Manawatu Evening Standard. Circulation, 3,500 Copies Daily. SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 1910. A COMPENSATION CLAIM.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 9163, Issue 9163, 12 March 1910, Page 4

Manawatu Evening Standard. Circulation, 3,500 Copies Daily. SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 1910. A COMPENSATION CLAIM.

New Zealand suffered a great loss when Mr . J. A. Gilruth, the distinguished scientist who occupied the position of Chief Veterinarian, decided to seek service under another Government where his ability would be better appreciated. His work in New Zealand was invaluable, it being difficult to calculate the actual amount of benefit that accrued to the primary industries of the Dominion through his influence. When the circumstanced of the case, as revealed in a letter by Mr Gilruth to the press, are borne in mind, however, it is not surprising that he should have preferred to quit the State service. Some reference was made to the matter during last session of Parliament, and Mr Gilruth's letter is supplementary to the discussion at that time. It seems that in 1904 the Secretary of State for the Colonies cabled to the New Zealand Government requesting that there should be transmitted to Mr Gilruth, who was then receiving £600 a year, the offer of Chief Veterinarian to the Transvaal Government at a salary'of £1000, rising eventually to £1200. The Government of New Zealand, for reasons best known to itself, omitted to inform Mr Gilruth I of this offer, and when he heard of their action he made a claim for £1000 compensation, holding that in consequence of the Government's neglect he lost £400 a year between 1904 and 1908, and that his loss has not yet ceased, as though he receives £1000 now from the Victorian Government, he would have been getting £1200 a year under the Transvaal offer. The Stock Committee of the House considered this claim, but re-

ported that it had no recommendation to make. The Minister for Agriculture, in the course of debate, made the rather ungenerous remark that "a great deal of money had been spent on improving Mr Gilruth's scientific knowledge." The Minister referred to the cost of Mr Gilruth's trips abroad, but the latter contests this statement very vigorously. He explains that in 1896 he visited France on leave of absence with full pay with [ the special object of studying at the I Pasteur Institute recent advances in

bacteriology. He paid the expenses of that trip himself, and in addition he agreed to stay for four years after his return in the service of the New Zealand Government or forfeit the whole of the salary he had received when on leave. His trip to Europe in 1901 was taken under instructions from the late 'Premier for the purpose of engaging veterinary surgeons to administer the new Meat Inspection Act and to purchase a number of horses and cattle. After pointing out how much he was personally inconvenienced by the journey, Mr Gilruth says:—"During that trip I succeeded in securing, as a present for the colony, two valuable stud horses,

for which I was offered, prior to ship- | ment, £1500! On the whole it re-j quires a great stretch of imagination to infer that I was under any obligation for that trip." Mr Gilruth states the position as follows:—"The Government was asked as a matter -of courtesy alone to transmit an offer of a position with a salary of £400, increasing to £600, a year, in excess of what it was paying me. It flatly refused to transmit the offer. The direct consequence was I was denied the opportunity of advancement in life, and was debarred of the honor the publication of the offer would have given me. Four years elapsed before a position of similar monetary standard was vacant, and tliis I secured. Meanwhile, the New Zealand Government were not paying me anything like what another Government had been anxious to pay me. Consequently I was being defrauded of the difference." Very little doubt can exist in the minds of unbiassed persons as to the reality of Mr Gilruth's grievance, and he is undoubtedly entitled to 6ome consideration. It would be interesting to hear also what explanation the Government has to give of its failure to inform the ex-Chief Veterinarian of the Transvaal offer. A statement is certainly . due to the farming community on the point.