THE HIGH COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12966, 20 November 1907, Page 6

THE HIGH COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE.

The. fact that the. Hon. T. K. Macdonahl's motion dealing with the High office was withdrawn at tho rrqmvst of tho Attorne\--(ionornl, out of reganl for Mr Jtoeves'.s feelings, need not t>o taken as «ny indication that Dr. Findlny'e clever special pleading on hohnlf of tho Dominion's London staff settled the question at Nor will it bo mi regarded by tho pnblic 'Mr Mncdonuld's projiosala, gonerally speaking, wi»ro too strongly based on common sense to bo disposed of in this offhand fashion. Nobody over suggested that the- whole steff of tho office snould, in Dr. Findluy'e words, wandor backwards and forwards over Lj.OOO miles of ocean, with lirst-claee faro and travelling allowanco pail, in ordor to ns.«i.«t thorn in adding up .sums. In suggesting such a quaint proceeding Dr. ** ei T..t&»m.TJS* *.~ ■.ra.y.'re^i^H

- Findlay was merely indulging in the c well-known legal trick of setting up a * dummy for the sole purposo of knock- |. ing it down. There is no need to send t . Home from tho Dominion, office boys, c and typewriters, and junior clorks, but l{ it i.s not unreasonable to propose .. that at least a proportion of the .• hifrher officials in Ix>ndon *h«li have a fuller knowledge of the country with whoso affairs they are engaged than is to bo gained even from a perusal of the High Commissioner's admirable writings. Dr. Findr lay fails to realise, we think, the importance of securing a moro suitablo r site for the High Commissioner's office. He had much to say about the expense fc of removing to a more central situation, ** but if the s<>e!iision of tlie present office - lends, as is actually tho ea.se, to its s being to a groat extent unknown, its i comparative cheapness is really very 0 poor economy. AYe ,'.ro represented in y J/oridon largely for the double pur- > pose of pushing our trade and en- :, abliug po*iible immigrants to learn as - much as possiblo about the roWNircoe cf the Dominion and tho conditions of - life out here. An offico that has to be c sought for diligently even by those who know i\ he-re it is would hardly be. t even if we got it rejit-free. - Neither does tho Attorney-General 1 seem to recognise tho importance of ix tho High Gomrnit-fcioner's staff doing p more to pwmote tho Dominion's trade t with the Old Country «md protecting e> tho interests of our producers. Mr l Cameron, the Produce Commissioner, t does all that one man can possibly do a in this direction, but there, in scope for several others, and Mr Cameron him- . self should bo brought out to New ■f Zealand for some months, in order to I mako himself thoroughly acquainted on - the spot with the present conditions t of our producing interests. Mr j Reeves's term expa'ros next Juno, and f wo sincerely trust the Government will - before then consider, in a moro sympa- > thetic spirit than Dr. Findlay dis--3 played, tho urgent need for reorganis- * ing tho-London offioe and bringing it * moro up to dato.