THE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 214, 6 September 1912, Page 4

THE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD.

i The report which the Civil Service j Com mission lias just presented to Par- ! liament is in effect an attempt to justify , the change in our administrative 'methods that Mr. Masscy and Mr. Herd- ; man have so long aud so persistently i advocated, and it, is no more successful J than ""ex parte" statements of the sort i usually arc. The idea that tie business '■ oi tho country can be best carried on ;by one central Board of Management, controlling all the adminintrative departments, is attractive enough, but it is a. pure assumption which could only be by .practical . supceps. It seems to us eminently probable that, ! however able the members of this Board ! may be., it would overtax the oapacity I and the energy of any three of the ' greatest administrative experts alive to I keep the whole of this country's public [business going. We note with, approval ! that the control exercised by this Board would bo purely administrativethe ! policy of every Department being map- ! ped out, by Government. Further, the i Board is to, be responsible not to l*arliaJ ment only, but to Cabinetthat is, to the Ministry as a whole, though not to iiny individual Minister. But while we i I approve of these conditions, we still doubt; .if tho prospects of improving the efficiency of our administrative methods in this way are sufficiently good to justify so sweeping and revolutionary an experiment. But an a rule when Mr Maseey and his followers have been advopating the establishment of a Civil Service Commission, they have based their case chiefly on another unproved assumption, to the cflVrt that our public oflioos are pervaded with corruption, nepotism, and maladministration of all kinds. Naturally the report emphasises this aspect of the question; but it should hardly be necessary to remind our readers that the insinuations in which tho "Reformers" have .so frequently indulged, have never been supported by any convincing evidence. The. Commission proposes "to block all back doors of cntiiuiee to the service," and Jays down the principle that "no influence, political or otherwise, no social considerations, but efficiency should be allowed to affect the selection and promotion of officers," and that "attempts to use influence or pressure of any kind in connection with promotions should be treated as serious j offences." This is all very well; J but in reading it we must re-1 member that the assumption that ' any such abuses exist under the pre- ' I sent system is wholly gratuitous, and | { that it has been constantly employed i before this without any attempt to substantiate at as a useful expedient in party warfare. As to .the proposal that promotion shall <l>e by merit alone, and that length of service shall not be taken into account, we observe here an indication of the most serious danger to whfch a Civil Service Board is usually exposed. If "merit" only is the standard of official competence, .is It not only too ! probable that the Commissioners may i employ their own conceptions of merit Ito the detriment of the service! Even I 'the obtest admlmistratow ore only ■human, and the possibility of exercising personal patronage under such a system I seems to us greater than under existi ing conditions. A change from Minis- ! te-rial patronage to [patronage expreiecd 'by officials only indirectly amenable to public control appears to us distinctly a ! dangerous experiment, and we hope tha-t j Parliament win consider this view of I bfrft case very seriously before commiti ting itself to any such scheme. As to the gain that the country is to realise J through increased economy in adminis!tration and the greater efficiency of the I public services, this is again purely ■ hypo-thetioal. The prospect of saving ! every year a Bum the* "accumulating at ! 4 <per cent, would wipe out the present i national debt, of the Dominion in 71 ' years" is probably attractive to a cer- , tain el'ase of mind; but we fancy that ■Parliament and the country will rerprirn I something more tangible them this highly i imaginative statement to go upon be- ! fore endowing -the Civil Service Cc-mmia-ieioe. ML

! Fallowing is Mr. D. C Bates* weather forecast far 24 honre from 9 a.m. this day-.—"The indications are for easterly winds, moderate to strong, and backing by south to west, freshening to westerly, strong to gale. Weather conditions are threatening, cloudy and overcast. Heavy rain is to ibe expected. Barometer rising, ibut falling , a/£ter jcbout 24 hours. Sea rough. Tides good."

Mr Devereux (Waihi) reported yesterday as followB: "A westerly wave of low pressure is approaching. Northerly winds may be expected, and heavy rain shortly, the rivers rising again. Over five inches of rain fell in the past 48 hours."

During the hearing of a shipping case in the Magistrate's Court, in which one of tihe questions in issue was as to the condition of a case containing plate glass when it was landed from the vessel at the port of Auckland, Mx. Kettle, S.M., said it would be a great assistance to the courts hearing cases by merchants against shipping companies for delivering cargo in a damaged condition if a proper survey wa-s held as soon as the alleged damage was discovered. Competent representatives on both sides should be present at the survey or examination, and. full notes taken of the external and internal condition and appparance of bh-e package, and all other matters which might assist the Court in elucidating the truth in the event of litigation.

