1. - The council on 21st February, 1911 (p. 312), referred to use tenders from eleven firms for the supply of attendance medals. The medals this year will bear the effigy of His Majesty King George V., and as the preparation of the new design necessarily involved some delay the tenders were, in order to save time, obtained in anticipation of the approval of the design, a photograph only being shown for tenderers' inspection. The design has now been approved.
The Education Committee desire that the medals should be available for distribution at the earliest possible moment, and if practicable, before the Coronation; and tenderers were therefore asked to state the number of medals which they would guarantee to deliver weekly, and to quote alternative prices in the event of the contract being divided. The tenders have been very carefully considered, and, in view of the Education Committee's desire, we considered that the tender of Messrs. Wright and Son, of Edgware, who were the contractors for the medals supplied in 1910, should be accepted.
Lower tenders were received, but if any of these were accepted, the medals would not, at the rates of delivery guarantied, be ready for distribution until the middle of September. If the contract were divided (at an increased cost) the medals would not be ready until July at the earliest. Messrs. Wright and Son, who quoted for the whole supply only, guarantee to deliver 20,000 medals weekly, and at this rate the medals will be ready about the middle of May. In all the circumstances we felt that the Council would desire such arrangements to be made as will enable the medals to be ready at the earliest possible moment, and we have therefor, as a week's delay would be saved by so doing, accepted the tender of Messrs. Wright and Son as a matter of urgency under our order of reference. We may mention that the difference in cost involved in passing over the lower tenders is small compared with the total cost.
ISIDORE SALMON
CHAIRMAN