Axlb box for E and N. A. R. cars Bat tone centre for front truck engines 32 to 36 . Spring rockers front truck Front truck sponge box Housings for hand larry Spring toe Friction block for front truck miss engines Front truck centre Arch for iron cat miss engines Front truck arch box No. (J6, &c Tender draw head Front track axle box cover Trip seat for Hat cars Axle box cover for engine 39 Front truck sponge box for engine 40 Pistons for engine 39, &c Front half cf eccentric strap enguie 30 Goose neck iiunip for engine 41 Long step i r miss engines Axle boxes for cars Oil can seat for miss engines Front truck axle box for engine No. 40 Pump air vessel , Axle box wedge fov engine 66, &c Step Thimble Drawing sponge box Pump air vessel Sponge box for engine No. 7 Spring guidi' tor front truck miss engines .... Blocking hanmier for ccipper-imith Housings for spring box Spring washer Sand box cover , Branch pipe fur tender trucks Front drawhead for engines t'huek for facing steam pipes Draw bar brackets for A^cars I )oor step ]?rake head lift Brake head lluck for Dubb's engine Brake shoe Spring seat, D. cars Button centre eaetingp, A cars. , , LBS. 16 9 7 S 6 70 57 I 96 7 84 35 4i 2 60 2 82 32 12 12i 11 20 40 27 66 165 5 27 3 12 56 53 25 25 44 5 70 17 8 2 6 33 18 26 24 10 28 11 11 20 4,- 19 2(» 22 112 H 52 95 48 39 MoNcTON Stoke. — Continued, No. of No. of Patterns. Pieces. 540 4 5lfi 4 .'502 1 504 1 570 6 5(i8 1 518 1 528 4 527 1 C07 <) W't 23 C!»t 129 d(59 3 695 7 672 5 692 24 690 14 663 102 680 54 682 24 689 16 632 4 658 2 698 50 691 'JO 625 2Gi) 673 66 674 54 687 94 617 4 697 4 631 74 636 S7 678 .i8 601 4 661 7 605 17 618 10 759 21 762 2 702 101 751 1 741 6 756 2 729 14 713 1 739 •> 733 2 784 20 744 3 716 11 715 7 725 59 721 o 706 10 745 45 747 1 1064 1 1702 4 1603 3 1617 . 1 DEscRirnoN. Weight of each Piece. Friction plates for A Cars I'late wheel ftir baggage waggon . Draw plate front for tender Axle box thimble Fecu Screw — Shop tools Pistim division ring, 37 and 38 engines. , Piston follower engine 1 and 2 Piston for engines 1 and 2 , Wheel for stationary hand barrows .... Axle boxes for Scotch tenders and card . Break shoe for cai-s Lathe cruck for American lathe Spring manger washer, engine No. 41.. Friction plate for Portland cars Patchct for brake for 1) cars Brake ratchet covers, D cars Door slide for C cars Bolster friction plate, cars Spring seat, C cars Bracket for break screw, C cars Steam chest outside cover, Dubb's engine, Sprin'i seat, V. cars (new pattern) Brake screw b"acket * Brake head, N.S. cars Male centres for cars Female centres for C cars Car box covers Short steam pipe for enginu 41, &e Washer Truss seat for D cars Spring Ixilster for C cars Drawing axle box Back for snow plough Sponge box Housing for tirst class cars Front truck axle box Truss seat for old 1) cars For blacksmith shop • Draw bars Cylinder cover for No. 20 Bracket for front of track spiing, D cars Furnace door Bench for valve cli inner.. .^. Sponge box for engine No, 7 Ring for smoke stacks, engines 3 and 5, &c Centre for new I) cars Centre for new D cars Axle box wedge Housings Sti.aui pipe for No. 41 W£ishers for D cars Eccentric strap front, shaft engine ()(> [ Miss castings from Nova Scotia Mi.*s castings from Novn Scoti.i LBS. 35 17 l(i 44 82 no 11 so 11 12 3 24 6 3 4 () 6 11 78 10 14 17 40 28 4 141 16 >'r. 4' 13 85 11 19 UM» (10 3 20 107 i4t; 31 2(> 20 16 31 ".> 57 6 1.V2 90 •> 42 7r> 20 10 21 s 40 M o^XTON Store. — Continued . No. of No. of PatteniB, Pieces, 1190 3 I'ilO 9 722 9 45 3 411 2 1(52 24 249 3 20.3 9 5(.' 