The spirit of trades unionism has extended far out into the Pacific, even to the island of X-ukualofa. Some of the ■passengers who arrived by the island steamer Atua this morning , informed a j representative of the "Star" that the native waterside workers there 'lave formed a union with the object of de-' manding substantial increases in pay. I They ask for 6/ per day for working j time between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., with 3/ per hour overtime, and a retaining allowance of 2/ per day, together with food when not working. They have been receiving 4/ per day. Formerly the allowance for overtime was &d, but it Tose I ■by degrees to 1/. The union is being organised by a native boy, who appears to have gained knowledge in the ways of unionism during occasional trips with, native crews to Auckland. Each steamer that arrives has about 40 natives, most frequently Fijians, and they return by the next steamer. There are the usual number of these "woolly heads" on the Atna,

' A mob of cattle a week or two ago ran over the embankment in Urafton Road, -doing damage "to the extent of £4 ' 10/. The City Engineer reported to the City Council last evening bhat the matter had been brought under -his notice by the Traffic Inspector, and he had suggested the driving of horses through the city should 'be controlled, and especially over Grafton Bridge, where .horses were constantly driven across ■without being roped, and asking instructions whether to apply to the firm which owned the •horses for payment of the £4 10/ damages, or whether the Traffic inspector was to prosecute. The Council decided that the Traffic Manager' be inetriK.'teu' to prosecute in bhe matter. J A rather interesting find was recently I made by some workmen engaged on Brieeoe's new warehouse in CuntoTia Street. The foundations of the building had to lie taken down to papa rock below the I old sea-floor level, and in the digging of a trench a broken canoe paddle was tinearthed. The part that remained is still perfectly sound in spite of its long sojourn underground. The finder, who is well acquainted with the different kinds of wood used in this country, is of the opinion that it in made of Oregon pipe, although it has scarcely dried sufficiently to make identification certain. A possible explanation is that (he paddle was i made by a member of the crew of a ] Yankee vessel. The paddle is a plain one. without any carving. A number of cockle shells of an unusually large size have also been found in the same epot.

An exhibition which should be of some interest to New Zealand producers and others if the Universal ami International Rxliibitian. which is to be opened at Ghent, Belgium, on April 27th of next year. Full schedules and catalogues, 'which harve just 'been received by Mr. Alex. Ferguson, Belgian Consul at Auckland, show that a wide range, of industrial and other exhibits will be received. Some of the 128 s«p:irate. classes are particularly suited to possible exhibitors in the Dominion, notably the following:— Printing, photography, agricultural products, forest product*, hunting, shootnii, and ifi**liin<r trophies, foods-tuffs (preserved or fresh), mining methods and products, ropes and hemp, woollen yarn and fabrics. Special sections are devoted to <*ocial economy (including ex'hjbits relating to labour regulation, profit-sharing, housing, etc.), and eoJoni-ea-tion, this last covering exhibits relating to aboriginal peoples. The exhibition covers an area of 250 acres, and the 'halls are to have a floor area of 25 a.vres. Special inducements are offered to foreign- nation.*, exhibits being admitted! duty-free, and carried fr«,e on the State, railways after the exhibition closes (in October or November, 1913). .Space will be charged for nt £1 a square metre and upwards, according to location. A national arrangement of exhibits is to 'bo adopted, so that .ill the products of the Dominion that might be sent would be grouped together.

An inquest was held at Taumarunui yesterday touching the death of Herbert or Vincent Lade, who died as a. result of injuries received in the accident at Tnringamutu on Tuesday. A verdict of "Accidental death, no blame attachable 1o anyone," was returned, the jury adding a rider that in their opinion no one should be allowed to ride on a truck in front of the engine, and further recommending that, in view of the freqneney of accidents in and around Taumarunui. the local hospital should be considerably enlarged and made a central hospital, with an increased staff and the best of medical attendance. During the hearing of the evidence, the Coroner (Mr Laird) stated that Mr Wackrow (manager of the Taringamutu Sawmilling Company) had infornied him that the company was building a covered van for the convenience of persons using the line. The company makes no charge on paseengers using the line, which is necessary to enable settlers to reach ttieir holdings. The covered van will in future run behind the engine, and thus minimise risks.

