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Ystradgynlais Sewerage Scheme…

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Ystradgynlais Sewerage Scheme Muddle A special meeting of the Ystradgyn- lais Council was held on Tuesday, Mr. „J. W. Morgan presiding, to consider the tenders received in connection with -the proposed sewerage scheme. There was a full attendance. THE ENGINEER'S INSTRUCTIONS. i Mr. Gerald Swayne, consultative en- -gineer to the Council, explained that in sending out a letter to the four contractors who had sent in the four lowest tenders he had acted upon the instructions of the committee. He had seen a newspaper report of the pro- I ceedings of the last meeting of the ,Council, and there appeared to be a great deal of misunderstanding. He had taken his instructions on the as- sumption that the prices were secret and had not been made public. "I notice you have the press here to-day. As I have said from the start this business should have been conducted in committee up to the point of the committee recommending the tender for acceptance, but I notice in the papers that certain figures have leaked tout in the meantime." WHO WAS TO BLAME? Mr. D. R. Morgan: I think it would be better for us to deal with the ques- tion from the committeo's standpoint. I take it that all that transpired in committee was to be brought before the whole Council to confirm. Mr. Swavne was to see Mr. Crosthwaite, the Local Government Inspector in re- spect of the deviation of the line of pipes from the towing path to the river bed, and then submit his report to the Council for confirmation. The sending out of letters to the contrac- tors should not have been done before it had been confirmed by the whole Council. Mr. Swayne: I was certainly under the impression that the committee was empowered to deal with the matter up to the point of -advising the Council to accept the tender. I was asked by the committee if I could get the amend- ed tenders in by the following Wed- nesday and that depended upon whether I could see the L.G.B. in- spector. Mr. Dd. Lewis: Let me call the at- tention of Mr. Swayne to one thing at the end of the committee. I happen- ed to be present, but I was not one of the committee. I made the suggestion that we should write to all the con- tractors to recognise their tenders, and the committee decided to write to four of the contractors, and I asked the committee then if their decision was to bo final or if the whole thing was going to come before the Council on Thursday, and the answer I had then was that the matter was coming before the Council to be confirmed. The Clerk: That was after the amended tenders came in. Mr. Dd. Lewis: No, sir. Mr. Samuel Thomas: I hope that is true. I was not present, but I should like every chance of asking Mr. Swayne a few questions. MISUNDERSTANDINGS. I Mr. Lewis Thomas: We did not un- derstand it in the same light as Mr. Swavne understood it. We understood that only the in which there were changes of work was to be decided upon and not the tender throughout. I Now, as for you stating that up to this point it was all private, the facts are against you, because they were public property. We considered it and in the light of the fact that everything was public property I am sure you would agrøe with us that it would not be advisable to consider the bill of quan- tities throughout. KEEPING A SECRET. I Mr. Swayne: As to the ifgures, I was not awaro that they were public property. I understood that the matter had been dealt with in committee and that the matter was secret, but I had to provide against a leakage of infor- mation, and did so by allowing the contractors to revise their prices throughout the bill if they thought fit. Mr. Lewis Thomas said he understood that everything was open until then. "The whole scheme was open for re- t.end(wing, and that only for the four lowest contractors. It comes to that." Mr. Swayne: Yes. Mr. Lewis Thomas: I don't under- stand it in that light. I understood that the particular points in dispute were only open because I would have protested against throwing the whole scheme open from the beginning to end. I should have protested because it should have been open to the public. "A BUSINESS-LIKE PROPOSAL. Mr. Swayne: If I thought your Council wished to tie up the other contractors and only to allow them to deal with the alterations and omissions I should have strongly advised against that course. If you ask for amended tenders at all you must leave it open. It i.s a perfectly business-like proposi- tion, and that letter I wrote I should write again for any other Council I had replies from three of the contractors ac- knowledging the receipt of the letters, but since then, according to the reso- lution of the Council, I have written -them to do nothing further. Mr. Lewis Thomas: Is it a business -prol)osition to throw the scheme open from beginning to end and then only asking four contractors to tender for it? Is that a business proposition? Mr. Swayne: I should say so, cer- tainly. Mr. Thomas: We as a Council are out for open competition and fairplay 'for everybody, but we have a sewerage scheme, and we are going to support Jtj, and only ask four contractors to tender upon it. You have reduced it down to that. THE COMMITTEE'S RESPONSI- BILITY. Mr. T. Williams: It is not Mr. 