18 7(i7 2 779 '> 7S0 o 778 2 !)9 28 135 3 784 4 78 1 237 o 785 3 786 1 041 95 (iO 4 079 2(> 790 3 108 4 7n.s 1 792 ()S 32.3 1 798 157 808 I 80ri 1 79(> 1 (>0() 4 255 12 DKSCr.IPTION i Miss castings from Nova Scotia Buffer bars Piston packing engine, No. 41 Stake jjackct for flat cars Tralby wheels for track Front truck thimble, No. G(), &c Switch step for track Cylintler back, No. GG, &c S2)ring washer Spring link Strainers for tender engines 41, &c S([uare washer ventilator for A cars Spare wheels for hand ears Sponge box drawing axle, engine 41, &c. . Throttle gland for Cars No. 20 Eocker seat for iron truck Pump gland, engine No. (iO r Tender draw bar. No. G6 Swinging bannister, plate bars and tender Axle box /or tenders 30 to 3G Swinging bolster Casting for plate bar lever, engine GG, &c. Bust for hawsing for house ears Bracket for travelling train on track Axle box wedge for ilat cars Patch for travelling crane on track Bottom for smoke stack, engine 6C Arch for copy press' for oHice Branch for testing patent valve chapase . . Thimble for Uubb's engine Oil caps for eccentric straps Weighii of each Piece. LBS. IG 45 53 35 17 90 G 5 2415 19 33 13 Ih 2G" '2H 20 32 11 S? H 4i oi -•J 115 4 81 4 65 28 23 14 (Signed) D. PATTINGER, General, tS'lonkixjitr. This list does not include the castings saved from Shcdiac (ire, weighing. . . . 22,311 Ib.s. Nor castings without any number, weighing 10,600 " k' m j. 4^. 32,911 (Signed) D. P. ^ / RICHMOND STORE. Statement shewins' the Number of Bars of each size of Refined and Lonmoor Iron. Flat Eetined. Inches. •.ih X 1 4 " S 2 " 1 11 the accountant at 11 Moncton, and whicli is lieiided " Statement of Deficiency and Surjihis of Coal at Stations, ikc," shewing a balance chargeable to the Mechanical Department of 78,599 l)ushel;:, car- ried into the books at a cost of |11,789 85. This account Mr. Carvell saw at the samo time that I did. He was unab'ie to offer at that time any explanation of it whatever, and directed it to be carried to the debit of the Mechanical Department, and to that extent, therefore, swelled the cost at which that de2)artment had Ijcen worked d tiring the year. Mr. Cdrvell promised that ho wordd make enquiry into the matter and let me know the risult of his enquiries. Not getting any explanation, T wrote to him on the 20tirAugust, 1874, saying that the account was entirely incomprehensible, and that I must request some explanation, as the matter could not rest in the shape in which it then was. On the 29th August, Mr. Carvell wrote me an explanation, acopy of which I enclosed to you almost as soon as it reoched me, in a letter dated the 7th September. As my rei)ort to you was dated on tlie iSth August, and his explanation upon this subject was only dated at ]\Ioncton on the 29th August, it is difficult to see how my r(>i)ort could have shown the explanation which he gave to me. Uut as I have already said, as soon as I received it, I forwarded a copy of it in full to you, I confess that, having carefully considered the -xidanation which he has made, it does not explain the matter in a way whi' 'i is satisfactory, in my report of the 18th August, I stated that the deficiency co nly have ari^ieu from one of two causes— either gross carelessness in the system of ch.ii^Lii; ou^ die coal, or that i .!• coal had been paid ;.. • than had been received. Mr. Carvell ..pts the tirat as the jn-oi^r expla- nation, and admits that there had been gross carelessness the mode f charging out this coal. But, I should like to know how it is possible that a system so wrontr. and which produced such disastrous results, could have gone on for a considerable . agth of lime without being detected. It certainly is not a difficult mattef > us Either the oificei-s of the railway knew the fair value of the articles they wore pui-- \JV1A'^(K chasing or they did not. If they did know what the fair value was, certainly they were* not doing their duty in paying fidly double what that fair market value was, and I am bound to add that if they did not know what the fair market value was, they were nut tit to occupy the positions which they held. I cannot for a moment admit that, because an order is given to any firm, and they ai'e not limited at the time of the order to the price which they are to charge, therefore they ai-c at liberty to charge whatever prices they please, no matter if those jjrices are fully double the market I'ate current at the time. 1 shall not lefer more specilicnlly to the accounts of Messrs. Frazer, Reynold's Si Co., be- cause I have