News poached Pacton recently from the Te Awaits boys, on Campbell Island. The season. &o far, has not been altogether a successful one. only three w 'hales of the "Tight" species—having been captured. A great number of the monsters have been sighted, but the rough seas havo time and again prevented the crews giving chase. On several occasions the 'harpoons fonnd their mark, but \Me (lines .had eventually to be severed, owing to the rough water. The Cook party, it is reported, have made sixteen, captures, which is considered to be disappointing, in view of the fact tha a steamer has been engaged in the operations, as against a motor launch by the To Awake party. It is stated" that the Cooks have abandoned the quest. The Te Aw-.iire party have made arrangement* to return home in January by one of tho '.Norwegian, whaling steam-

An incident -which, caused considerate mirth among the members of the 'Manawatu County Council was narrated at the last meeting of tihat body. A wellknown Sandon fanner, who is a member of the Council, authorised a friend Ito purchase some stock for him. A few days afterwards he was very much annoyed to see a large number of cattle grazing in one o>£ his paddocks. He lost no time in having the cattle impounded., and he was pretty forceful in his language about the cheek of some people grazing their cattle in other people's paddocks. The joke came in when, just shortly afterwards, his busy friend rode up and apprised him of the purchase and of the location of the stock. He then realised that he had impounded ■his ovni stock. Ho was, of course, dMigedi to pay the impounding fees 'before he could secure the- release of the cattle.

A few days ago the Mount Wellington Road Board wrote to the City Council stating that the District Health Officer had reported that a nuisance was caused by the drainage from the City Slaughterhouse falling into the foreshore of the Manukau Harbour. The Board requested the Council to take means to prevent the contents of any offal entering into any drain discharging on the said foreshore, and to complete the necessary works within three months of date of service of requisition, otherwise it would take summary judicial proceedings. The City Engineer reported that the best means of dealing with the discharge was by having it carried away instead of put into the drains. Alterations should be made to drains in and about the building by placing small screens in positions easily got at to in-tt-rccpt solids from the main building. The manholes should be inverted to prevent accumulations and to provide for tbe more effectual flushing of the drains. The Engineer rpcommended that these suggestions, estimated to cost between i£so and £80, be submitted to the Health Officer for approval. The Council adopted tho recommendations.

Recent rumours of a water famine in the Cook Islands, -which are directly undeT the jurisdiction of the New Zealand Government, were discounted to a "Star" representative this morning by Dr. Schum acker, a medico residing in Niue, who is also the Administrator

there, representing th-e Sew Zealand Government. "There certainly has been a shortage of water all over the island*," said Dr. Schuinacker, "but not to any alarming extent, in Niue our tanks have never been leas than%:)ijilf ■full, and the prosperity of has been in no way affected." The visitor added that the island of Niue was flourishing, especially in regard to the copra export industry. The banana industry was also being initiated on businesslike lines, and the quality of the fruit was excellent, the bananas being of the large sweet variety. The population of Niue is about 50 Europeans and 4,000 natives. Dr. Sehumaeker will return to the Islands after visiting Sydney, and he will spent! some time in Auckland on the way back.

At the opening of the ne-w post office at Kai-warawara, near Wellington, an interesting chapter of old New Zealand history was related. The PostmaeterGeneral, in the course of his speech, mentioned that in the year 1866 an incident of the Maori war on the West Coast of the North Island was enacted there. Upon the talcing of the Weraroa pa by Sir George Grey, some sixty of the TTau Han prisoners were confined on a hulk moored in the Kaivrarawa-ra bijrht. On the 29th January they made their escape. A south-east gale was blowing, tlio guard had been •weakened In - festivities ashore, and aided further by the dark night, a raft had been hastily constructed, and the prisoners escaped by removing one of the bulkheads from 'between deckfi. They landed just to the north of the stream. Some olf them had swnm. the distance, four of the number being drowned. Two were shot by pursuing parties, and later, three, pressed by hunger, gave themselves up, the remainder getting clear away.

The .Auckland Bowling Club recently applied to the City Council for the erection of a retaining wall in Grafton Road. At 'its meeting last evening the Council, on the recommendation of the

Works Committee, decided, without prejudice to the legal position, to offer to crer.Tt a dwarf ocmerete wall at an estimated cost of .£4OO along the toe of the bank to hold it in its place.

In the Cheltenham district, in the vicinity of Fending, a singular discovery lias been made. A short time ago some underground streams were located by a diviner, and boring operations were put in hand. When the first eighty odd feet had been {rot through an immense deposit of shingle and shell was passed through, seeming to confirm the theory that .an arm of the sea at one. time covered these now fertile valleys and extended up the Oroua Valley to *;ht hills. After massing through the ; bed of shingle a further depth of 20 odd fr-et what appeared to be a, submerged timber swamp was reached, and there ■was seemingly quite a lot of swamp timber at the depth. The discovery is particularly interesting in view of the fact that at a point about 1"2 chains from where the Coring operations were carried on p. well was β-unk some time ajfro. and at a depth of close on 90 feet a large totara log in a fine state Icf preservation was met with.