'Swaj-ne who has done it. It is we. Mf, Swayne: I hava taken instruc- tions from the commit tee'/ Mr. L. Thomas: I understand this: it is his contention. Mr. D. R. Morgan: I take strong objection to the method of procedure that was adopted since the committee met. The procedure that has been act- ed upon I consider to be most unfair. I am quite in agreement with Mr. Thomas. It is not fair that contrac- tors should be asked to amend all their prices in the whole scheme. These deviations in the scheme the Council asked them to re-tender on them only, and not on the whole scheme, and I think if the whole matter was brought before the whole Council to be con- firmed, then we should have under- stood the whole thing clearly. Mr. Samuel Thomas: There is a mis- understanding somewhere. How had you gathered that the Council was about to authorise you to call on the four lowest tenders ? THE COMMITTEE'S INSTRUCTIONS Mr. Swayne: I thought you had ap- pointed the whole committee to deal with the matter. I took my instruc- tions acc.ordingly and I was quite clear that the committee had power up to that point, but I would like to point out to Mr. Morgan that you cannot ask contractors to tender, in your own interests, on these omissions and al- terations. If the figures are known there is no inducement for the con- tractor who is lowest—you have no assurance that he will take oif the full amount for these alterations and de- ductions. Why sl)oiild lie? Mr. L. Thomas: I have been through your specifications and you are safe- guarded in that. Mr. Swayne:That is if you ask for amended tenders. You open it for them then to take off what you think proper. Mr. D. R. Morgan: Don't you think it would have been more businesslike to ask the whole of the contractors to re- tender. If the report of the commit- tee were brought before the whole Council I would have asked for it to be referred back to the whole of the contractors. WHY THE FOUR WERE ASKED. Mr. Swayne: It might sound rather peculiar to an outsider as to why the four were asked, but it is quite clear if you look at the prices. Mr. T. Williams: We gave you in- structions. Mr. Dd. Lewis: I differ. Why did the committee answer my question ? I put a question to the committee, and they replied that the matter wa.s to come before the Council. The Clerk: Whatever they had done with it, or whatever Mr. Swayne had done: whatever had been done must necessarily have come before the Coun- cil. Mr. Dd. Lewis: What good would it have been to come before the Coun- cil afterwards ? Mr. Swayne had car- ried the matter out. Suppose now this Council were to put three men on a committee, and those three were to decide on some scheme, is the surveyor or engineer bound to carry out the opinion of -those three before it comes before the Council ? What is the reason you are doing it in this case ? THE ENGINEER'S ACTION DE- FENDED. Mr. T. Williams: We were all on the committee. Mr. Swayne did not write to these people on his own accord, but I on the recommendation of the commit- tee. I don't think Mr. Swayne would have written to anyone if he did not have the recommendation of the com- mittee to do so. Mr. L. Thomas: You told me last time that you were all one with me in my understanding of the meeting, that the tendering on the whole scheme was not open, but only on the particular alterations and the diminishing in depth. Mr. T. Williams: What I am saying is what the committee did. Mr. S. J. Thomas: The committee say they did not do it. The  l iali-miii: T' The Chairman: The committee did not say so. Mr. S. J. Thomas: Yes they did. The Chairman: The committee did not. Mr. T. Williams: We as a committee gave orders to Mr. Swayne to write. I THE COMMITTEE'S ACTION I CRITICISED. (""1 Iur. is. ,j. inomas: ion say you nave a Tight to give that direction? When you appointed a committee you ap- pointed it on condition that nothing was to be done until it had been passed by the monthly meeting. I was not here, but you are not right. Mr. T. Williams: I was not aware it was a committee meeting-I thought it was a Council meeting. Mr. D. R. Morgan said the commit- tee could only recommend, and Mr. S. J. Thomas was perfectly right. If Mr. Swayne or any official of the Council had taken it for granted that whatever was passed in this committee ought to be proceeded with without the sanction of the whole Council, then the point had been overlooked. The Clerk: Then Mr. Swayne should not have acted upon this resolution before it was brought before the Coun- cil not even to seeing the Local Government Board Inspector? Mr. D. R. Morgan: My suggestion to the committee before I left was that Mr. Swayne should see the L.G.B. In- spector and report to