COUNCIL PAPERS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2030, 24 June 1867, Page 2

COUNCIL PAPERS.

Report of the Commission upon the Civil Service of Canterbury, 1867. i [Concluded.) Under a complete system of responsible government, the three departments of Provincial Secretary, Provincial Treasurer, and Public Works, would probably be represented by chiefs in the Provincial Council. It does not appear to us necessary to incur the expense of such afull political staff in this province, and we see no reason why one secretary, if relieved of mere routine, should not be able to undertake all the political duties of these three offices, so far as they relate to the East Coast of this province. A Wast Coast Secretary, the expenses of whose department would be charged against Westland revenues, 'might fairly relieve the Pro'vinciaVSecretary of a very arduous portion of his present duties, besides assisting to support the Government policy in the Provincial Council. I

; The existing staff in the Secretary's and Treasurer's offices are. at present fully worked, and appear to keep later hours than are kept by any other department. No reduction in the staff appears possible. Some provision is necessary for enabling the Assis-.. tant Treasurer to make ordinary disjbursements on pay-days, without requiring the Treasurer's signature to every cheque. Under the present cifcuinstances, delay and loss of time are unavoidable; and it is obvious that jthe duties of tVe Provincial Secretary .must often. call him away at times Iwhen his absence -would interfere with Treasury payments. ; The Provincial Secretary, thus relieved of "West Coast busiaeas and of :much Treasury routine, would be able to undertake the control of the Public Works and Provincial Engineer's Departments, which we propose to reconstruct and amalgamate. ' ' The Provincial-Engineer's depart ment will, when ; the works; now im hand are completed (say in three imonths), be no longer necessary. The i Provincial Engineer himself reconiitnends its being broken up. A Eoad and Works department, consisting of an iinspector and engineer, a clerk of ,works, and a record and corresponding iclerk, under the control of the Provincial Secretary, could attend to all jthe ordinary public works of the pro-. Jvince, now. that Road Boards have (relieved the central office of all local iroad-making and district works. This (department could be housed in the jpresent Public Works offices, under •the same roof as the other departments, thus getting rid of a separate messenger. The few tools and stores now ; in charge of this' officer might with advantage be sold; as recommended by |the. Provincial Engineer. The supervision of ordinary harbour works could easily be undertaken by the new Eoad and Works department, on the 'completion of the '• Lyttelton and Christchurch railway. '

i This department would also, with ithe assistance of a foreman stationed jriear Porter's Pass, take charge of the. iUV'est Coast Koad, as far as Arthur's 'Pass. The services of the present jProvincial Engineer,'assisted by a {draughtsman, will probably be re■quired in a railway department,*,where ibis ■' talent for organization,; and his varied local experience;'would be of the utmost service,. This officer might be expected to plan and supervise any jfuture engineering. works.of importance.

Thus there would be an immediate .saving to the province of the cost of a .Secretary for Public Works, an Engifleer of Harbour Works, one surveyor, one clerk, and a messenger (say about £1360 per annum). AWest Coast Eoad engineer, and a surveyor (say £6OO per annum), now appearing on the strength of the Provincial Engineer's department in the return furnished to us, would be. transferred to the Westland Koad and Works Estimates.

While on the subject of departments under the immediate control of the Provincial Secretary, we may mention that of. Keeper of Public Eecords, held by the Assistant Secretary. There is no

