GOVERNMENT MEANNESS.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 264, 6 November 1919, Page 4

GOVERNMENT MEANNESS.

1 Governments oscillate curiously between extravagance and meanness. As examples of meanness we may cite two ■ decisions of the Government in our news this week. One is not to include crews !j of the mine-sweepers among those eligible for the gratuity. These men took one of the risks of war, and gave valui able service to their country. They did ■ this dangerous and necessary work under j conditions of great discomfort.. The excuse that these men were merely the j crews of chartered ships is very thin. i They were placed under naval officers I and subjected to naval discipline. We can see no good reason for not placing , them on , the same footing as our; soldiers. The other example is the dcci- i sion of Cabinet not to compensate the ' owners of the scow Moa for the damage j done to the ship through its capture by : Count yon Luckner and his companions. ;The facts in this case arc quite simple. I A number of German prisoners were allowed to escape by servants of the New Zealand Government. ' That they : would not have escaped if proper care I had been taken is undeniable. They '■ ! seized a coastal trading ship proceeding i on its lawful occasions, and sailed it away to the Kcrmadccs, and in that operation, on the way back, or both (tin , point is immaterial) considerable damage was done to the vessel. Why should the Government not be responsible for , the consequences of the acts of its ser- ' ;vants? We are not able to give a legal opinion on the point, but we should say that if a private concern had been the primary cause of such damage, it would . certainly be required to make good the loss. We presume that the owners of the Moa are debarred from taking legal proceedings, but the Government should not shelter itself behind its immunity.