Grey River Argus and Blackball News MONDAY SEPTEMBER, 22 1913

Grey River Argus, 22 September 1913, Page 4

Grey River Argus and Blackball News

MONDAY SEPTEMBER, 22 1913

Sli«t V re e«, Ahaura, Ikamatua Wainfn lotiku;' fe^ Bur? ra Te?^ ta fe f* ati^

Whatever danger there may be to ,the_ public, interest .in, electing so many gentlemen, of tl_e legal profession , to.Parliament-and many shrewd *nd disinterested, observers contend x£'"& apt- to be int?nsin?d,.w.hen they obtaia Cabinet r.ank A.good deal has. been heard of the report of " the Public Trustee $ike inside and ou.side of .the walls of I arhament. . This .year, the publication <of the .report produced a rather exciting effect upon, -the, Hon. A L yerdman and .filled .him "witt. wellsunulat^ indignation, /though that" it be. so .s ,not quite cleat as similar annual .reports- have been' re- : gularly published without the 'least ; objectioii ,l,eing va&d. If was etherise this year, when Mr.- Herdman jounced; tipon^jje rep ort and withdrew it, and with, a sort of, joyous defiance toofc all the responsibility for a Procedure that elicited a good deal .of surprise .because . it ,w.as .;a wide delation from the ordinary official rou^ l m % ■ Ti ™*Sb .nothing, .pf any consequence may cpme Qm.of/the irregularity—to use no;, harsher, term—the reasons by which Mr.- Herdman has [ sought to .justify himself , can scarcely be regarded .as .perfectly sati.f ac- [. tory. As Mr. Herman's action in respect to^.the official -report marks quite 'a new departure .'from established usage, .it. as - quite, natural that ■ so", many .sticklers- for,, official traditions S^^<J. consider -that .?amamer.H_:as •hssi flouted in. the .matter. The. New Zealand Times .discusses this strong point- with a good deal of care and force. • It says -that the constitutional ppsiti<Hi : has to be taken into consideration. iThe; Public Trustee, like any other departmental, head, is a statutory officer; paid arid employed by the people and mot -__y;iiis : Minister, and 'having definite, important .obligations, to^ Parliament as : re^senting., the cjbn stituericies. .It' will; -be -in .:efp& j,yjjsy..i- :- -a danger; to the corhmon a menace" to -all public interests, , a practice subversive ' of -constitutional , procedure,, a direct and blow to good gov-

ernment, - if departmental •. reports • dealing with." aff airs- -of -. vital, concern to aU j-r are : allowed to receive ' sucli^treatment as the Hdn.-A* L. Herdman'has given ■ to-, the Public ' Trustee's report Documents of this character ". are not the property of ' Ministers— they belong to • Parliament. They , are , written expressly for the guidance^ of - the legislature, ahd they, are essential if the /labours : of Parliament are to be' performed ..properly,. -.or even - with ordinary intelligence." ■ . r' IMtha Maes.ey; Government could succeed, in engrafting so unconstitutional an innovation. in the machinery of our Government, there would no longer be- any need for annual departmental ■ reports, to pave .the ... way ." ultimately -for dispensing with heads of departments altogether, and leave the jwork of supervising the. administration, in the hands of Ministers and probably a few favorites.. "It is to be hoped tnat such a system will not be allowed, to develop. Mr. Herdman's objections -to the report were . very Shallow and msubtantial. In vconimenting on this aspect of the case the writer of the leading article in' the ■New Zealand Times says:— "The report of .last' year was. laid upon the table of the House by Mr. Herdman, in the usual way, without hesitation or protest or. hint of revoke, and yet/ as we demonstrate in another column^ it contains, statements regarding -pbl! icy affecting the- West/Coast reserves and regarding land settlement finance —two of the specific subjects upon which the Minister now claims that the; Public Trustee should be.absolute ly dumb, without a mind or an ropinion, a, voice or a world, a suggestion or a mm for the. guidance of members-; of" Parliament. " The report of 19 1 2— -the report accepted 'by the Minister, without murmur, as . a matter of ; ; fact,:.: contains just as many, as copious, : and as .pertmenc references to "important- matters of policy" as does the ; document of 1913 so ungenerously described . ahd contemptuously rejected.; /The. Public Trustee last year, moreover, recommended - a .scheme of decentralisation, involving the appointment of district deputies, that has been adopted. Surely 'this is ; "a matter of -policy." In fact, nobody who considers the circumstances oan help feeling amazed that a responsible" Minister should have put forward such a. flimsy excuse : for flouting Parliament by suppressing 'a report written for Parliament. It is clear, then,' that Mr. Herdman did ; not state candidly h.is 'real .reason for keeping- this valuable document back. What was the motive? We fear it is to be found in the fact that the Public Trustee has supplied cogent arguments against the design arid the desire of Mr. Herdman, as the head, of the legal profes-" sion iri -New Zealand ' (a position covered, by his portfolio of AttorneyGeneral), to distribute the. legal work of the-Public Trust Office ariiong private practitioners, at the expense, of course, of the clientele of the Office. That is, ; in order that his fellow-law- 1

yers may prosper and the public be sacrificed."