The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3510, 15 October 1868, Page 3

The Daily Southern Cross.

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',d • ,iiioj . ■ . t ' ■ "... J-iljp the. irecent discussion of the estimates m • -the' Assembly we observe that an attempt ' \-waa made by some-of tijai Auckland members' :! to yetjrench"- The/quesfion of retrenchment is one which we have always felt to be of the ' 'jnost pressing 'inlportance, and we were in a hopes ye'sh^uld have been able heartily to r»pproye of the action of our members in this .direction.! We are .sorry to say we have not -''.found ourselvesin this position. The principle ' l on wnich ifcr. Williamson and a good many . „,of our mjen&bftrs acted .iv^as no doubt a good ione,ibutrtheiiip^lication they made of it was, ! >'in otrf'otlnibil'.iinigtdarly unfortunate. There 1 ! bf the 1 Very' highest

Importance that we should curtail, as far as possible, our expenditure for government. This principle of action requires no limitation so far as we can see, because the moment our retrenchment becomes excessive we shall find that it is the reverse of a saving. If the principle in its fulness were applied to our Government expenditure we have no doubt a very great reformation might be produced. The change would probably in most cases require to be one rather of system than of salaries. For while we do not deny that there may be a few salaries given by the General Government that are higher than need be to secure good officers, there is, we feel sure, a great deal more mischief caused by the system which demands scores of clerks, whose pay is certainly low enough. It is, however, true that we could not fairly expect a few members of the Assembly, without special knowledge of the work done, or the system in vogue, to lay * reformed system for the civil service before the House. All that men could do, under the circumstances, would be to object to and oppose everything that seemed either needless or extravagantly paid. It might, indeed, be fair to fix a maximum, and to say that in no case ought a servant of the Government to be paid more than that sum, at least so long as the colony was embarrassed as it now is. But the main advantage that could be got by an Opposition, in the cause of economy, would be in other things rather than here. There are whole classes of expenditure that might fairly be objected to on the score of the need of economy ; and even if our economical views were rejected by others, we should still have the advantage of having struggled in a cause apparently good. The proposal on which the discussion arose was the vote of £550 for the year's salary of the Collector of Customs at this port. To this vote our Superintendent and a good many of our members objected. They wished it cut down to £300; and the principal reason assigned for such a course was that the Provincial Government could not pay any of its officers more salary than this. For our own part, we must take exception both to the proposed reduction and the reason urged in its favour. The idea of cutting iown a salary by nearly one-half seems to as a very strange one, and only justifiable under very extraordinary circumstances. We ian imagine that salaries of very great dimensions may require even such trenchant reductions as this when they have been allowed to grow to very monstrous proportions unnoticed ; but we never yet heard of any enjoyed in N ew Zealand that struck us as belonging to that class. Tinder ordinary circumstances, it is pretty clear that a serious injustice would be done by such reductions as this. It would be unjust to the officer who was thus to be reduced from a good to a small income at one blow. It would be unjust to the service, which would lose all its best officers as soon as any decent opening occurred elsewhere ; and it would therefore be unjust to the people, whose interests would be watched over by inefficient men. For after all there can be only one sensible way of looking at the question of salary. The only criterion which should be held as a safe guide in the matter is, what is the fair value of such work and such responsibility as we mean to lay upon the holder of the office ? It is useless to urge that we are poor, because the natural reply is, that our poverty is no business of those whose services we want. The truth is, that if we are poor our proper course in to simplify our requirements as much as possible, and so make a few servants answer our purpose, instead of keeping up a huge establishment and cutting down the servants' wages. The argument used to support the proposal to reduce the Auckland Collector to a salary of £300 a year was about as silly a one as we remember seeing anywhere. It was urged that the province of Auckland did not pay its Provincial Secretary more than £300 a year, and therefore there could be no good reason for paying a Collector £550 a year. It might be asked, in the first place, what the duties of Provincial Secretary were, and we can imagine the suggestion being made (as we know it has been made before) that those duties were not laborious nor very essential. But supposing the duties of Provincial Secretary to be very important indeed, and his responsibility to be very great, the only deduction that can reasonably be made is either that the holder of the office is a very longsuffering or an extremely patriotic man. Unfortunately these are rare qualities, and it would be unwise to expect to find them in ordinary Collectors of Customs. We cannot say we think a salary of £800, or even £700 a year, for the Superintendent of this province, so very much less in proportion to his responsibilities than £550 a year to the Collector of Customs. And whatever our Provincial Secretaries and Law Officers may be willing to accept rather than throw up the offices they hold, we cannot see that this has anything to do with what is right and suitable — which after all must be a fair wage for fair work. It is not by spasmodic and wild attempts at wholesale reductions such as this, still less by such crude arguments as were used to support it, that any real progress will or can be made in the cause of reform. No Civil Service scheme which ignores the rights of fair labour to fair pay can ever be a success. All plans that are either marked by short-sighted meanness or by uncertain fluctuations to a large extent can never prove either stable or advantageous in the end. "We may add, although we had rather say little on the subject, that the best cause or even the wisest proposals possible may be marred and rendered absurd by the folly of the arguments put forth in their favour. In proposing wholesale reductions to suit the Procrustean bed of provincial finances at present, we cannot say we recognise the best course in the world. In laying down the present rate of provincial salaries as the beau ideal of all salaries in the provincej we fail to see anything that is even reasonable or wise. When next our members set up for economists, we trust they will show more judgment, and that their zeal may be, well directed, and so have some chance of success.