Mr. T. M. Wilfnrd, M.P., suggests that the Wellington citizens should purchase the Day's Bar bush, on the opposite side of the harbour, as a memorial to the late Mr. T. G. "Macarthy. He said be -would 'be (prepared to frive £10 towards tttp subscription to defray the cost of. purchase.

The Auckland Automobile Association 1 wants taxi-cabs to bear some distinguishing mark. At present, the Association says, private tar owners are much annoyed" 'by liein:* hailed in mistake for •taxis* The matter was 'before the City Cotmcil last night, and referred to I a eojmnittee for consideration.

Last July was the -wettest July exporieneed in Wellington since 1892. according to the official report of the Government Meteorologist. The total 'bright sunshine •was 56 hours 28 minutes, and nine sunle?s days. Frosts occurred on five mornings. The weather was -wet and gloomy on 21 days.

An insufficiency of lighting at the corner of Queen and Customs street was mentioned in the Traffic Inspector's report to the City Council last evening. The officer Te-ported that (he was in receipt of complaints that the arc light at the corner in question ■was seldom lit till long , after dark, causing him much extra work. There had been several narrow escapes from accidents. The Electrical Engineer, in his report, explained that t)he defect 'had been inerelv a. temporary one. and had now been ! remedied.

Mr T. Harle Giles (Conciliation Commissioner) leaves by the Monowai on Saturday for Oisbome, where he will be probably engaged a fortnight, ac he has to deal willi applications in the following trades: Butchers, tailors, drivers, und waterside workers.

A -well-attended meeting «t «.-"" > - tive of the Parnell **«* tion was held last eveS^* dent, Mr. C. E. Pajjg*>** Several important matters' ttTwith, amongst whicb. was th ■? -v l ' up of a set of rules «t O v!Li*•"* association. These will hi 9 *? ; W for approval at the nest .nonttr tte * ing to be held in Kno S Tjf r w Park Road, on the ; 16ft b. t -Nil association is growing M J\ has a considerable membershi n °* still increasing. The aim of.thV 0 ? d > tion is to promote the weS - borough, and it is proposed to »sW i," Parr, Mayor of Auckland, to +£ address to members ontitad^ , ? an to be gained by joining the dty.^^ Some interesting incident* are teen ed in connection with the Wrr - H' 'history of Kaiwarra, Ward, net* -^Jy * ton, where a new post-office was formal? opened a day or two ago. ■ 3[ known Maori chref, by n*ineTey[' Pouri, snatched a gun which ha jJJtjS on a Home boat lying in tte'hev i dived overboard with it. Hβ m.'.i at, but missed. He ewim"-^-* 0 ' for a .considerable distance, pad •when f rose to the surface wag too hi off V. 5° hit. Ho reached the shore with { ? gun. In one big inter-tribal ieitlethat took place on the shores of the Wata rapa lake between the WaJraran* mtiv"' and the Xgahauranga tribe, Te Wkr Pouri's wife and daughter, an-only chili were taken .prisoners, and the dMrf Mm self escaped only by jumping over i preoipfoe, his life being• sa>red ■br «i vegetation on the cliff breaking his m The WaJrarapa tribe Tetired with fta prisoners to a. peninsula near Xapier bJ in about a week's time Te Whare IW went up and rescued his ' wife ay daughter. , -J:,? A deputation representing the Huhm Kirikau and pare of Kaitieke survey djj! tricts waited on the Minister of, LuiJt in Wellington last Saturday, asking tint their Crown land holdings should % placed under the Bush and Swamp Lapji Act. so that rebates of rent,"'up '% , limit of four years, might be gTffflttdb, cases of hardship. Mr Maesey s&id etttt concessions would involve a lose of re;enue of over £8,000 to the State, sjj the Government could not accede the request, but he was inserting i"clju( in the new Land Bill which would, in Id opinion, meet all requirements. He hij no intention of calling up any tnttij of rent due on their holdings. .He promised to go into the matter fully aid vise the deputation later. The Wdliiu. ton Land Board, the Crown Mamji ranger, a special valuator sent to look into the question, anti the late Cqmmij. sioner of Crown Lands for the proviatt, have all expressed favourable :opialou on this matter, and (our correepoijdeiit writes) settlers hope some relief will be granted them. > ;">^"'