the Council meet- ing. That was another point entirely. The Chairman: That does not signi- fy. The committee said Mr. Swayne should do his best to see the L.G.B. Inspector and then do his best to get the tenders in before the next meeting. Mr. Samuel Thomas: Why should he call for tenders? The Chairman: But it would have had to be confirmed by the Council meeting. OJ AN ADMISSION. I Mr. T. Williams: I say we are very ignorant in our dealings. Mr. Dd. Lewis: I am sure that the committee will remember that I put that straight question about asking the wholo of the contractors to reconsider their tenders and the answer I had to that was that (Vuneil would con- finn their air,- The decision of the committee was that they were going to wrltr3 to four of them, and I asked them to write to the wliole-of tliem. The Chairman: That is true. Mr. Lewis-. And the answer came from the committee' that they were go- ing to bring it before the Council for confirmation. The Chairman: They gave instruc- tions to Mr. Swayne to write to the four lowest tenders, that is quite clear. Mr. Lewis: How could they ? The Chairman: If there is an error it is the committee's, and not Mr. Swayne's. ¡ Mr. S. Thomas and the chairman continued the argument. Mr. Samuel Thomas contended that the committee had had no right to pass a resolution which might be acted upon before con- firmation bv the Council. Mr. T. Williams: We want to rectify our mistakes. Mr. D. R. Morgan said there was a certain clause in the speciifcations stat- ing that if the Council a bandoned a portion of the scheme or made a. devia- tion, only those portions could be con- sidered, and the contractor could quote on those alterations alone. THE LETTER TO THE CONTRAC- TORS. Mr. Swayne said the Council were not yet quite clear as to whether he had written a proper letter to the con- tractors. "Mr. Thomas said I had in- structions to write to four contractors, hut that I had not done it in the way the Council wanted me to write, and ask the four contractors to send in tenders, and that they were to be tied to the reductions and omissions only, and not to alter any other part of the bill. If I had done that your Coun- cil would have had every reason to cen- sure me severely. It would have been against the interests of your Council. 1 here would be nc competition—no competition for the lowest contractor to take off anything like the full amount. A DANGEROrS OPENING. Mr. Lewis Thomas: H hat I want to point out is the danger of it. There are specific points we thought of re- tendering upon. If the bill was open, as you understand it, from beginning t,,) end, the lowest tenderer could now give in his price to you on your altera- tions, and after striking off certain items could still push C300 or more in on other items, and then capture the work. Have you safeguarded against that ? Mr. Swayne :I see your point. The lowest contractor, if he specifies his present prices, would not raise them for fear of losing the job, if he knew the competition was open. Mr. Lewis Thomas: If the next low- est had the knowledge that the dif- ference was £ 2,300, the alterations are not enough to prevent the lowest ten- derer doing it. Mr. Swayne: My reply to that is this: that I make no complaint of the contractor. He is a business man look- ing after his own interests. Mr. L. Thomas: I object to the utter- most to this. It is not the position on the part of any contractor, it is the position of the Council as to the con- tention of the meeting. Let us get that clear. I am not willing for that at all. WHO OBJECTED? Mr. Swayne: I have only a news- paper account of the last meeting. My letters to the contractors were sent off on the Wednesday night. I understand that one of the members had been ap- proached by the contractor a.nd that he objected to the mode of procedure alto- gether. Mr. L. Thomas: The member or the contractor? It is not fair to the con- tractor. If a certain contractor gets this against Mr. Swayne, what is this contractor's position ? Mr. Swayne: I don't complain about the contractor in the slightest degree. It is what a business man would have done. Mr. L. Thomas: I think the Council takes the same point of view as I do upon this business. THE CONTRACTOR'S ADVANTAGE. Mr. Swayne: I was coming to the point yon have raised. I say the con- tractor who showed his letter to a mem- ber of the Council was not plea.sed that fresh tenders had been asked for.