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* 1$ EXPLAINED ____ S tretch of Highway Was 115 Miles, Not 10 Inquiry by the Legislature's Pub-- lie-- Accounts Committee into the €9N0,000 hizhway patching contract that was extended into a £328,000 construction -- job-- without . calling tenders was resumed yesterday. The picture _ was _ completely changed + when -- engineers of the Highways Department revealed that the con-- tract, instead of applying to a ten-- * mile stretch of road between King-- e ston and Seeley's Bay serving heav) traffic -- from _ Barriefield _ Camp, really covered the 115 miles of high-- way in the Kingston division, from Kingston to Perth. J. I». Miller, acting deputy min-- ister of highway: William T. Noon-- .an, district engineer on the job; W. G. Clark., who was inspector, and J. D. Fostor, instrument man, al! were quizzed on construction de-- tails and work orders, Mr. Noonan explained that two work orders for §70,375 and $9,313 issued subsequent to the $90,000 contract really in-- cluded part of the original con-- tract and were not as they seemed-- straight extensions of it. Covered Long Stretch. Mr. Noonan agreed,. that when the original patching contract was let, it was possibly apparent that patching alone would not be satis«-- factory because of the disintegra-- tion of the road. Mr. Noonan then revealed that the original contract concerned patching over 115 miles of highway, whatever work the de-- partment staff could not handle. ; § "But why set aside ten miles for a special contract?" asked -- Col.| George Drew, Opposition Leader, "Because it «~was worse than the rest." said Mr,. Noonan. Mr. McQuesten explained that the 'eontract had been supposed to ap-- ply to only ten miles because the specific question by the Opposition $ |applied to that small section. "Quite obviously we have been at cross-- » purposes," said Col. Drew. Mr. Miller told the committee that while the contract on the 115 miles was for patching, it might have been necessary to pave the whole 115 miles if econditions war-- ranted, but reiterated the $90,000 contract was only for patching. Provincial _ department _ officials will be heard Monday morning in s further investigation into. govern-- » mont use of motor cars and its sys-- tem of checking and mileage pay-- ments.