The Press. MONDAY, JUNE 14, 1880.

Press, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4639, 14 June 1880, Page 2

The Press. MONDAY, JUNE 14, 1880.

IP, in politics, there is safety in a multitude of counsellors, surely the Hall Ministry ought to be particularly safe. Everybody has some' sort of advice to offer them. Friends and foes alike vie with each other in; urging this, that,- or the other course npon them, in the' most earnest way. Nobody seems to .consider that Ministers are themselves the best judges of what ought to be done, or rather.that,,if they are dependent on irresponsible advice for a guide of conduct they are not fit to retain office at all. They.; meet with no, opposition worth speaking of. It appears to be admitted on all sides that they are necessary to the country in its present tribulation, and that any change that could be made would be a change for the worse. Nobody seriously questions either .their honesty of -purpose or their capacity. Nobody at all events ventures to challenge their claim to the public confidence. But yet everybody is inclined' to shake his head and groan at what they do, and to be very much exercised because they do -not' do something quite different. . , ': The truth is that the conntry has. just awakened to the fact that its affairs are in a very queer state, and this bewildering j babble qf diverse voices is nothing more than the confused outcry of a people suddenly alarmed. The position ni|, so grave that it can hardly be said, without flippancy, to have a comic side. Yet, reading the papers from various quarters, containing leading articles of their own, speeches and addresses of members, resolutionsof pubUcmeetings, reports of Chambers of Commerce and soon, we cannot help smiling at the aptness of an odd apologue of Dickens. When Mr. Hckwicfc fell through the ice into the water, one of his friends cried "Murder I" another shouted "Thieves!" a third ran across-country bellowing "Fire!" the "deppity- sawbones " proposed to bleed the drowning man, and the rest got in each other's way, and all screamed in chorus. Meanwhile, his humble minister, Sam "Weller, the only cool head in the party, had got a plank and rescued Mr. Pickwick from, danger, sprawling and dripping, and shivering and panting and chilled, bat j yet sound enough inside, and needing only a little care and coddling to set him com-1 pletely on his feet again. That, we think, is precisely what is going on- in New Zealand just now. The colony has been sliding about, ungracefully enough,. but yet with overweening confidence, on the thinnest of thin ice, for years past. Snddenly there came a crash and a splash, the smooth deceptive - surface gave way, and the colony plunged head over heels into the cold, dark, underflow of debt and depression. Then came the confusion, the babbling, tha running this way and that, the incoherent and nonsensical re--c<m__i„_aticxQS, the forgetful-ess of the real danger.in the selfish feeling of vague alarm, and the total neglect of any intelligent co-operation for the purpose of setting matters right again. Even the