- If he thought, as you seem afraid, that it would have enabled him to add ?1,000 to his tender, I don't think he would have objected. Mr. L. Thomas: The contractor was not complaining of it at all. The con- tractor has nothing to do with it. Mr. Swayne: I think it was stated at the meeting. I certainly understood that the contractor had objected to it. Mr. Thomas: The only point where, the contractor comes in is that I saw the letter with the contractor. He does not grumble about it at all. Mr. Swayne: I want to make it quite clear that I was not complaining about the contractor in any way. Mr. S. Thomas: I was surprised to hear that letters had been sent out be- fore the monthly meeting. The Chairman: Come to the point now, boys. THE POINT! Mr. Samuel Thomas and the chair- man again engaged in another argu- ment and at last the chairman re- marked: "You are going off the point, altogether. You can ask that at the next meeting." Mr. T. Williams: The reason we have called Mr. Swayne here is to see where the mistakes have been made. Mr. L. Thomas points out that it is Mr. Swayne's fault, and Mr. Swayne thinks it is the committee's fault. Mr. L. Thomas: I don't say it is a fault: I say it is a contention. Mr. S. Thomas: We have accepted no tender yet. The Chairman: But we cannot go back to the other things, now. Mr. S. Thomas: Why not? MORE ENLIGHTENMENT WANTED Mr. D. R. Morgan: The more we discuss this scheme the more we shall become enlightened upon it. The wav this business has been .ed .t wiil give Jis* ft lesson for the iiiiiire, The whole s'ine should be referred back for re-teri*i!Jg, and' we should not consider one .-lermiH;é tha.n another. Mr. S. Thoma^Y PsWthat Mr. Mor- gan is very unfair. It' will mean a lot of expense to tho ratepayers of Y strad- gynlais to do that. The Chairman: In which way will there be more expense ? GLOOMY FOREBODINGS. I Mr. S. Thomas: How much will it cost to rc-advcrtise it again ? We are on the May to spoil this pa.rish. Y. e are going to have a disaster in this parish I through the resolutions passed here in committee. Mr. Howells: I shoul dthink they ought to tender again because they have tendered too high. Mr. L. Thomas: Mr. Swayne knows more about this business than any of us. Is it a custom for contractors to send in their prices, and when they become public property to ask them to tender again ? Mr. Swayne: No, sir; it is not the custom unless there is considerable amendment. If there is considerable amendment you have a right to ask for it. Mr. L. Thomas: Am I not right in saying that contractors usually send in their prices, not as bargaining prices. Mr. Swayne: If the contractor wants the job he goes in for it. A STRAIGHT QUESTION. Mr. L. Thomas: After hearing that are we likely to better our position? There is no more than £ 2,000 for al- terations. The omissions are not al- terations. Does Mr. Swayne consider the extent of the alterations sufficient to justify re-tendering for the whole business ? ANSWERED. Mr. Swayne: Of course the thing is more open if you ask the whole lot to re-tender. Mr. Walters said responsible people in Ystradgynlais were continually ask- ing him when the Council intended to start on the sewerage scheme. He was glad that Mr. Lewis and he were not on the committee. (Laughter.) What the Council ought to have done in re- spect of the alterations and omissions was to call in the contractor with the lowest tender and make arrangements with him. There should have been no competition. Mr. Swayne as engineer and as a man of business, ought to have advised the committee as to what they should do. "The people of Ystradgyn- lais are crying out for the scheme, and what we ought to have done was to call in the lowest contractor and say to him 'You are the lowest contractor. We want to cut this out and amend this,' and if he were prepared to knock this off he should have the work. In- stead of that we have called in three others who had no right to be called in." Mr. Howells stated that he quite agreed with Mr. D. R. Morgan because they had cut out tho most risky place in the scheme. Mr. Swayne: I have simply reduced the depth of the sewer along the towing path MORE MISUNDERSTANDINGS. Mr. D. R. Morgan thought that Mr. Swayne had suggested to the commit- tee that one mode of reducing the cost of the scheme would be by removing the line of the sewer from the towing path to the river bed. Mr. Swayne: I suggested that a syphon should be put under the river: it is the first time I have heard of the pipes being laid under the river bed. The Chairman: I was under the same impression as Mr. D. R. Morgan, that it was to be removed from the towing path along the river bed. Mr. Swayne said he had reduced the depth by io feet. A TIFF. Mr. S. Thomas: I advise you to alter no plan because it will cost us more than we shall gain. The Chairman: 'No, no. j Mr. S. Thomas: Don't say no, no! I advise the Council not to alter the plans because it will cost us JS200 or more. The Chairman: That is your opinion. Mr. S. Thomas: My opinion is right. Mr. Rhys Chapman suggested the feasibility of laying the pipes on the surface of the river which perhaps might mean the saving of thousands of pounds. He suggested that cast-iron pipes should be used from the Lamb and Flag down to the Giedd Bridge. "UNDER THE BELT." -1 Mr. Samuel Thomas: I can see a lot of messing going on with you. The man won the job, and now you are go- ing to kill him by hitting him under the belt. It is a trap to take the job off one man to give to another man, and it will cost a lot of money to the ratepayers. You are not dealing right