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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 1, Issue 16, 9 January 1858, Page 6

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To the Editor of the Hawke's Bay Herald. Sir, — In a previous communication I examined a portion of the letter emanating from the Wellington Reform Association, and I will now do the same with the remainder. My two letters may therefore be considered as one, merely divided for the sake of convenience. The reference made to resolution eight, concerning Local Boards, is put in such a form as to make it appear that the opinions of the Radical Reformers and the Ahuriri Settlers are perfectly in accordance on this subject ; but that Dr. Featherston's Government have been opposed to the establishment of such boards ; or why should the Radicals be "anxious to effect the establishment of a system of such elected Local Boards" &c. ? Now it has always been a marked feature of Dr. Featherston's policy, to offer every facility for the management of local affairs by means of elected boards ; and wherever they have been elected, prompt attention has been paid by the Provincial Government to any of their requests or recommendations. In this district it is only lately that advantage has been taken of these powers of Local Self Government, by the election of a Board of Wardens for the Waipukurau County ; and I hear that Dr. Featherston intends placing a sum of money at their disposal for the purpose of forming a road to Black Head, and effecting other improvements on the road to Wellington. The Radical Reformers seem very anxious to establish amicable relations with the General Government, and no doubt they will find it easy to do so, by the very simple expedient of never opposing anything which that government may be desirous of doing ; or, rather, by never urging them to greater activity in those departments under their special control, — by quietly submitting to the present slow process of extinguishing the native title, — by leaving the country without law courts, — and in short by allowing the General Government to leave undone all those things which they ought to have done, and to do those things which ought not to be done : — in all which I have no doubt they will be greatly assisted by Mr. Valentine Smith, who, having become insane from constantly dwelling upon his one idea of the "Otago Compact," is clearly not responsible for his actions. The last paragraph but one is certainly rather insulting to the electors of this District, as well as tolerably unconstitutional in its character. It is, in fact, telling us that we ought to submit ourselves to the guidance of the Radical Reformers, — that if we have chosen men opposed to them, they will kindly put us in the right track, and, instead of being informed as to what policy is suitable to the people of this District, by the members sent to represent it, — these profound politicians will consult only with those who may be willing to agree with them, and accept unreservedly their ten commandments. The conclusion of the letter is very magnificent in its utter disregard of truth. Dr. Featherston is here accused of stating that he would not consent to be advised by men opposed to his policy, however much they might possess the confidence of the majority of the Provincial Council — thus destroying the very foundation of responsible government — a system which, now it suits their purpose, these men profess their wish to preserve in its integrity, although not a few years ago some of them were its bitterest opponents. Now, so far was Dr. Featherston from desiring to carry out responsible government in a partial manner, that, on the hustings, he warned the electors that they must return men of known honour and integrity, not "plunderers of dead men's estates" — not men whom they would not trust as private individuals, because any member of the Council was, under responsible government, liable to be called by the Council to offices of trust and responsibility. ****** In examining the letter as a whole, I have necessarily been obliged to omit noticing some of the resolutions, while the more important ones have been sufficiently considered to form a guide to those who, taking the letter in good faith and not being aware of the character of its principal composers, might be induced to place far more reliance on the good intentions of the Radical Reformers than they deserve. I will now repair .the omission I speak of, by noticing the. ten resolutions in their order. . , Every one will agree with the first, "economy in the administration of public

affairs by the abolition of unnecessary offices and the reduction of excessive salaries. But the question still remains, — what are unnecessary offices, and what is an excessive salary ? It should be remembered tl.at cheapness is not always economy. Did a carpenter ever buy a tool because it was cheap, without repenting it ? The Yankees once sold a lot of leaden saws "remarkably cheap" but it didn't pay to buy one. Perhaps the Radical Reformers like leaden saws. Certainly there are enough amongst them, to enable them to supply the market at a very reasonable rate. The fact is that labor of head or hand must be paid for ; and those who think that work can be done efficiently without a 'consideration,' either know very little of human nature, or, what is more probable, appeal to the ignorance of those whose favour they wish to gain. The salaries of Officials in this Province are by no means high ; in fact, compared with the wages of ordinary labour, they are very low. When Sawyers and Splitters can, if they choose, earn £200 a year, and the highest salary in the Province is only £600, while the next highest salaries are £400, surely we cannot complain of the excessive salaries of Government Officials. For the laws regulating the wages of labour I must refer the "intelligent reader" to chapter ten of Smith's Wealth of Nations, which may help to correct some of the crude notions on this subject. With regard to the number of paid Officials, I can only say, that it is much easier to find fault with such things than to remedy them. All the reductions which the most economical desire, would effect such an inconsiderable saving at so great a sacrifice of efficiency, that no practical man would insist upon carrying these supposed reforms into effect. The second resolution — "a limit to the number of Members (f Council holding paid offices," is one of those windwill sriants which these pretended champions of the people are so fond of attacking ; for it so happens that the Electors have this matter entirely in their own hands. Directly a member of Council accepts office, he resigns his seat, when of course the Electors can either return him again, or not, as they judge proper. If they think his salary is likely lo buy his vote for the Government, they can put another man in his place, while should they have sufficient confidence in his integrity to re-elect him, he resumes his seat, and the Provincial Council is thus prevented from losing a member who is probably a man of talent and experience, and who may often be of great assistance in furnishing the Council with valuable information, which the very fact of his holding office gives him facilities for obtaining. "Purity of Election," is a matter of great importance, but one which the framers of these resolutions, to judge from their own proceedings, are not very capable of appreciating. Why a Government Officer should be restrained from expressing an opinion in favour of the Government under which he holds office, I am at a loss to determine. To frame such a law as should restrain Government Officers from canvassing would be difficult in practice, and if it l-eally did act, many of the best men in the Province would not accept office if obliged to smother their political convictions. This restriction would also be unfair towards those who happened to form the Government, as the opposition is always pretty certain to be quite strong enough to keep the Government in check. The attacking party will always have a certain advantage, and to add to this by lessening the influence of a Government is both unnecessary and mischievous. I find that my letter will be too long if I write any further, so I will leave the rest of the resolutions for another epistle. I am &c. A Calmuc.