malevolent tendencies of the medical student hare not been: wanting. We hear public men, professing to bogreat physicians for the body politic, proposing .in the very sprit of mischief, to let oui what little blood remains in circulation in the prostrate and exhausted colony. Meanwhile the Ministers, who not only are earnestly concerned for the colony's welfare, but are solely responsible for it, keep their heads cool, and, disregarding all the. clamor and chaos round them, apply themselves practically to the task of restoring it to safety the best way they can. Soon it will be seen that the peril is past, and that the colony is in a fair way of recovery; and then those who are making such a noise just now will look back and wonder how they can have made such fools of themselves. Already there are signs of the public coming to their senses, and we venture to say that before many months are over tho firm policy adopted by the Ministry will have been entirely vindicated by the irresistible logic of events. But, in the meantime, we can well understand how greatly the difficulty of, their task is I increased by the thoughtlessness and im- ! patience of those who might, if they chose to exercise a little self-control, do much to aid them in averting ruin and humiliation from them. We commend this reflection to all who are disposed during the present critical times to buzz about and agitate, and find fault for the sake of finding fault. Mere habitual grumblers, of course, there is no reasoning with. grumble "to the end of the world et opres. •■; . » ■ Since writing on the subject of the reductions proposed to be made in the charges upon the Consolidated Fund, we have received a copy of the estimates. In order that our readers may see at a glance the relative amount of saving proposed to be effected in. each department, we give the following table „owing the estimates for the current financial year and those for the previous period:—■ ... , ' 1880-81. 1879 80. Civil list... ... ... £29,750 £29,750 Interest and sinking fund ... 1,453,161 1,343,372 Under speoial Aots of the Legislature ... 50,587 322,774 Legislative 39,851 65,892 Colonial Seoretry ... 170,220 178,°61 Colonial Treasurer ... 49,470 36 287 Minister of Justice ... 137,139 139,429 Poßtmaster-General, Ac. 278,646 279,148 Commissioner of Customs ... ... ... 90,843 107,288 Commisioner of Stamps 23,785 26,718 Minister of Eduoation... 297,730 274,739 Minister of Native Affairs ... ... 14,262 46944 Minister of Mines ... 23,200 36,434 Minister of Public Works ... ... 634,079 712,130 Minister of Defence .'.. 180,981 184,379 It wifi be seen that under the two heads over which, the Government have no control—the interest/ and sinking fund and the education vote—-there. is an increase of , expenditure of £132,000. These two items cannot be reduced by Ministers, inasmuch as the former is in consequence of onr increased indebtedness, and the latter is fixed by statute. The Colonial Treasurer's department also shows an increase, amounting to £13,000/ This is on account of the expenses in connection with the Property Tax, which are set down at £28,418. But in all other departments savings have been effected. The" amount for expenditure under Special Acts of the Legislature is put down this year, at £50,587> as against £322,77-for 1879-80- This is the result of the proposal to discontinue the subsidies payable under the provisions of the Pinan'cial Arrangements Acts, 1877 and 1878! The large sum expended in 1879-80 under the head of Legislative is due : tcr the f of the late Government lin refusing to accept the decision of the House of Representatives as'-to'their incompetency :and' ; mal - administration. ■Their' appeal.' io the electors did no' good,; put; the colony -to - great inconvenience, and rendered two: sessions in one year, and the payment of the expenses in connection necessary. There is a" reduction of nearly £9000 in „_ Colonial Secretary's deparhnent, notwithstanding the. appearance in the schedule of an extra , item of £1.3,000 for the payment of six chief inspectors-, forty-two sub-inspectors, and expenses of working; the Cattle Acts.' The -t-inister of Justice and the Post-master-General each show a small saying. The Commissioner of Customs proposes. tb save about £17,000, the Commissioner of Stamps about £3000, the Minister of Defence £4000, and the Minister of Mines £13,000. But it is in the Native Department and in that of the Minister for Publio Works that the savings are most deserving of notice. Mr. Bryce, as we have already said, has fully redeemed his promise to place -the Native office on something like a proper footing. The salaries of Native agents, clerks and interpreters have been greatly reduced,' and in many cases done away with altogether. In some instances officers have been transferred to other departments and extra duties imposed npon them. Such items as "travelling expenses,, "forage allowance," &c, are conspicuous ;by their almost total absence from the schedule. The item." general contingencies for the purchase of food and clothing for indigentKstivesv also for rewards and presents, to chiefs and for the encouragement of agricultural pursuits "is reduced from £6000 to £3000; but, on the other hand, £2000 extra is set down for "salaries to Medical officers, medicines and medical comforts for the Natives." Nor are there any such items as '*. cab-hire," "bonus;to i Joshua Jones," " erecting andfurnishing [arouse :for Bewi," and so forth. The 'Minister for Public Wsrks. shows a reduction of £78,000 in his department, of which £42,000, however, is represented by " Miscellaneous services," reducing the actual saving in the working of the department to £36,000. This large reduction, Major Atkinson was able to tell the House, had been effected without in any way impairing the efficiency of the department. Large as the above reductions are, they do not represent all the savings Ministers intend to effect. Although every effort had been made to keep down the estimates submitted, the Colonial Treasurer told the House that he hoped during the year to reduce still more, and for that purpose he 'intended to ask the House to strike off from the votes for salaries, pay, anel wages £50,000, or 5 percent. If during the year the Government did not succeed in remodelling and even abolishing some departments, and so effecting the saving, they would issue a scale of i per-centages showing the sums to be de-, ducted from every employe of the Govern- , raent, which together would make £50,000. ; Major . Atkinson, it will be observed, did%ot, as has been enroneously:] stated, say that he would reduce alt sala- j ries by 5 per cent, but that he would issue "a scale of per-centages" which when acted upon would save £50,000.