with the scheme. (Mr. Thomas then left the room.) Mr. D. R. Morgan said Mr. Swayne's estimate was £ 26,000, and they were, now suggesting that a tender of £ 34,000 should be accepted. The rate- payers would say that they were lack- j ing in business acumen. The people of Ystradgynlais would say that they as a Council were going to pay £9,00(» more than the estimate after they had engaged a practical engineer to draw- up the scheme. His contention was that the scheme must be modified, and they were there to ask Mr. Swayne to sug- gest an amendment to the Council in order to bring the cost down. It was not a question of £ 34,000. They would have to pay £ 2,000 for the land, and contingencies would bring it up to £ 38,000, and perhaps the contingen- cies might be more bringing it up to £ 40,000. The contractor might call up- on the Council for extraordinary work and he could assure them that the scheme, if they accepted the lowest ten- der now, would not be done under £ 45,000. WHY NOT HAVE A LONGER MEET- ING? The Chairman said that the com- mittee had spent a whole day discuss- ing the plan, and they found out that by spending a whole afternoon they had made a saving on the scheme of something like £ 3,000. "I think it would he fair and honest to accept the proposal of Mr. D. R. Morgan, that we ask the whole of tenderers to reconsider their tenders by the next meeting. Sir. Lewis Thomas: It is never done, as you have heard Mr. Swayne say. tho Chairman: Mr. Swayne says that it has been done when there is an alteration on the contract. Mr. L. Thomas: What is the differ- ence between Mr. Swayne's estimate and the lowest tender? You told llq, Mr. Swayne, that there was a 35 per cent. increase on the pipes. Can you tell us what is the value of the pipes that will be used in this sewerage scheme? Mr. Swayne: I am sorry I am afraid I cannot. INCREASED PRICES. I Mr. Lewis Thomas: Before we know what vour estimate is to-day we would have to add 35 per cent. on the pipes, 33 per cent. on the cement, and 31 per cent. on the iron pipes, and a rise in wages. We cannot say what that is. Before we can compare your esti- mate in 1910 with the tender, we must must get at these figures. You see my point ? Mr. Swayne: Yes, quite; there has- been a rise of 25 per cent. That is a fair estimate of the rise in prices. That is rather a conservative estimate. Mr. T. Williams: Why didn't you ten us that before sending in for printing these specifications ? Mr. Swayne: You knew it and in- formed the Local Government Board that you were prepared to apply for extra money. Mr. Williams: Since I have been on the Council we have heard that your estimate was £ 26.000. Mr. Swayne: That was my estimate in 1910. I have never given an esti- mate since. The L.G.B. called your attention to the fact that prices had risen, and that the job could not be carried out on the estimate. and you wrote back and informed them, I un- derstand. that when tenders were in you would see what extra. money was wanted. SPOILING GOOD FOOD. I Mr. T. Williams: When tenders came j in wo were surprised, and we didn't en- I joy our Christmas dinner because prices j were so high. (Laiicliter.) Mr. Howells: Do you think, in your opinion, that these tenders are too high ? I don't know whether I am legal in asking such a question, but are they too high ? Mr. Swavne: I told you it is a very difficult job to estimate a job like this. A man who knows the Valley would arrive at a better estimate than I could. Since 1910 prices have gone up wickedly—that is the word to describe it, wicked. (Laughter.) Mr. Howells: Has it gone up £ 8,000 according to your ideas ? AS YOU WERE! I Mr. D. R. Morgan: I have made a proposition that Mr. Swayne should make an amended scheme, and that lie should give the contractors a month to reconsider the whole scheme, and that their tenders should be in by the April meeting. Mr. L. Thomas: That is the very point we are fighting against. 0' Mr. S. Thomas: We had better en- quire as to the cost before we do that. Mr. L. Thomas (to Mr. Swayne): Will you advise the Council to take this course, knowing that the prices of every one of the contractors is known all over the country ? In the second place, that they have not given us bargaining prices, would you advise the Council to allow re-tenders on this scheme now ? Mr. Walters: On the small difference there is to be? THE COUNCIL MUST DECIDE. I Mr. Swayne: It is .a. difficult ques- tion to answer. It is a matter for the Council to settle. You know the con- tractors. The Clerk: The point is: Shall we ask all those who have tendered to re- tender ? Mr. L. Thomas: Do you think it advisable to throw the scheme open again ? Mr. AValters: To-day we have nine tenders and we take it that they have sent in their minimum prices. Mr. Swayne: It is not fair to ask the contractor to raise or lower his prices. I should be against asking a contractor to do so. Mr. Swayne further agreed with Mr. Lewis Thomas that they were'only al- tering the scheme in certain places. The