The Press. THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1872.

Press, Volume XIX, Issue 2808, 2 May 1872, Page 2

The Press. THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1872.

The difference! between the Provincial Government andthe railway employes has given rise to'a much wider question, in which we hope, for the sake of those immediately concerned, and of the public in general, that it will not be lost si ght of. In the first place, an entirely separate matter was mixed _p with it, namely, whether or no the General Manager was responsible for the ! strike of the 3rd April; next, it Appears, doubts were suggested as to the good.order of the rolling stock; and sp f what was at the outset merely a dispute about a reduction of wages, has developed into .a question of the condition and management of the .railway both generally and in a specific instance, which the Executive propose to" refer to the consideration of a Select Committee.

"The appointment of a Select Com- j mittee is. a common resource; espe.cialiy when Governments are at a loss, or are conscious .that their case will not bear much handling. But we scarcely.thinki that such, a reference is applicable in this instance. ~ For the .Executive are 1 -tbremselves ' a "Select Committee, chosen from among the whole body of the Couucil to conduct the gubliq affairs of the province • and jthiey -Have no right to devolve on others duties which they are placed in office ito discharge. They have : undertaken, amqng other things, the management 'of thjS railways j they have full power to ajnend whatever... they found objectionable, or to carry out whatever they thoiight would conduce to the public service. , If, as the result, the management is not what it ought to be, they are thepersonj. responsible. We only know of two-courses open to a Ministry-if-anything goes wrong in a public department. The officers of the department must be to , blame- or not;: If they are, Government should ascertain who is in fault, and deal withhim accordingly. Or if they are satisfied that the mischance wos the result of accident, it becomes their duty to uphold the department, arid to challenge the strictest Parliamentary enquiry into- its conduct. The latter was the course r "taken "by Mr Gladstone, in tbe -affair of the Megaera; and by. the Colonial Government last year, with respect to the charges against the telegraph office. But who ever heard of a Government endeavouring to throw the responsibility of a disaster upon one of their subordinates, insinuating that he alone was to blame, appealing against him to Parliament,' and moving for a Select Committee to Bit in judgment upon him ? i

However, the committee of -enquiry is to be proposed, and the motion will no doubt be carried. Under these circumstances we shall not at present go into the case as between the Government and Mr Marßhman. As yet, indeed, we halve not sufficient materials for forming an opinion. The only data before us are the two letters we published yesterday, from the Secretary for Public Works to the General Manager, and the Manager's reply. Of these letters it is enough to say that we never read anything more offensive in tone and manner than that written by Mr Kennaway. Addressed, as it is, to an old and experienced public servant, who has held a high position in the province and been known and trusted in its affairs, long before Mr Kennaway was even heard of, it proves the writer as ignorant of the proprieties of ofScial life as he is of the feelings and manners of a gentleman. It is the letter t>f a thorough snob. Mr Marshinan's answer is temperately written, and, so far, completely clears him from Mr Kennaway's imputations. If any enquiry takes place we hope it will not be hurried over, and that it will be impartial. The case is a singular one. What ought to. have been a charge against the Executive has been so manipulated as to be twisted-into a charge against the Railway Manager.. -Now there is. good ground to-believe that some of thosewbo are most active in the matter are influenced by a desire to get rid of

the present Manager ; that they have j reasons of their own for wishing his place they have instigated u .we\.. fcjjplibation for this committee' ijr the Slopes of getting a \:>e of censure passed upon him, and so of enforcing his njaignatior. Their one object being to ou_t Mr Marsh man from his post, tliey will come to the enquiry with a predisposition to condemn him, and will regard it only ac a convenient opportunity of working -out a foregone conclusion. The public are aware of this state of thing*, and will be on their guard aga-nst it. They will insist that no trace of it shall appear in"the committee's proceedings. They are too deeply concerned in the matter to be indifferent. Every citizen of Christchurch has an actual personal interest that the management of the railway should be in trustworthy hands- and will not allow it to be made the spoil of a political intrigue or the prey of unscrupulous placehunfers. They will demand ,that the manager shall have fair play. A former committee, it will be remembered, which censored Mr Majshman on the strength of the evidence, of two or three of the railway men, positively refused tq let him know what bad been alleged against bim,, or to hear ' what * he might have to Bay iii explanation.; This sort of thing iinust not happen again. The case must be examined into completely, and both sides allowed a fair hearing. The terms of the resolution put Mr Marshman on bis trial. He is entitled to claim that he shall not be prejudged, that he shall have ample means of selfdefence, and that, if the judgment of the committee is unfavorable, it shall be because no other decision would be consistent with the proved facts. Nothing less than this will be just, and nothing less will satisfy the people of Canterbury.