The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, JUNE 2, 1913.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 3947, 2 June 1913, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, JUNE 2, 1913.

After a good deal of distressful floundering our contemporary ' lias, it will be noted, reached a point wlien it would be only right to acknowledge, as gracefully as possible, that the Government was in no way responsible for any action or I statement which- would lead to- the supposition that it had under consideration the closing down of the local branch of the Lands and Survey Department. It was, of course, quite apparent that the “Herald” would fail in its effort to.try and.blacken the Government in this particular regard when the Prime Minister, who is also Minister for Lands, not only denied that there any ground for the suggestion, but hinted quite plainly that he could not even guess how such a report had come to be circulated. Then, as if Mr Massey’s denial were not sufficient, our contemporary, At will be remembered, interviewed M r Mackenzie, the Surveyor-General on the subject. But Mr Mackenzie, like Mr Massey, could only reply that he too had never heard anything of the matter. As far as the rumor was. concerned it was at this stage clear as the noon day sun that the Government had done nothing in respect of which blame could| be ■ attached. : • Since wo last-dealt #ith' the subject"therehave

“Distressful Foundering.’*

however been one or two important developments which are worthy of some x>rominence. It is now the position, it would seem, that it is known under what circumstances the rumor had its origin. This happy state of affairs comes as a sequel to a wire of protest which was sent by tho local Chamber of Commerce, not to the Government of tho day, but to tho Chief Public Service Commissoner. What Mr Robertson has to say in his reply is, we think, most interesting, and incidentally it also serves to show that Mr Massey and his colleagues have been quite innocent of any intention to have the local lands and survey offico closed. For instance ho starts off by declaring ho—like Mr Massey and Mr Mackenzie—had no official knowledge of the matter—or to use his own words: “The matter of closing the kigal Lands Office has not been brought beforo me.” But Mr Robertson lias, it is also evident, been able to find out something which Mr Massey has not been able to do. Ho has, it would appear, learned “that some local reference was made to the matter when the Assistant Commissioner visited the district,” and in view of that fact has referred the matter “to the head of the department to ascertain the exact position.” As showing how far “in the dark” Mr Massey is on-the point it may be here mentioned that in a further communication which l}as been received in town from him on the subject he merely suggests “that he presumes that the recent application by the Chamber of Commerce and the Law Society to have a separate land district created for Poverty Bay may have had something to do with the rumor.” Thus it would appear the “Herald” has utterly failed to prove that there is intended on the'part of the Government as it suggested, any “meddlesome intereferenco with a public service which has been established at Gisborne for more than a quarter of a century, etc., etc.” It is also the position that it would be very strange if, i.'i view of Mr Robertson’s assertion on the subject, our contemporary could demonstrate that its Napier.correspondent’s statement “that one of tho main objects of the visit of the Civil Service Commissioner to Gisborne was to inquire into the practicability of abolishing the Survey Office at Gisborne, etc.,” had, as it alleged, “more than •a substratum of fact.” What seems to have happened is that incidentally Mr A. D. Thomson said something to some local officer or some local officer said something to the Assistant Commissioner on the subject. All that is known is “that some local reference was made”—for all one knows the matter may have been suggested to Mr Thomson here. If the subject was also discussed at Napier, as our contempororay now also suggests, is it not strange that Mr Robertson should not have also mentioned the fact? At any rate the attempt to make the Government appear to be a very wicked Government has failed, and rather badlv too.