' THE UPPER THAMES. Eisewhebe will be found a letter from our Upper Tuames correspondent, whieh^ gives a . narration of what hns lately .transpired in this much-coveted portion of the Thameß district. Our Wyndham-street~~contemporary, in his anxiety to make up for his Jack of any native news of moment for some time pasty gave publicity yesterday to a ridiculous story, which it is scarcely worth our while proving to be untrue. We may at once state, however, that Te Moananui and Taraia are now at Shortland, and they know nothing about the dreadful doings which the Serald makes such "a (! display of. Our latest advices from the Tapper Thames state that Te Hira was ai firm as ever, and

that there was considerable danger that, if the Europeans went up, there would be a collision. The announcements made by our contemporary that the Upper Thames was opened have unsettled people at Shortland, and a great many are hanging about town ready any day to co up.

The General Synod resumed its sittings yeßfcerday, when a Urge amount of important business was disposed of. By far the most important of all, however, was the election of a successor to Bishop Selwyn. It will be recollected that, during the present sitting of the Synod, a bill was introduced and passed regulating the mode of election of Bishops to fill the office of Primate, in the event of a vaoancy by death, resignation, or any other cause. The bill provided that the Synod should proceed to elect by ballot, and that no member should have the right to mention any Bishop as the object of his choice. The bill was passed a day or two ago, aud yesterday, on the motion of the Hon. W. Swainson, the Sj nod proceeded to elect a successor to Bishop Selwyn, by means of voting-papers. Before doing so, however, a fewremarkc were made by the President relative to the importance and solemnity of the occasion, and the propriety of invoking Divine guidance in the choice. After prayer the ballot was taken and resulted in the election of the Bishop of Christchurch. After a few remarks from the President on announcing the result of the election, the B.shop of Christchurch expressed his determination, with the Divine aid, of faithfully discharging the duties which had devolved uooa him. An interesting discussion took place, on the motion of Archdeacon Harper, for the appointment of members of the spiritual tribunal to which the Lambeth Conference invited representatives. A report will be found elsewhere. A meeting of the settlers of the Whau district was held la«t evening at the Public Hall, Whau Road, for the purpose of electing trustees under the Highways Act, and fixing a rate. A report of the proceedings will be found elsewhere. At the conclusion of the meeting of settlers at the Whau last evening for the election of trustees, &c, Mr. Barraclough said that bethought it would be a good thing to form a miniature agricultural society in the district, and to give prizes to the growers of the best vegetables. Small prizes might be awarded, and he was of opinion that mauy of the settlers would, for the honour of the thing, try to excel each other ia the production of garden produce. The proposal appeared to meet with much favour, and several of those present said they would be prepared to enter heartily into the scheme. The fire-bells were rung last night about seven o'clock, a blaze appearing reflected in the sky somewhere towards the left of Onehunga. A number of She firemen turned out, but, as the reflection dis- ' appeared •oon, no one west from the town to the fire. At the Police Court yesterday, two drunkards were summarily disposed of. Elizabeth Smyth wa» fined £10 and the costs, and in default ordered to be imprisoned for a period of two months with hard labour, for using obscene language in Queen-street. William Bushe pleaded not guilty to stealing three blankets and two pair of boots, the property of Daniel Packer. The charge wai, however, proved, and prisoner was sentenced to four months' imprisonment with hard labour. John Henry was ordered to be imprisoned for 48 hour* with hard labour, for absenting himself from the barque ' Leonidaa' without the permission of, the master. Thomas Carr pleaded guilty to a similar offence, and after being severely cautioned was ordered t«> be placed on board his Bhip. Thomas P. Henly pleaded not guilty to forging and uttering a cheque to the amount of £38 155., purporting to be drawn by W. H. Foot. Mr. Hesketh appeared for the defence. His Worship committed the prisoner for trial at the next criminal sittings of the Supreme Court. In our report of the meeting held on Tuesday evening at the Edw»r.les-street Primitive Methodist School, ire accidentally omitted to state that the sum of £10 was handed over to the secretary of the school by Mr. G. Staines as a bequest from the late Mr. J. Hayward. We learn that Mr. G. Mucfarlan, member for Lyttelton, who died at Wellington on Friday evening last, had been ill from gastric fever for a week. The announcement was made in the House of Representatives, and created profound sorrow. A public meeting, "to consider by what means the re-introduction of pleuro-pneumonia into Che province may be prevented," will be held at the Remuera sale yards to-day at half-past eleven o'clock. Mr. J. Wallis, of Waiotahi, writes as follows on the 9fch instant to the Thames Advertiser :— " Sir,— l perceive in your issue of th<* 7th instant an extract from the New Zealand Herald, headed Ooromandel, and giving some account of the Mil Desperandum Claim at that place, in which I am a shareholder. The object of this letter is to correct a statement