FURTHER RETRENCHMENT.

Evening Star, Issue 7656, 5 July 1888, Page 2

FURTHER RETRENCHMENT.

MR WITHY MOVES FOR A REDUC TION OF LIOO.O'OO.'

[From Ohr Parliamentary Reporter.]

WELLINGTON, July 4,

The resolution drafted by the Retrenchment Committee relative to a further possible saving was moved this afternoon by Mr Withy. ' The Premier moved that the Speaker do leave the' chair in order that the House might g« into Committee of Supply. ' Mr Withy thereupon moved as an amendment—"That in the opinion of this House the Government should (if possible) during the recess further reduoe the expenditure by LIOO.OOO per annum." The amendment, he said, was not intended to be hostile to the Government. Last year the Premier had Eromised to reduce the expenditure by i 300,000, and from the retrenchment already carried out the Committee felt strongly that the amouut in the short time at his disposal was a very sufficient reason for moving the Government" to proceed further. The Government had agreed to consider the matter favorably. He (Mr Withy) thought that it would be necessary to retrench further, because the new Customs duties could not be realised, and tho Property Tax was almost sure to fall off. The lavish expenditure upon public works had ceased, and it was necessary that the colony should begin to set its house in order. The Economy Committee, after going through the Estimates, had come to the conclusion that considerable reductions could be made. Though they were not unmindful : of. . the serious depression existing in business and agricultural circles, the words " if possible " ooj ourred in the amendment. because he recognised that the Government must .mow more about the subject thas he

did, and he did not wish tn pin them down to a sum which might not be practicable. The reductions must come lower down than proposed in last year's Financial Statement, when the Premier said it was not intended to touch salaries of less than Ll5O a year. The wages must be reduced, especially in the Railway Department, which were now above the average market value. The loan expenditure had hitherto sustained the rates of wages at a higher scale than those which the colony could afford, and now that the loan was almost out the question must be faced. His proposal would not be thought to weigh heavily on the working men of the colony. The colony could not be expected to pay wages above the average current rate, while the Government employes had an advantage over the outside workmen in being paid full wages for six days whether weather permitted them to work or not. The classification of the Civil Service would be another desirable step in the direction of economy, and he approved of carrying out a like system in the Education Department. There could also be economies throughout that system, but he preferred the present Education Boards to the centralisation of control in Wellington. The school age would ako have to be raised, but as the House had declined to do so last year he would not press that question now. Some systen 1 ought to be propounded for replacing the school buildings as they fell into decay. He asked the House to pass the resolution in order to strengthen the hands of the Government in making reductions.

Mr Hobbs, in seconding the amendment, said the members of the House must be prepared to take their share of the responsibility of the retrenchment scheme, and the odium it would entail. As the Government were paying more than the current rates of wages they could make considerable retrenchment. Still, they should pay the highest current rates, with which the workmen would be quite satisfied, particularly as there were hundreds of capable men who were prepared to step into the positions. Retrenchment must be carried out in order to put the colony's affairs on a satisfactory footing, and those were not true friends of the working men who were continually raising the bogie of opposition to a reduction of wages. The Government could not be bound to a hard and fast sum of LIOO,OOO, and that was why the terms of the resolution were qualified. He asked the House to look into the question thoroughly. Mr Goldie, in supporting the amendment, said that he and others were pledged to support a revision of the Tariff without extra taxation; but in order to obtain that revision they had to submit to very much increased taxation, and had thus been compromised. The Press of the Colony, which was following rather than leading public opinion, had called loudly for reductions. He found that the Government had already touched salaries of less than LI 50 a year; amongst those were Judges' associates. There were anomalies in the salaries of the registrars of the Supreme Court. A revision cf the entire Service's salaries would not only lead to reductions, but would cause the officers to work much more heartily, because they could look for promotion according to their merits, instead of by favoritism. He agreed that the House could not expect to go into the details of the Estimates, because they had not the necessary information at their disposal. The vote for contingencies had been used too much for supplementing the salaries of persons whp were well paid. Retrenchment in the Railway Department had to be deferred, pending the placing of the control in the hands of a Board, and considerable reductions could then be made. There were too many police inspectors, and they, as well as the constables, were too highly paid. The officers drawing over LI 50 a year were 1,047 in number, their average salary being L 257 per annum. He taunted the member for St. Albans with Baying that he had a price, and demanded that he should inform the House what that price was. He (the speaker) too had his price, and it was that the Government should carry on the work of retrenchment which they had honestly entered on. Mr W. P. Reeves thought that the suggestion of Mr Withy was a good one, but he did not think it was possible to retrench L 50.000 further than what had already been done. He strongly objected to those drawing less than LI 00 a year having their salaries retrenched. Mr Moss looked on the exertions of the Retrenchment Committee with great regard, and if he were not one of them it was because, as an old member of the House, he recognised that their exertions must necessarily be futile. He objected to the doctrine that savings could be made without bearing in mind the claims of those who had been long in the Service. Whatever the amount, " if possible " should be struck out of the resolution.

Mr Fish regarded the amendment as a waste of time. The addition of the words "if possible" rendered it useless. Those moving the amendment wanted to pose before the country as retrenchers, knowing perfectly well that it would be accepted by the Government;, who might come back after the recess saying that they found it impossible to carry out the' instructions given them. The Premier had told the House that he would, if possible, retrench further.

The Premier : There is a meaning in it. Jt covers more than that. It is a very different thing. Mr ?ish went on to say that he had not heard Mr Withy's remarks, and he regretted to hear that the proposition meant a reduction of the wages of the working men. In that case he must distinctly vote against it, and he trusted that before the debate closed the Premier would distinctly tell the House what this reduction of LIOO.OOO really meant.

The debate was then adjourned till Friday next. i'■ ■ ■'