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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7303, 27 October 1885, Page 2

IS IT TRUE? A correspondent of the Post makes the following statement : —"A short time since officers nf the Survey Depart ment were working overtime in preparing plans for the Property Tax Department, pay being allowed at" the rate of ' time and a half.' On making out the vouchers for payment, the rate per hour (5a to 8s) due to some of the higher-paid officials seemed to create doubts in the minds of those ruling the department as to whether the audit would pass the amounts; but, by way of making sure, the vouohers were returned to the various officers with orders to add one-third more than the number of hours actually worked, and reduce the charge per hour one-third, thus making it appear that no extra charge had been made for the overtime, and claiming to have worked one-third more hours than was actually the case. The money was paid." If this is true thosa responsible for the issuing of the order should be taken to task and practically impressed with a true idea of what constitutes common honesty. It is true that the money claimed was only what was due according to the instruction* given, butin makingupthe aooonnts there was— always presuming the letter from which we have quoted to be true— what amounts to a deliberate falsification of details, and if that is permitted once there is no saying where the practic* may end. Another question also arises on the reading of this letter, and that is whether the services of these highly-paid offioers were quite indispensable. The remuneration of eight ■hillings an hour ia excessive under any olrcumstanoes. Officers so highly paid at that rate of claim for overtime would indicate might surely be required to give extra service gratis when required ; at all events no such rate for overtime should be allowed to any Government officer. It is obvious that suoh high payments are incentives to make overtime unnecessarily, and though no offioers may have yielded to the temptation they should be placed beyond the reach of suspicion by a scale of remuneration which, while sufficient to reoompense them for extra service, would not be likely to open th» door to abuses.