Chairman: That is what Mr. D. R. Morgan suggested. Mr. L. Thomas: No, it is not what Mr. Morgan suggests. I say it is not a business proposition. It is quite under the belt. TENDERS TOO HIGH. I Mr. Howells: They are tendering too high. That is the opinion of our en- gineer. They have taken too much ad- vantage of the rock here. The Chairman: It is only fair that these contractors should get a chance to tender again because we are alter- ing the scheme. Mr. Howells: They are taking too much advantage. Mr. L. Thomas: On what are they going to re-tender? The Chairman: On your scheme. Mr. T. Williams said that Mr. Walk- er, the well-known Clydach contractor, was £ 12,000 above the Lowest. Mr. Lewis Thomas (reading from the specification) showed that the engineer might alter or vary the levels or posi- tions in accordance with the contract price, and that the engineer should de- termine the price of such allowances, according to the schedule. Mr. D. R. Morgan contended that Imoro than four of the contractors should be asked to re-tender. Mr. T. Williams: I hope that what- ever we do we shall gain. WHY SYMPATHY ? Mr. D. R. Morgan said he was bound to sympathise with the lowest tenderer because he was coming within reach of gaining the contract. However, if they called in the lowest tenderer he might take advantage of them. Mr. Swayne: If you ask for tenders | again it does not matter how many you ask you must leave them open to revise their prices in any part of the bill, otherwise you Mill get into troub'c. AN APHORISM SQUASHED. I Mr. S. Thomas: If a colliery com- pany wants mo to tender for trams with wheels I tender for trams with- out- The Chairman (testily): We are not talking about trams now. Mr. D. R. Morgan: I am going to ( propose that we deal with the whole of the contractors on the specific points we have mentioned. Mr. Walters: I move that we call the lowest tender to meet the commit- tee and the engineer, so as to allow him to alter his prices. His tender is still £ 34.000, and Mr. Swayne says by knocking off the Lamb and Flag por- tion it will be a saving of £ 700. Let us have an interview with him in confi- dence. MORE PROPOSALS. Mr. Lewis Thomas: Just to safe- guard the Council if the second ten- der according to these alterations will bring his price down to the lowest, within our lowest tender to-dav then ho should stand a good chance for it. j Mr. Swayne: The other course is to j ask the contractors to send in amend- ed tenders on the amended scheme but in doing so I must point out that it is necessary to writo a. similar letter to the one I have written. Tho Chairman I believe the last is the better condition for us. Mr. Williams: I prefer the first one. It is only £ 2,900 we have taken off on the amended scheme. The lowest is £ 2,300 below the second one now. Mr. H-owells: We a.re going to cut out the most risky place, now. I Mr. T. Williams: But we have the prices of all the work. The Clerk: Do you advise the tender to be accepted before he meets the com- mittee ? Personally, I think it would be safer to ask him to meet the com- mittee before we accept the tender. THE CHAIRMAN'S MOTION. The Chairman: I move that we now go into committee. We are now com- ing to the chief point. Mr. Lewis Thomas: You are too late, now you oright to have suggested that ¡ sooner. Mr. D. R. Morgan I think the press- men will bo wise enough when it comes I to a question of figures not to mention them. I trust they are aware of the desirability of doing so. I think that the question of throwing committees open has been stated ————— Mr. Walters: Don't make a speech, Mr. Morgan. Mr. Morgan: Don't interrupt me, Mr. Vice-Chairman. The chairman is attempting to turn this meeting into a committee meeting. I am only asking on the part of the press that they should not put down any figures. (No vote was taken and no formal request was made by the Council that the press should not continue to take notes, although the chairman intimated that it would be better if it were not done. ) THE RESOLUTION. 7 It was moved by Mr. D. R. Morgan and seconded by Mr. J. Howells, 'that Mr. Swayne ishould ret)ort to the next meeting of the Council on the amend- ment nnd reduction in the original scheme and, subject to the adoption of that report that lie bo authorised* to invite amended tenders from all those- who sent in original tenders fro carry- ing out the work. AND THE AMENDMENT. As an amendment Mr. Lewis thoi^ias v moved "that we get these alt.(,rations ready and after they have beon sul)- mitted to the Council and approved by the Council, that we invite the lowest contractor to meet the committee of the Council, etc." Mr. Rhys Chapman seconded. The Chairman: It is a very danger- ous proceeding. For the amendment there voted: Messrs. Lewis Thomas, W. Walters, Samuel J. Thomas, Rhvs Chapman, and T. Williams. For the resolution: Messrs. J. How- ells, D. R. Morgan, D. Lewis, and the Chairman. The amendment was de- clared carried.

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