The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-24 00:00:00

THR FOREIGN OFFICES AND

CON7.R2ICTS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—For many years it has been my profes-
sional business and pleasure to read the Blue-books
which contain evidence on Government expendi-
ture for our army, navy, our public works, &c., for
the purpose of reaching conclusions on the question
—Do the Government authorities soundly or
thoughtlessly disburse the public money ?
in this letter I shall chiefly deal with the subject
of a contract for the projected Foreign-offices; and
I open my subject by saying that, having read all
the modern Blue-books which refer to contracts, I
am now in the full belief that the Parliamentary
Committees, and the persons who gave evidence
before them on this important subject, did not, in
their questions and reply to them, disclose a clear
comprehension of what constitutes a reliable esti-
mate for a great contract work, and that, in the ab-
sence of such lucid comprehension, it was not
possible for them to hedge contracts with such con-
ditions as would make the public safe in the ex-
penditure of their money under them. If, then,
they did not apprehend the true quality of a esti-
mate, do I ? lam here that the public may come
to their own calm conclusions on the question.
The site of these offices being secured for a cer-
tain sum of money or otherwise, and the character
and internal quality of the building determined,
what has the architect to do ? This :he will have
to estimate the literal quantities, and to declare the
literal value of all the materials, all the commodi-
ties, which in the end will be the Foreign-offices;
and having given the contractor a given time in
which to create them, he will have to shew in his
report, that he has carefully studied the present
market value of all the materials, and all the commo-
dities necessary for the offices, and their probable
value all through the time he has allowed the con-
tractor for his work. All this will be nothing
more than the ordinary duty of the architect ; but
his extraordinary duty will be this—to show in his
report that, having duly considered the amount of
" plant" necessary to the contractor for his work";
having also duly considered what other investment
of money he must make, and on a clear apprehen-
sion also of the importance of the instalments in
money which he will periodically receive from the
Government authorities, he is, on a grasping con-
sideration of all these business points, able to de-
clare the contractor entitled to a given profit for
his entire contract work, and that, his tender being
for a sum named in the report, he will be
able to win the declared profit and no more.
I insist for this declaration of profit in
the architect's report ; for we are arrived at
such a condition of things in this country on the
question of a contractor's profit for a given work,
as to make it imperious for the public to learn,
what, in equity, should be the contractor's profit
for the construction of these offices. And as for
several years past the public have been annoyed,
and have suffered losses, through the frequent
strikes in the building trades on the question of
time and wages, I believe it to be the duty of the
architect for these offices to be special in his report
on point of wages. I suggestively claim, that it
will be his duty to declare in his report, what
he considered in his estimates the present
market value of labour, and its probable value
all through the contract time ; and above all
do. I believe it his imperious duty, to demon-
strate in his report the absolute equity there is
between a contractor's profit and the wages of
his operatives. It is said that our Government is
paternal. We certainly need some sage fatherly
information on the equities I have here indicated ;
and I hope that our executive Government, through
this architect, will deign to meet the necessities of
the public on this important business question.
Should the architect frame his estimates and re-
port in the way I have suggested, of what practical
use would they be to the public, with reference to
these :offices, as matters now stand between our
executive Government and the representatives of
the public in Parliament ? None whatever. Esti-
mates have been sacred things in the hands of our
Government officials; they have been mainly used
for this solitary purpose—in them has been named
a total sum of money wherewith to cover a declared
I demand for a given Government work. A Govern-
ment official has only had to declare the work
to our representatives in Parliament, and to
came the money necessary for it in an engineer's
or architect's estimate, and with but little trouble
he has generally obtained all he solicited. Figura-
tively speaking, the estimate has been nothing but
a hand with which to claw money from the pockets
of the public; and the money being thus obtained
tho estimate has been named no more. But in
these times do the public send their representatives
into Parliament to vote away their money after
