The Press. THURSDAY. MAY 21, 1891.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7869, 21 May 1891, Page 4

The Press. THURSDAY. MAY 21, 1891.

Since the present Government took office they have by no means confined themselves to political- agitation. A large number of dismissals have been

made, which may or may not turnout to be in the interests of economy and efficiency. Jt is quite impossible to say, with tbe information at present available, whether these dismissals have been wise or not. But there are changes which have been effected about wiiich the public are perfectly competent to form an independent opinion. We refer especially to what has already been done by tbe Minister of JOaoxls■X'lis.fc genrlernari liels set; about the fjajslg • f iiiioDJn ii [in Huf'l'iiiu'ii N b'i) Of) ol proving Ins uuhfcness to be entrusted with the administration of a great public department with a vigour which. must have more than satisfied nia bitterest opponent. The

colony Las liad t.b.e good fortune" to be more than usually well served in connection with the Laud Department. The Chief Commissioners havo discharged their lniportant duties with a diligence, impartiality, and independence leaving nothing to bo desired. No sooner, however, did the Miuister for Lands find himself in possession of a little brief authority than he thought it necessary to make a whole number of quite uncalled-for changes. Utterly incapable, apparently, of comprehending the most elementary principles of sotmd administration, which consist iii ueintr the public service to

the beat advantage, he felt it necessary to do something to show that the Lands Department has a fresh Minister at its head. The only practical step whicli he has so far taken to show his power has been to issue an order transferring a number of officials from one part of the colony to the other. The effect of these proceedings muse be to damage the publio service, aud put a number of public servants to great inconvenience.

Take the case of Mr. Baker. This gentleman, as we, havo shown elsewhere, has spent tho best part of his official life in Canterbury—first as tho head of the Survey Department, aud for a number of years as head of the Land Department also. During that period he has acquired au intimate knowledge of everything connected with the lands in this provincial district. That knowledge must of necessity be of great value to the Board in its administration of the lauds of the district. Common sense points to the expediency of utilising that knowledge in the public interests. Mr. McKenzie thinks differently. Mr. Baker has to remove to Wellington, where much of his past experience will be thrown away. He Will be called upon there to deal with a state of things practically new to him. He has no doubt the capacity to make himself acquainted with the business of his new district, but there was no necessity for making: the change at all. He waa serving the public admirably in Canterbury and on every ground he should have been allowed to remain in the place where he was necessarily most useful. The same remarks apply to Mr. Marchant, the Chief Commissioner for the Wellington district. In that Provincial District there is a large amount of bush settlement going on, and the Chief Commissioner there has a full knowledge of everything that has been done. There are few more faithful, able, aud zealoua officers than Mr; Marchant, and in his present position he cau continue to render most valuable service. But Mr. McKenzie, with what we cannot better describe thau a monkeylike desire for upturniug things, has decreed that the Wellington Chief Commissioner shall come to Canterbury, where he will have to deal with an entirely different kind of business. Mr. McKenzie, of course, does not know auy better. He has only beeu a few j months in office, and has no practical acquaintance with administration. It ia more than doubtful if twenty years' j experience would make him a capable I head of the Land Department. It is certain, at any rate,|that during the few j months he has been in power he has developed none of the qualities of a successful Minister of Lands. No more striking illustration of the absence of these qualities could be furnished than by the two removals we have just been discussing. Then there is the case of Mr. Spenob, the Chief Surveyor and Commissioner of Crown Lands in Southland. According to the universal testimony of that distriot the people there are about to lose the services of another valued publio servant. has been ordered to Westland—a removal equivalent to disrating him, and he haa deoided to retire from the public service and leave the colony. Before taking his departure, however, it is possible that the publio may learn from him something with reference to the proceedings of the Minister of Lands which may prove interesting. " Then, again, take the changes which have been made in the Stock Department. An obscure stranger, about whose qualifications the colony is in profound ignorance, is suddenly elevated to the head of the department, while trained and capable men who have spent years in the publio service ieceive notice of dismissal. Mr. Ritchie may, for anything we know, be a competent man, and by the time he has spant some years in the service of the colony may have acquired the necessary official experience and knowledge requisite in a useful head of a department. But if the arrangement made some time ago was to be upset after Mr. Mckenzie's usual fashion, why was an outsider introduced and given, as is reported, a three years' guarantee of a high salary, and most efficient men with long official experience and practical knowledge of the requirements of the country passed over ? The arrangements wit in respect to the Stook Department were arrived at some time ago after the most careful and anxious inquiry, and

after the opinion had been obtained of all those moat experienced aud interested in tlie successful working of tha Department. It i« agreed that the system waa working admirably, yet for no good reasoa whatever the Minister of Lands suddenly drops a bombshell into tbe Department, and scatters it to winds. And such a proceeding he calls administration. We are not quarrelling with economy where necessary. If the Department was costing too much let it be reduced by all means. But it is a singular way of doing so, to pass over those who have served the country well, and place a stranger in power with a good salary, liberal travelling allowances, and a three years' engagement. In another article we may have something to say with respect to other administrative changes effected by the present Government.