fully reported all the facts to you, but I think it right to add that having had the whole of their accounts under investigation, I lind tliat the tutal amount paid to them for the fourteen mouths ended Dccembei', 1873, including the springs now referred to, amoimted to the sum of $86,212.05. I think it also right before lo'aving the question of the stores, to call your altciitiun to the statement made by Mr. Carvell at page 53 of his report, upon the subject of prict-s. He states that in regard to the purchase of stores in New. Brunswick, it had been tlu? I'ule to purchase them in the cheapest market, but that in Nova Scotia, the [u-actice has been quite diffei-ent. He say6 : '-There the principle has been enforced^for years, that in f>ome important 15 " matters at least, Ho the victors belong the spoils," so that when Governments have " changed it has been generally expected that the supplying of stores and the ))rinting •' would be handed o\'er from one party to the other." This statement re(|uires no commcnit, but it is very startling indeed to find that in Canada a practice so demoralizing, and one calculated to be so injurious in regard to out- f lays for the public service, should be boldly stated as having been practiced for a consider- able length of time. No doubt Mr. Car' ell does not make this statement without proper authority, and he niust have received instructions from time to time, in "regard to the carrying out of so disastrous a course ot conduct. Tt woun. be interesting to know the precise terms in which such instructions were gi\cn, but 1 ne(!d hardly submit to you that ihe earliest and most emphatic move ought to be adopted, in order to let it be clearly understood that this very improper practice w ill not for a single instant be any longer tolerated. I think it only necessary to say further, in regard to the question of stores, that Mr. Carvell at page 59 of his report says : " I have no doubt ultimately that the stock will " not exceed from 8200,000 to $250,000, which may be taken of the working capital of "railway." If that is Mr. Carvell's opinior, and beyond all question the lower figure of the two amounts, is the correct one, I should like to know why having had supreme authority P, in this matter, he allowed the stock of stores at the 30th June, 187-1, to stand at no less <^ than the sum of 1381,757.491 I do not think it is necessary to occupy your time with any further observatioiis upon Mr. Carvell's report. I have not treated it in precisely the order iu which the statements api)ear in his letter, but have dealt with these circumstances in such convenient form as will most readily bring all the facts before you. I regret that I liave been compelled to speak iu plain terms iu regard to several of the points to which Mr. Carvell's report refers. I hope I need not assure you that my sole desire has been to put the whole matter before you in such a shape that a remedy might be applied to irregularities of the most serious kind. I am qiiito porsuadod, that Iiy proper management and careful supervision, the rail- ways in the Lower Provinces as they now exist can be M'orked (after everything has been got into proper order, and high-priced stores have been all consumed) without involving a loss to tlie public Treasury. Eritertainiug that oi)inion as strongly as I do, I should have been wanting in my duty if I failed to speak plainly upon all matters where it appeaved to mc that irregu- larities hft-d been committed, ,, ,■; ■^w "IWW 16 It would have been much more satisfactoiy to me if I could have reported that everything was in excellent order, but I had no other courae to take, but to fully explain to you the facts as they actually existed, and point out to you where in my judgment errors have been committed, and where it was possible tO apply a remedy. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, C. J. BRYDGES, General SujKrinte'iwlent Govermmnt Bailwmjs, The Hon. A. Mackenzie, Minister of Public Worfes, J«5., OttaAva, r.^ '^.¥^* - d that xplain graent lys,