this fashion? Is it not time to dismiss such a
habit, and to adopt another having more of inquiry
and safety in it ? These questions bring me to my
real subject in this letter, and I ask the public
to seriously consider what I assume it to be
my duty to declare to them. It would be
the thought of a business simpleton to assume
our representatives in Parliament, with few
exceptions, equal to a critical and thorough
examination of a professional estimate for such an
important work as these offices. It is a fact, and
it had better be declared, they really are not quali-
fied for such a task. Ido not think that any Par-
liamentary candidate was ever challenged as to his
qualifications for such a duty ; and it would be an
unmanly thing for one person to taunt another
about his incapacity for an examination he was
never expected to undertake. Nevertheless, it is
the supreme duty of our representatives in Parlia-
ment to see to it that not a farthing of public
money is wasted. How they have heretofore dis-
charged this duty, in the absence of estimate
qualifications, can be told by simple reference
to the Houses of Parliament hard by the site
for these offices. The whole tale can be told
in the figures 750,000 and 2,500,000; and the
moral of the tale is in the assertion, we shall have
more of this sort of expenditure if the estimates for
our great works are not critically examined by men
duly qualified for such duty. In few words, as our
representatives in Parliament cannot effectually
help us in this important matter, we must give
them duly qualified men to do this part of their
Parliamentary work for them ; for it must be done,
or we shall hear again and again of such question-
able expenditure as I have indicated above in
figures. In this place lam not going to waste
time in platitudes about wasteful expenditure;
but I do declare for public consideration, that
by giving our representatives the efficient and
imperious aid I have suggested, we shall more
effectually put an end to foul expenditure
by Government officials than by any other means
I have been able to conceive. I am writing to
and for men of the world ; men thoroughly equal
to the conception of how my suggested aid would
work in the various Government departments and
offices where our money is got rid of without
another word in detail from my pen. Moreover, I
am in fear of the editorial malediction, " we can't
have anything to do with your long letter." Yet I
must hazard a short illustration and one or two
round assertions. Assume the architect for these
offices to have prepared his estimates and report,
and then assume them in the hands of the architect
appointed to aid our Parliamentary Representatives.
He thoroughly sifts them, and fully explains them
to our representatives before they go into Com-
mittee of Supply on the question of the office money.
Would not that be a great help given to our repre-
sentatives, and would it not for ever keep away
from us more of such figures as 750,000 and
2,500,000 ?
There will be supplementary requirements for
many of our great works now in hand, and here in
England and in our colonies other works are pro-
, jected ; and we all know what appetites our army
and navy have for our money through contract and
other business ari angements. To the best of my
ability I have mastered all that has been declared
in Blue-books and in official statements on our
present and probable national expenditure ; and
on a calm consideration of the whole subject, I do
not for a moment hesitate over the assertion that,
by giving our representatives the professional aid
I have suggested, the public purse need not have
in it, peace continuing, as much as now by many
millions sterling year by year. On this point not
a doubt flits athwart my judgment. —I am, Sir,
your obedient servant, P.
July.

vice-preidentnofdetthehpee
THE FUNERAL OF PRINCE ADAM CZARTORYSICI
took place in Paris on Monday, from the Church of Saint
Louis-en .1' Ile, in the midst of a large number of spectators.
The coffin, preceded by fifteen clergymen. attached to the
church of Saint-Louis, was borne to the hearse by fifteen
Poles. The cordons were borne by Count de Nantebello,
General Dembinski, General Ladislas Zamoyski, nephew
of the deceased, and Count Morawski, one of the members
of the Polish Government of 1831. In addition to the two
sons and immediate relatives of the deceased, the cortege
was accompanied by M. Royer,
Senate, the Marquis D'Hautpoul, M. Achille Fould, Mar-
shal
Magnan, and several of the leading representatives of
Parisian society, by deputations of Poles from Paris
London, by special deputations from England from and
Sclav es of Turkey, French and Polish ladies' i
mourning, the Literary and Historic Society of Poles in
Faris, and several of the Sisters of Charity
oLfetzhaze Fdoreni‘ciharnweassiar.epArefsteenrtetdhe
by herc chamberlain,
religious Countthe
body was borne to Montmorency, a
side of the remains of his sister, the u buried there by the
berg, Princess of Wurtem-
-0
ceremonial TheEmPresi