The Lyttelton Times. THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 1877.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 5008, 8 March 1877, Page 2

The Lyttelton Times. THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 1877.

Thebe is no doubt that every reasonable precaution should bo taken by Parliament to preserve its own purity and independence. If salt loses its Hiivour, it is only fit to bo thrown on the dunghill, and a corrupt Parliament deserves a similar fate. The source of (lunger in this direction is the undue influence of the Crown, and that undue influence is sure to arise if Members of either House are allowed to bold offices of emolument under the Crown, On that ground it was very right and proper that a Disqualification Act should be passed. In passing that Act wo have followed the example of the Imperial Parliament, and the dictates of common sense. In our anxiety on this point we have even gone beyond the restrictions imposed at Homo ; and last session, at i lit- instance of Mr Montgomery, a el,tuse was inserted in the Act attaching a penalty to the acceptance of office by my ( X Member during a twelvemonth lifter his retirement from the Legislature. Wo are not disposed to quarrel with that enactment, as it is an error, if an error at all, on the safe side but we do not admit that it was called for in New Zealand by any pre-existent state ,if things. It may be a useful precaution, but it was not the outcome of ooeurrences which had taken place, and we shall presently show our reasons for ■ bis conclusion. Considerable misapprehension exists on this subject, and an infinite amount of nonsense is talked, i ven by persons who ought to know better, os if there was something

abstractedly wrong in Members of Parliament holding or seeking to hold public office other than a seat in the Cabinet. On abstract grounds alono snob reasoning is aboard. There is nothing discreditable iupublio more than in private employment, and persons who are, or have boon, in the Legislature ore, as a general rule, ceteris puribus more qualified to bo useful in public employment than others who have not had that advantage. Has it been found that seats in the Colonial Legislature morally or administratively disqualified Pro. vincial officers P Nobody can, with truth, make that assertion. And what wore Provincial officers but persons in the public service, paid out of one public chest in the place of another? The truth is that the only conclusive —and it is conclusive —objection to Members of Parliament holding or seeking office while in Parliament, is the liability, or rather the certainty, of such a course entailing the undue influence of the Crown as one of the estates of the Constitution.

A return was made last session, in pursuance of on order of the House of Representatives, showing the number and names of persons being Members or ex-Members of the General Assembly, who have been appointed to offices of emolument under the Crown, exclusive of Ministerial offices, during the last ten years. The return is imperfect in form, incorrect in some details, and conveys, in some respects, mis-leading information to persons not well acquainted with the political and official history of the Colony during that time. But a careful examination of it, supplemented by a few facta, suffices to show the utter absence of any ground for suspicion that undue influence has been exercised by the Government —we speak of the Government as a continuous whole—upon Members of the Legislature by means of official appointments. The number of Members and ex-Members appointed daring the last ten years is stated to be thirty-six. Let us, however, analyse that number. The first, Mr A. S. Atkinson, was not appointed by the Crown at all, bub by a Judge of the Supremo Court. Nine others were appointed by tne Crown after the lapse of one year—in the majority of cases from four to eleven years —since they had retired from the Legislature. The appointments of Dr Featherston and Sir Julius Yogel to the office of AgentGeneral, may be considered as virtually made by the House itself. Again, with reference to the appointment of Mr Domett, as Secretary for Crown Lands, the Legislature exceptionally allowed him to retain that office and his seat in the Legislative Council, notwithstanding the Disqualification Act. The appointment of Mr W. J. Steward, in 1874, was • merely as officer commanding Volunteers at Oamaru, with a travelling allowance of fifty pounds a year, an appointment which the law allowed to be held with a seat in the General Assembly. Two appointments were of Native Assessors, to whom the Disqualification Act did not apply. Mr John Williamao»> in 1871, resigned his office of Commissioner of Crown Lands at Auckland, and was re-elected. There is, we think, some mistake about Mr Ormond, who is put down as appointed Government Agent at Hawke’s Bay in 1869, with a travelling allowance of two guineas a day. He must have resigned, if he ever took such paid office, shortly afterwards, or otherwise he would have been disqualified by the Disqualification Act of 1870 for a seat in the House. And bis case specially shows the misleading information conveyed in the return. There is nothing in the return to show how long the persons named held the offices to which they were appointed, and those who read it would naturally think that they were still holding office, especially when, as in the case of Mr Ormond and others, one column states that they are still members. For instance, Colonel Kenny is mentioned as being appointed by Mr Stafford, in 1866, Inspector of Militia and Volunteers, with a salary of £6OO per annum, and he is also mentioned as still sitting in the L e gi ß l a tive Council. The fact is that Colonel Kenny acted as Inspector for a few months, and wo think it is doubtful whether bo received any remuneration for it beyond travelling allowance. We also doubt whether Mr Ormond over accepted remuneration, even as travelling allowance, for the office of Government Agent, but we hold it impossible that, if he did so for a short time before the Disqualification Act of 1870 was passed, ho has continued to draw travelling allowance for several years after it was passed. Mr Ormond is much too wise a man to do an act of such folly. Counting these special cases which we have referred to, amounting to eighteen, half of the list comprised in the return may bo eliminated, so far as the question of undue influence of the Crown in the Legislature by means of patronage is concerned. There remain then eighteen appointments of' members and ex-members of the General Assembly to offices of emolument under the Crown during the last ten years, and in the case of most of those appointments it would be manifestly absurd to suppose for a moment that any undue influence had been, or was over intended to be, exercised by the Crown in the Legislature. We must bo careful not to bo too great purists. If w 0 speak too much about our virtue, and about the elaborate precautions which we are taking to guard it against attack, we may raise doubts in many minds whether there is much reality in it. In England there is no outcry about ooiruptiou when a mouther of the Houno of Commons resigns his seat and takes high civil office either at home or abroad. And a peer, >vho oannot resign his rigid to sit in the Ifonso of Lords, may accept a colonial .Governorship without difficulty. Nevertheless wo do not object to Mr Montgomery’s clause requiring a year of mourning to elapse before a Parliamentary widower can unite himself to the] Qivil Service. It will probably prevent the occurrence of an evil which in other colonies experience has shown to b® serious. Our object is to dissipate ohy suspicion in the public mind that tii« evil has already occurred in New Zealand. And wo trust that the return to which we have referred, and our analysis of it, will effect that object.

