The Press. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1891.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7778, 4 February 1891, Page 4

The Press. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1891.

Economy is to form the leading plank in the platform oKthe present Government. They haye promised to with this matter in. *-vigorous as well as resolute manner. Mr. Ballanoe and'hiafollawers, during thq eessibn of 1890, gave the Skiufliata every aeeisfcance in their, efforts to,<sat down the estimates, md * be y tnemselVes in the Governor's speech to bring down estimates four months hence, framed -with a due regard to economy, and with " such reduction ,of expenditure as the. position of the country demands." Ministers are entitled to. ©veiry credit for this • praiseworthy determination, especially as these economies are promised to be made "without mv " pairing the efficiency of the public All this, of coarse, is-Very proper, and if the Ballancb Ministry honestly endeavor to fulfil .their pledgee in thla respect, they trill to that extent be entitled to the thanks of the country. It is unfortunate f©rthem, however, thab they have commenced co badly. To be instrumental in charging the colony with the ■waeteful expense of β-aeeond session, when ant adjournment would have met) alf the reouirements of the case, does

nob encourage us to hope for great things at their hands. The party of which Mr. Ballancb is the head has been notorious in the past for extravagance and heavy deficits, and it will require, a heroic effort on the part of the present Government to dispel the doubt and uncertainty with respect to their proceedings which undoubtedly prevail throughout the country.

But it is not the facb alone that in the past Mr. TSallance has been associated with those who have more than once landed New Zealand in financial straits which has given rise to the doubt we have referred to. Significant paragraphs have appeared in certain journals of late which are enough at least to arouse suspicion. Ministers may of course have nothing to do with them, but their appearance should be sufficient to put the public ou the alert. The other day a journal, published at the seat ot Government, hinted that a little "boldness in " the Government of this country " just now would be profitable." " In asking for boldness," our contemporary went on to say, "we simply " wish to point out that the increase "of the colonial exports justifies the " wish to have the railways all com- " pleted." Just so. We have heard of this excuse for borrowing before. It has been used as a justification for the numerous acts of extravagance which have characterised the borrowing policy since its initiation. It is the ! " Give the colony another chance " cry repeated in a scmewhat feeble *orm, and which, if listened to, will land New Zealand in hopeless difficulty and disaster. The suggestion is all the more significant when it is remembered that Mr. Ballance succeeds to office at a time when the finances have been completely reestablished. A substantial surplus at the end of the year is now assured. During the coming financial period it will be possible byconversion operations to save about £500,000. If these operations are carried out Mr. Ballancb will have a large sum at his disposal. Will ho be tempted to use that money in purchasing political support, or will he have the courage to apply it in paying off the deficit left by the Stout-Vogel Government when they left office 1 We do not assert that the suggestion of our Wellington contemporary, as to the completion of our railways, has been inspired by the Government, but it would be satisfactory to know that Ministers have no intention whatever of bringing down a policy of borrowing on any pretence whatever.

There is yefc another matter, also connected with the question of economy, which should not be overlooked. A few weeks ago, and when it was thought probable that Mr. Ballancb would be entrusted with the task of forming a Government, the Wanganui Herald, a journal with which the present Premier has been intimately associated, displayed a remarkable interest in the pay of Ministers. After quoting a passage from the Evening Post on the subject our contemporary went on to say:—" We pointed out at the time "that the reduction of Ministers' "salaries was a move in the wrong " direction, as good men were worth " good pay, and that inferior ones wore "dear at any price. In commercial " circles the salaries paid to the heads "of large commercial concerns are " high, frequently reaching as much as " £5000 a year. To ask a man capable " of filling the office of Premier of a "colony like this to accept£looo a "year for the whole of his time and " energies is asking him to make a "saorifice far too large." Can it be that the above feeler has been put out I to ascertain the state of public opinion, and that in addition to the extravagance of a double honorarium to members, it will be proposed shortly to increase the Ministerial salaries to their old standard? It maybe true that "good men are worth good pay," and it is certainly the case "that " inferior ones are dear at any price." It will be as well, we think, if any proposal for an increase of Ministerial

salaries is in contemplation, to wait a little. We have yet to ascertain whether Mr. Balances and his colleagues belong to the first or second class above described. One thing is quite clear. If the present Ministry are to be appraised at one-half the value they evidently place upon themselves, their present salaries are ridiculously inadequate.

The action m the Government in connection with the Auckland Hospital inquiry has not received the attention which it deserves. The more the matter is looked into the more deserving of censure does the action of the Minister of Justice become. The late Government, it will be remembered, appointed a Commission to inquire' into certain charges made by a nurse named Arnaboldi against the Medical Officer of the Hospital. The Commission was composed of perfectly independent and honorable men, and their report would, no doubt, have been a thoroughly reliable one. After the Commission had commenced its sittings a change of Government took place, and one of the first acts of that Government was to peremptorilystop the inquiry and discharge the Commission. According to the New Zealand Herald, it was Mr. Bees who had sufficient influence with the Government) to bring this about. " Ministers/ , says our contemporary " ought not to have taken the serious step of stopping the coarse of a Commifision which had actually commenced to take evidence, and which previously had taken measures to have all parties represented. We could have underStood it if the Government had yielded to the publio opinion, when that was expressed, and had recalled the Commission. But the late Ministers had the publio objections before them, and declined to accede. The present Ministers decide to stop the Commission by a peremptory order from the Governor, not in deference to any publio expression of opinion, but apparently from, representations made by a gentleman who was engaged in the ease, and who finds himself at Wellington in the capacity of a member of the House of Representatives. Ministers have not made a good beginning." It would be more correct to gay that they have made a veiy bad beginning: indeed. If ib be true, as asserted by our contemporary, that this grave interference with the proceedings of what was practically a judicial body was the result of representations made to the Government) by a legal gentle-;

man engaged I mm being a membeTtf^f^l the matter ia a very If such things tolerated there is no »i. interference may end. gWh^|