The Evening Star FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1887.

Evening Star, Issue 7407, 30 December 1887, Page 2

The Evening Star FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1887.

Ministers are certainly entitled to some relaxation after the arduous Retrench- duties of the session; but if they meat. are to meet Parliament, as lias been indicated by the Premier, as soon as possible after the termination of the financial year, the intervening time is all too short for' the work in hand. There would seem to be good reason, therefore, in the telegram from Wellington, which we published yesterday, to the effect that it is expected a full Cabinet meeting will be held in the early part of January, “when it is “ understood that the principal matter to “ be dealt with will bo the retrenchment “scheme.” The difficulties in the way of thorough, effective retrenchment are much more serious than is generally supposed, and it must at once be understood that the amount to be saved by mere reduction of salaries cannot, comparatively speaking, be very material. The total number of persons in the pay of the Colony, including the Governor, Ministers, Judges, and others, but exclusive of police, military forces, and country postmasters, ia7,163; and the aggregate they received under the appropriations of last year in salaries, pay, and wages was £1,004,273, Of the whole number, however, 5,862 are receiving weekly wages, pay, or salaries not exceeding £l5O a year; the total amount paid to this class being £638 419 There is therefore left to work upon* the sum of £365,754, paid to persons in receipt of over £l5O a year. It is sufficiently evident that we must look further than the mere cutting down of salaries, and that throughout the Service there must be material reduction in numbers. Here is where the trouble will come in, since there must of necessity be a curtailment of the conveniences and aid at present enjoyed by the public and the local bodies. The curtailment, however, will not be exactly proportionate, because in several departments there may, with no sacrifice of efficiency but rather with advantage, be amalgamation of offices and a greater simplicity in the method of transacting business. The Treasurer, in his Financial Statement, declared that something more is now needed than mere trivial economies, and in the policy elaborated and the measures introduced which have now become law Ministers left no room for misunderstanding on what principles they intend to carry out the necessary reforms.

Very effective steps toward a more economical system of government have been indeed already taken, and, considering all the circumstances, it is somewhat wonderful that Ministers should have been able to do so much within a few weeks of their assuming the responsibilities of office. The salary and allowances of the Governor have been reduced, so that tho successors of Sir William Jervois will receive £5,000 a year, including the cost of his staff and allowances, instead of exclusive, as at present. The saving effected will amount to £2,500 a year. The salaries and allowances of Ministers aro largely cut down, and in this we conceive that the desirability of setting a good example has induced a rather too free use of tho pruning knife. The same, however, cannot be said as to the Legislative expenditure, in regard to which there is ground, wc think, for regret _ that tho retrenchment was not more effective. £IOO for the session, with travelling expenses to and from Wellington, would be ample for members-of the House of Representatives; whilst there appears no good reason for paying the Legislative Councillors at all. The honor and influence of the position, not to speak of the titular distinction, should be sufficient remuneration for these gentlemen, who have, further, a free pass on the Government railways. The reduction of the number of members of the House of Representatives is a great point gained in the way of direct and indirect economy. The Legislative Council have been asked to devise a scheme whereby their number may bo reduced to half the number of the reformed House of Representatives. If they do not make some practical suggestion to this effect next year, the probability is that the settlement will bo taken out of their hands. For so much, however, as the Government have already done thev merit thanks oi me community ; and it is to be hoped that they will be strengthened by a full expression of public opinion in carrying out their policy “ without fear, favor, or affection.” That there are “lions in the path,” however, is sufficiently evident from the whole tone of the debates on the Education Estimates last session. The absolute urgency of economising in tho heavy expenditure involved was practically ignored by most speakers and on the votes agreed to ; tho discussions being confined to the abstract questions of the school age, etc. The proper course would, we conceive, have been for the House to have realised that only such and such sums were fairly available, and applied themselves to cutting down tho expenses where there would be the least risk to the efficiency of the system as a whole. It may perhaps be admitted that it would be better to leave the system absolutely intact; but it is a ease of our “ poverty, but not our will consents” to reasonable reductions.

The proposals of the Government may be expected to be of a very thorough character, and will most probably include the complete reorganisation of the Service—a work which it is well known the Premier has had at heart for some years. In the Financial Statement Ministers express the opinion that if the reforms now being instituted are to be permanent, it will be necessary to establish a system of classification, limiting the number of each class, and making it necessary to report to Parliament the employment of any extra or outside assistance. A Bill, we are further told, is in preparation, but the main changes are to be first made so that it may be seen how they work before asking Parliament to legislate. The idea is eventually to appoint a Civil Service Board, as in Victoria, through whom all appointments and promotions would be made. “If we are to have a really efficient Service,” says the Treasurer, “ the tenure of tho “officers must be reasonably secure. A “ cadet must be able to look forward to the “ service he enters as a profession, and one “ in which his advancement will depend on “ his capacity, character, and attention to “ his duties, and not on the favor of the “Minister of the day. This, under a wcll- “ considered Act, can be done at a minimum “float to the country.”