It i* extremely gratifying to see a definite proposal tor the establishment of • School of Agrioaltui'o. Thie Province ie essentially agricultural, end ae far ■■ can be seen at pretent, it* future prosperity mmt depend, though it may be hoped not exclusively, upon agriculture. Farming hu been hitherto con* duoted on virgin eoil, and a great proportion of it will be carried on under the Mine conditiom far tome time to oome. This olau of entorpriio doei not perhape require more than a rough knowledge to make it profitable, but in the band* of practically trained intelligence the results must be, it itande to reaion, ▼cry much inoreaied. For the lands that have been long occupied and cropped, those on which the future permanent prosperity of the country must depend, the skill that can only oomo from weli'direoted study is absolutely necessary. The averages of our cereal crops are at present high. Bo were those of the older Australian Colonies. In them they have fallen considerably, that of South Australia being lately estimated at, for wheat, five bushels to the acre. Climate is certainly answerable in some degree for this result, and the original poverty of the soil in some places. But who shall say how much of it is not due to reakloss and ignorant farming P The experiment to be tried by the Board of Governors of Canterbury College is to be begun on a small scale. Its success and speedy enlargement will bo greatly to the good of the country. If we want to avoid a serious diminution in the profits of agriculture, a class of agriculturists must be trained up who know bow to get the most out of the land without exhausting it, and understand the various methods of reinvigorating the land as occasion arises. As agriculture is the only field for the employ ment of a large proportion of the rising generation, the sooner the young men are placed in a way of acquiring the necessary knowledge the bettor. Land at present is cheap. As long as it remains so, the advantages of a School of Agriculture will be to the young [and energetic, peculiarly valuable. As far as can be judged of the scheme in its present state, it seems well calculated for a beginning of this importaut work. It is a pity there cannot be more land, but this is a question of funds, which are not at command. The only thing that seems objectionable is an apparent desire on the part of the Board to sot the future manager to do too much. If they once get into the habit of asking him for papers, returns, and records of experiments, bis usefulness in the field will be seriously diminished. His ordinary duties will probably occupy the whole of the manager’s time. The clerical work of the scheme will be, of course ( extensive and indispensable. It should be under the supervision of the manager, but it should be carried on by one or more assistants, receiving their orders from him.