there made to the effect that I was the working manager in Hunt's Claim, which statement is incorrect, for, though employed for some time in that famous claim, yet were I not to contradict the above statement I should only be tacitly arrogating a position which I have not occupied. Another slight error occurs in the statement that the stuff will yield 'at the least 300oz. to the ton.' Surely the Herald' 8 correspondent at Coromandel must be either very farsighted, or must know little or nothing of quartz-reefing to hazard so wholesale a_ statement without any basis upon which to form his opinion.' With reference to the claim in question, we are very oanguine, and express it at our opinion that we shall make a profitable investment by trecting machinery upon the ground for its development ; this we are doing as speedily as possible." We were in error in stating that it was the Bishop cf Waiapu who, on behalf of the guests of the Qhoral Society, returned thanks for the treat afforded. It was the Bishop of Christchurch who did so. In justice to ourselves we may say that the affair took place after our reporter had left the hall, and thaj; the information contributed by a friend waa incorrect so far as the name is concerned. The following appears in a letter addressed to the Thames Advertiser : — "Sir,— PJease permit me through your columns to give publicity to what might have been a fatal accident, causing the loss of life of a very respectable and enterprising miner— namely, Mr. Eugene O'Donnell, who is at present manager of the Tradesmen's Gold-mining Company. On arrival of the steamer ' Duice of Edinburgh' at 12.30 a,m. last night, he wat in the act of stepping from off her, and, thinking he was stepping on to a plank, stepped right into the water. A very strong current being in the river at the time, took him very quickly away, indeed bo quick that he was taken a distance of fifty yards under water before he was able to get to the surface. This, no doubt, was in a great measure owing to Mr. O'Donnell having a heavy pair of water-tight boots on, as well as a hea»y coat and oilskin coat, »t the time. WJhen he came to the surface he first unbuttoned the. oilskin coat, and let it adrift, then hit out, but found he was on the opposite side altogether ; having plucked up courage, he again swam across, until, as he said, "by the aid of Providence he landed safely." But the wonder is, what were the officers and crew of the steamer doing all this time that they did not as much ** lower a boat t<> come to the rescue of the man, who, no doubt, would have been drowned were it; not that he is a very expert swimmer ? Well, sir, it might be naked, when or what time will the Government take those steps that are requisite for t-ven the preservation of life itself ; or will they not even make a safe landiog-place for the unfortunate diggers, from i whom they have already received upwards of £13,000? It appears not, and in truth we cannot expect them to do otherwise, for I mu«t say that the Government, and not to particularise any of its offioials, forcibly reminds one of the avaricious man who has been described as like the barren sandy ground, which sucks in all the rain and dews with greediness and thirst, but yields neither plants nor herbs to the inhabitants.— l am, sir, yours, 4o s Eugbnjs O'Dostnbll.— Shortland, October 9, 1868." The Times of the 21st July says :— " With regard to the Australian mail service, it seems that in consequence of the Royal Mail Company's steamer ' Tasmtninn' having, under the new arrangement for performing the service between Southampton and the Isthmus of Panama, arrived at Colon four days •arlier than the previous vessels under the old system, the steamer ' Mataur*,' with the New Zealand and Australian mails, was able to leave Panama on the 2ltt of June instead of the 25th. She would, in all , probability, arrive at Wellington on the 19th of July, and at Sydney on the 25th, being only 47 day's ,to the former place and 53 to the latter. If this canoe maintained the mail service to Australia via Panama will be as expeditious as that vifl Marseilles and Suez, while the postage is considerably less. In the case of New Zealand there would be a positive saving of ten days. In such circumstances efforts will probably be made by the proper authorities to enable the Australian colonies .generally to participate in the advantages ' conferred on New South Wales and New Z&lind.''^ "- ' " " "

The New Zealand Advertiser s»ys : — "An enerfetic effort ia being made at the present time in lelbourue to secure the support of the Government to a scheme f«r subsidising a line of ocean steamers direct from England to that colony. I'bere ia a stinding offer from Messrs. G. H. Hardingt m and Co., of London, to carry out the servica on certain stipulated terms, and their colonial representative, Mr. J »mes Lawrence, has just published in a pamphlet the particulars of the scheme, together with the arguments advanced in favour of it. A million sterling would be wanted ; but if it could be ihown that the service would simply pay its expenses, the subsidy asked for, of £5,000 a month or £60,000 a year, would pay a dividend on the capital." At a meeting of the proprietors of the Bank of Otago (Limited) held in London, on July 23, the directors' report for the ye»r ending the 31it of March last stated the bad aud doubtful debts at £40,095, and the grors profits at £30,727. After deducting the expenses in London and New Zealand, *c, there ia a balance of £10,049, nearly the whole of which ia appropriated in reduction of the suspense account.