970 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION H. 
I note for comparison the rates paid under contract for cast- 
iron pipes from 2 inch to 12 inch in diameter. These varied 
from £8 15s. ld. to £10 4s. per ton; whereas the cost of pipes 
of the same sizes which have been turned out at the Government 
workshop for the year ending 30th June, 1897, has varied from 
£5 14s. 3d. to £7 4s. 3d. I find that during this period the 
average cost of pig-iron was £3 2s. 3d. per ton, and that for every 
5s, per ton rise in price in the cost of iron it makes a difference 
in cost of 5s. 3d. per ton in the cost of tie finished article. The 
lowest price at which I have been able to obtain coke has been 
35s. per ton, and every 5s. rise in price of that material makes Is. 
_ difference per ton in the cost of the finished pipes. 
To enable comparison to be made with the cost of similar work 
elsewhere, I may state that moulders receive 8s. and 9s. per day ; 
fettlers, 8s; testers. 7s. ; and labourers, 6s.; and working out the 
proportions of the cost of various materials in 1 ton of pipes at 
average prices, I find that the cost of iron is £3 4s. 9d.; coke, 
6s. 10d. ; labour, £1 16s, 10d. ; sundries, 4s. 3d.; shop charges, 
11s. 1d., making a total of £6 3s. 9d., which is the average cost 
of the pipes recently turned out. 
It may further be interesting to note that at present prices 
steel pipes 3-16 in. in thickness are cheaper than cast- ee for all 
sizes above 15 inches in diameter, whereas if the steel is } in. thick 
it is cheaper to use that material in all sizes of pipe anes 17 
inches in diameter. 
This comparison holds good in the neighbourhood of the sea- 
board, but would be modified a little when carriage charges have 
to be added for up-country districts. For instance, I estimate 
that in laying a 20-in. main there would be a saving of £500 in 
using } in. steel in the neighbourhood of the city, but that there 
would be a saving of about £700 in using the same material in 
preference to cast-iron subject to 150 miles of rail-carriage 
added. 
The departmental method has its advantages and its disadvan- 
tages. Where there is so much work in the hands of the Govern- 
ment, the labour question, rates of wages, and Parliamentary 
“niece Panes may become serious ditheulties, The method is, in 
my opinion, better for the workmen; but so-called red-tape is a 
positive hindrance, and always with us. The possibilities of 
modifying the work to suit developments and change designs as 
circumstances may demand, without having to consult a con- 
tractor’s convenience and dread unconscionable claims, is a series 
of invaluable advantages. Largely increased responsibility is 
placed on the engineers when they are called upon to carry out 
what used to be looked upon as contractors’ work as well as their 
own; but, on the whole, I claim that the experiment in South 