In his report to Parliament, tlie'-Publis j Trustee sets out an important imon- ' tion in the working of the Public Trust Office, ■which will be of considerable in- j terest to local bodies desiring to borrow money therefrom. In order to save apense, whenever a local body applied* the Public Trust Office for a loanimdir ; the Local Bodies' Loans Act, the 'solicitor to the Public Trust Office Trill direct and supervise all proceedings, and draft all resolutions, debentures, coupons, sinking fund deeds, and other documents re- i quired, will instruct as to the carrying ' out of the loan, and finally certify Viet j all proceedings are comjiletejl, The fa|, for this will be 2/6 per-ilOfrim tttl amount of the loan, and the local bodj 5 ] will thus be in a position to jd»rfe)m j the cutset what the cast of*isjfc it | will be. The only other expense a i&- ! dition to this will'be the cost of adtenifing and of printing. . . At a meeting of the executive of la;, Early Settlers' and Historical 'Asua tion of "Wellington it wee decided 6m 3 the association should hold its inwgijn! reunion of members, early eetUers, co!» n:ets, and sympathisers on the eratii! ?■ of Dominion 'Day, September 23. It! - proposed that the evening should ti- j the form of a conversazione, and thi several leading citizens and early col* .'■': nists should give short addresses on b eaTly days. The executive further». ■: solved to publish a journal, the fluJßi to be guaranteed by those who te ■] the matter at heart. \ m A proposal that subways should -biM constructed under Queen Street for 111 : benefit of aged and infirm people .ft recently submitted in a letter written I*.: , the City Council by a ratepayer., Til I Council has replied thanking Mr. Oree I for 'hie suggestion, bat stating, that, ii "■ the opinion of the Council, the time M , not opportune for oonstructiag *i& j ■ways. , '■ t\. * Mr J. Casely, a baker employed bjl Messrs Stewart and Co., bakers, of Fμ- I roa, met with a very painful a«i(M ; while carrying out his work last eyeing. He was cleaning a flour-niiiifl.'! machine, and got his left hand cai# .; and severed from the arm by one of 11" j* dough workers. Mr Caseins injury w> dressed by Dr Swanston, and the injowl.; man was taken to the Thames HospM j Vital statistics for the month of Jolf| show that in Auckland and euburl* boroughs (population 84,078) there V« \ registerd 223 births and 01 deaths; W*| ington and suburbs (population 7O,4ii| 153 births, 70 deaths; Christchurch! suburbs (population 64,690), 141 birtß | 74 deaths: Dunedin and suburbs (pop™ tion 03.227), 165 births, 57 deaths; M pier (population 10,775), 35 , births,' ■: deaths; Gisborne (population 8,481). births, 8 deaths; Wanganui (populitw* 11,170), 29 births, 11 deaths); Patau* ! ; ton North (pouplation 11,239), 35 WrTOj 9 deaths; Masterton (population fir 2B9 ''! 16 births. 9 deaths; Nelson (populate; 8,233), 15 births, 14 deaths; Tto»"; (population 11,519), 20 births, 9 denWj Oamaru (population. 5,234), 17 birtw, I - deaths; Invercargill (population 13,07>!\ 54 births, 12 deaths. '- 4 f [ A unique "find was recently mid* in 'j Taranaki 'Maori village, in the shape »; a manuscript written in 1840 W" i native priests, dealing with hittertO '•] known principles of ancient M&on ""• Mr. Percy Smith, the well-known .>* thority on native customs and hisw has in hand the work of tr-nelatmg v document, which is expected to tnrw a great flood of light upon P rot, iT which haw been puzzling students ol »• Maori race. \ In reply to a request from the re* dents of Mangere. urging that Ug" should be placed at Jiangcrc Boaa »» tion, Mr. A. H. Meiudes has reeewd » oommiuiication stating that the Mm*" for Railways (Hon. W. H. Hemesl *» issued instructions for two !"g" ■. ' ■„ provided. -Mr. Menzies is also nl ov ' B ° the matter of asking the Minister to » tend an early train to Papatoetoe. Baxter's Lung Preserver B*" relieves suffering, and thoroughly cur» a cough or cold. 1/10 the large "* •battle at chemists and stores, Gf »

now. — (Ad.) ,i Bale soiled white flanndfttes, W 6/6. 6/11. 7/11 doz., now 4/e, */»'• _ doz. not, To-morrow (SaturoajrjGrey and For*. Ltd., KeTßDgahape ™