fire-proof safe for the custody of the Tduable flocumeuta h his c h B L wl rWnd a careful investigation b! M'ovmcia Solicitor orotlquaS ingf the province, some of which a™ notjUßtatetoadmitofreSatl ait Deeds;C£ «r mvesti^^to Perhapg the most important branches of the provincial BervkeS m « and Survey departments ptove no suggestions to offers to he Waste Lands Department, excep that a surveyor should be transferred from the surveys to take charge of the preparation of Crown grants, and to attend fo .that duty, uninterruptedly under the general control of the Chief Surveyor. A sufficiently roomy fire-proof safe is required for Crown grants unissued, and for original records of the , Waste Lands Board which are how in imminent peril. t In order to overtake arrears of survey, and keep pace with the current rate of land sales, the present must be maintained for at least a year; after which time, a very considerable l reduction ought to be effected. Jjuch delay and expense is caused i <rf mapping-room, and the valuable.' \ original maps are gradually being dc 1 stroyed for want of working copies,. These maps have cost the province ,spme £200,000, and are really invaluable, as they could not be reproduced now, if the originals were destroyed before copies were made, owing to the obliteration of many original topographical features of the country during the course of settlement. Only three-fourths of thesemaps are in any wayprolectedfrom fire, and thgse are crowded into a safe (which is not considered fireproof), so closely 8B to injure them. The reremaining fifty thousand pounds' worth are without any protection whatever. : If the offices immediately above the present survey offices which are now about to be vacated by the Eegistrr • of Deeds, were given up to the Survey Department, together with the upper storey of the stone safe (which should be made throughout really fireproof), a great economy in working expenses : might be effected, and the safety of so much invaluable property secured. While on the subject of office root we must remark that, if accommodation for theEegistrar of Deeds is provided by the General Government at ft distance from the Wastelands Officv, an increased clerical expend must be incurred by the Provincial Government, while at the same time the cost. . of the accommodation will, in any cast; be charged against the province, kr •'■ cording to the present law, the Chief Commissioner must either personal, or by his chief clerk, see each CroviA, Gr_nt handed in for registry the moment it is issued. Tor this and other obvious reasons, we recommend ; that the necessary accommodation for the Deeds Office ba provided close to the Government offices. With a view to future amalgamation of offices, it is. necessary to concentrate all Government buildings as much as possible. In the Survey Department we notice great inequalities in., salaries, when length ;.pf service is taken into consideration. The Chief • Surveyor and his next junior, with sixteen and eighteen years of service respectively, . receive—the first,; ,£450; the latter, £350. < Three District Surveyors with from eight to nine years service, and three juniors with two, four, and years service, all receive £350.' In this large department. we think that a system of classification, such as we have recommended above, might be immediately introduced, without interfering with the claims of old public servants. The check of local inspection of district surveys does not seem to have been regularly kept up; and even the journals of District Surveyors are not regularly forwarded to the Chief Surveyor. ' It is important that these two ; ,point 3 should be attended to, and that District Surveyors should not, under any circumstances, undertake work foreign to the department, such as that con* nected with Eoadv Boards and; Volunteering, without special permissionfrom Government on the recommendation of the Chief Surveyor. The Police Department is necessarily one of the most costly in the and it will require much care to mjh-i tain its proper efficiency while reauV ing its cost. No sensible reduction will however be possible, until some radical -modification is made in the present system. While;saying,this, we wish to bear testimony iOjfctorcarr with which the present organisation has been effected, and to the: value o the internal arrangements for discipline and good order. But we object; to the system itself, as uusuited to the; character of this country and its popu-* lation, and as entailing unnecessary coat.' '.'..;.. .".,'i."

In 1862 the department waa reorganised on the Victorian model. In Victoria, as in Ireland, circumstances had called for an armed constabulary force of a semi-military character, and : a police system grew up quite foreign to English institutions. When unnecessary, all appearance of a militaiyL organisation not only increases the: cost, but tends to impair the efficiency of the police as peace-officers, We may here notice that the printed Manual of Police Eegulations placed in the hands of the men is calculated to foster a feeling of independence of the control of the magistracy, which, but for the good sense of the officers employed, would be mischievous. "We specially recommend the revision of this manual by the Government, with the _ assistance of the Bench of Magistrates. We recommend that wherever there is a police station his Honor the Superintendent should invite the local Bench of Magistrates to send in a yearly report of the conduct and efficiency of the police; and that, on arriving at or leaving any out-station, the sergeant or constable in charge should be ordered to report himself to the nearest Kesident Magistrate. We do not recommend a reduction in the pay of the superior, officers and senior Bergeants, as 'the/prospect of

valuable promotion-tenda-io -retain' efficient men to the; lower gradewf the. Jervice i but '",*,& ! think-«'juhior .ergeants receive a rate. 0 f pay too high, when the general standard of the. Prdvineiat (ervice. No addition should be made : to the number of tlhe superior officers w the %ce increases. : - Dress and accoutrements, form a considerable item of the police expenaiture which, vre think, might be reduced; The full-dress uniform might be altogether dispensed with, ai the] ordinary dress is quite smart enough; and even this, in the case of the mounted men, might be made plainer," and more serviceable for rough work. (We find that nearly two years ago, the Government refused to sanction further expenditure on lull dress, w hich waa however subsequently, allowed;) The sabre ii a costly and useless incumbrance to man and horse j and iu any case a display of arras on the part ol the police ia to be avoidsd.

The whole cost of the mounted portion of the force is extravagant.; Seven hones are now kept stabled in Christehurch; • four, or at moit fire, should be quite sufficient. The printed regulations on the care and custody of horses should be ravissd at once bo as to make fewer horses do the necessary work, It is a mistake, in a small police force, to set apart horsed specially for the officers who can ssldom have occasion to use them; when they do, thephould be allowed to take any in the stable. When the railway is open, the cart and hom at Christchurch lean be dispensed with, At out-stations there iis unnec3ssary expenditure on forage; in most cases the hones could be paddocked, at any rate during the summer. At Timaru two horses are stabled, when only one need be.

