MINISTERS AND OVERWORK.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 114, 6 February 1908, Page 4

MINISTERS AND OVERWORK.

[ Sir, —In (o-day's issue a-letter , appears • signed; J. T. M. Hornsbjy advocating the ■ necessity for Ministers to linvo Parliamentary under-secretaries, tho same as they have ill ■ the House of Coiiiirions; Surely Mr, Hornsby ' cannot be'sincere iii making such a proposal. J In the first .place, Mr. Hornsby cannot comy pare the duties of a Cabinet' Minister in the Dominion with the duties of -Cabinet Ministers of the Mcither Country. It is all nonsenso for Mr, M'Nab to tell tho people that Ministers are'killed'by ovenvorkf May - I suggest that the Cabinet, Ministers attond .to tho duty that belongs to each of thoir Departments? Why should- Cabinet, Ministers stump the Dominion, and for what ■ purpose?. .They aro simply wasting the taxpayers' bard-earned money. '' If, ..Cabindt' ' Ministei's warit to' stump " the country for thoir own- eiiiis to attend banquets, thonv Task, why should each one'draw 30s. per' day besides train fare? Tho,late Mr. Soddon wanted to' make an outstanding namo for .himself,, and his actions cost hipi I his, life. The late Mr., Ballancd diod under ah'operation. The late Mr. Pitt u'as. in bad health before Tie became; Attornoy : Genoral. ;; Tho late Mr. Cadmari' was' -of a.'weakly nature, not a robust man by any means. We are on the-last session of Parliament, and after that wo will be on the ov6 of a fresh" election.. Then, I say, let overy elector ask tho member for his district the reason Cabinet Ministers want , to come to each district to address tho electors. Tho plain faot is, to keep themsolvos : in powor. Mr, Hall-Jones was ,very fortunato.... He got six months' leave of absonce and £COO to ''himself to make a pleasure trip,.and■ £200 to his sec--rotary. Truly Ministers - ; aro,, very badly •" . If®,-have population under 1,000,000, and the taxpayer is- paying eiiougb S5l r n/J? I JSI! 1 ' l0 !X "■' 1 ' *■ population-' of 20,000,000. The workdrs cannot .got hoik days and full, pay when thoy aro run down.—I am, etc., . > , . ] 'ONLOOKER: Wellington, February .5, 1908. Sir,—Mr. Hornsby, M.P.'s, long letter in to-day s_Dominion on "Ministers and Overwork is a completo and humiliating confession of the utter breakdown arid faiftiro of State Socialism a_s far as it has been oarried into practice in New. Zealand. He lias shownvery conclusively that it is uttorly impossible to run even , a very, small and compact country liko the Dominion on even modost Socialist lines, without killing the members of tho Government .one by one with overwork. If the physical giants ho quotes, liko It. J.'fceddon, John l M'Ken:',ie, and others, did under the. strain! put upon them' in ,-i healthy climate like ours, how can ■ ordinary men do tho work effectively,and live, especially if the Socialist loaders succeed in, foisting their full programme on.,tho country at the forthcoming elections? , ~ ... Tho{ Government of 'thV United'Statfcs -of America, under -individualist linos, ,eilicientjy. control 1 and direct the affairs-, of.rinear one , -hundred millions, of people, and yeli we do not.hoar of tho -members of the.Government complaining- or dying of - overwork." ' Tho British; Governmeiit control' tho,;- destitiies! of ■between, forty. ; and . fifty millions, of 'people' on individualist linos, its,well.''asattho same, time directing tho affairs of the greateSt;Empiro the world has over .seen; arid yet" wd never hear of ,tho.' members of the Government dying froin-o'vorwork'. ■ If of. governing «IJO,OOO/people-in Now Zealand''oii limiibd- , Socialist lilies is'so fatal; to v the'monitors of tho .Ministry, what; would -bo the result' if they had to. govern tlio Unitdd 1 States !or.- the. on, the .samo . lines ?~I am, uc, INDIVIDUALIST. Wellington, 'FeKiiary 5, 1908. : ;''' '*<%;■•i' I '-' i-