The ciost of a police boat in Lyttelton may be done away with. For two months—since the police boat has been unserviceable—the Port Officer has given passages to the policy and states that he can continue to do bo. His two boatmen might be sworn as constables to assist when required on the water. Thus, when the railway is opan between lyttelton and Christchurch, two constables might be withdrawn from lyttelton. The telegraph and railway could soon bring up assistance if needed. "We think that the dutieß of the Inspector of and Measures might be entrusted to the Inspectors of Police. The standards' could be kept in the Commissioner's office. Prosecutions for tbe roe of illegal weights and measures appear to be conducted in London by tbe Metropolitan Police; we; recommend thq adoption of tbe same practice here* as a saving in expense, and as more convenient. The Accounts of the Police Department appear to be Icarefully and accurately kept, and on.an excellent system;but we 1 must here remark, that, ailoose habit appears to .bate grown iip of allowing the monthly pay to be.drawn out of the Treasury byUhe ;Poli<* Clerk. : The amount, which-averages some £1,700, should be drayra either by the Head of the Department,- or by the officer in charge. The expense in stationery arid formis r ] is out of all proportion to that incurred; by. other departments,- and might be kept down. Like many others in this department, this expense appears to arise from having adopta here, without allowing for thVcircum-: stances of a small province, the system of a colony where an, exceptionally large armed police force was established at a period of extravagant; expenditure.

With a view to the concentration of offices,, we recommend that the Commissioner occupy the. offices which we have proposedshouldhe vacated bythe Provincial Engineer. He would thus be brought into closer communication with the Executive, and the Bet of offices he now uses might be ; converted into a lock-up to the great relief of the temporary gaol. We are precluded by the terms.of our instructions from entering on the subject of the West Coast expenditure; but we venture here to draw attention to the necessity for revising and equalizing the scale of' police pay and allowances on both sides of the province, having due regard to the differences in average prices. The gaol accommodation both at Christchurch and Lyttelton is miserably deficient; and the insecurity of the Lyttelton gaol renders it impossible to reduce the present staff of warders. Any of this department must be dependent upon the erection of new gaol buildings, which-has been long contemplated, and which i« urgently needed for the health and safe keeping of the prisoners.

The Immigration and Charitable Aid department has, owing to the scattered nature of its duties, gradually become too large for the work now to be done. It coDßiste now of the following officers : an immigration officer, and assistant immigration officer, and a clerk; a barrack master and mistress at Christcburcbjand the same at Camp Bay. Besides attending to immigration and to the collection of accounts due on immigrants'bills, the department administers the Charitable Aid

Fund. We propose that it should further collect fees payable by nonpauper patients at the hospitals atLyttelton and Christchurch, and at the Lunatic Asylum. The Port Officer will be able to assist largely in the duties of the department atLyttelton; and the barrack master at Christchurch, -who' appears to have plenty of leiHure time on his hands, and to be sufficiently remunerated,—should be required to assist in all the duties of the department. We think that one officer could thus be dispensed with it the Christchurch office, at all eventi after the opening of the railway. The Commission regrets, haying t< notice that there is some misunder standing between the Port Officer am the Harbour Master at Lytteltor Such a state of things is ietrimenta • 0 the public service, audit should a once be distinctly understood that th Port Officer has charge of, and .is rei ponsible for the whole harbour duth

oiiaaLOantetbury... "Wa recommend . that the Lyttelton pilot»boat and crew be BtiCtibnedat -Little PbVli Obdner net I as fcrbe able to board ships outsiae the' gads ;V the, uigtialman', at Diamond Harbour would.not then be needed. A? jobfi as the Lytteitoa and Christchuroji; Railway is in good working order,' the pilot and signalman at Sum* ner may also he dispensed with, All inspections of sea-borne sheep landed nt Lyttelton should now be conducted by the department from Chrlsfahurch, where two inspectors are stationed. They : will be more accessible', than the present inspeotoY stationed at Mount: Pleasant, whose services may be dispensed with. The system of amalgamating sahrie3 and travelling allowances obtains in the case of the -Chief Inspector; we have already objected to it generally. . We have no remark to make abput'the education department, except as to the mode of dealing with proceeds of school bookß sold, The amounts racsivod are hot accounted for to the treasury but'are remitted to England for further purchases. These, like all other public moneys, should be accounted; for periodically to the treasury, so as to

shew'intheMblicaccounts. '. The housekeeper's and: departments might be a better arranged and less expensive plan.- Here, however, the B9rvice of the Provincial Council is so mixed up with that of the departments that anj alteration should be a matter of consideration for the Council. J. "W. HiMIMON Ch. 0. Bowen J. Olmvier • C. R. Blakiston Thomas Wm. Maude