LORD BLEDISLOE

Northern Advocate, 16 April 1932, Page 11

LORD BLEDISLOE

VOLUNTARY SALARY “CUT” BEARING HIS SHARE. LETTER TO MR FORBES. (From Our Parilnmpntnry Special.) WELLINGTON, This Day. A further reduction of £750 in hi | emolument has been made by the Go\ I ernor-General, Lord Bledisloe. Twic j previously he has made voluntary re | ductions, the total of which is £225 and reduces his total salary and al lowance to £5250. Normally he re ceived a salary of £SOOO and allow anc'es of £2500. His Excellency dias sent the follow ing letter to the Prime Minister: — “Although I fully realise that act ual equality of sacrifice is difficult, b not impossible of attainment in thii [ or any other country by governments action, and that’’the attempt to at tain it is apt sometimes to defeat its own ends, I hold strongly the view that we ought all, whatever be ou: position in the State, to aim at adequacy of sacrifice if this Dominion is to be restored without undue delay to a position of financial equilibrium. “This being so, I should be indeed sorry if, in the position of His Majesty’s representative in New Zealand, I failed to bear my full share in shouldering the burden -which „is falling now so heavily upon the whole population, and particularly upon the I poorest 'section , of ,it., : “Realising that under the Imperial Statute (see Section 55 of the New Zealand Constitution Act, 1552), which constituted the office which I -hold, it is not open to the Legislature of the Dominion to reduce its fixed emoluments without the sanction of His Majesty, the King, I have, as you are aware, on my own initiative, expressed a desire on two previous occasions, first during your absence at the Imperial Conference in 1930, and subsequently on October. 5, 1931, to rolinquish to the State 10 per cent, of the total emoluments of my office, aggregating as from November 1 last 20 per cent., or one-fifth of such emoluments, in the earnest hope that such abatements would ease appreciably the cost to the Treasury of the Governor-Gen-eral’s establishment, and at the same! time compensate-for the constitutional privilege of exemption from the public burdens attached to my office.

Comment-Welcomed, "Specific reference to this exemption, in the bills before Parliament, would not appear to be strictly necessary, but such reference not unnaturally evokes, critical comment. . Such comment I frankly welcome, so long as the actual position is realised by all members of the Legislature. "I had intended, .in view of the grave outlook disclosed by the Finance Minister's recent financial statement, to make some further proposal to you regarding the emoluments of my office at the time of the introduction of the forthcoming Finance Bill, but under the circumstances,' I think it best to express to you now the •wishes of Her Excellency and myself on the matter.

"It is our desire that, for so long at least as it is found impossible to balance the Bndget:of this Dominion, there .be deducted an aggregate sum, representing 30 per cent, of the entire statutory emoluments of my office or (expressed alternatively), 45 per cent, of the. salary operate’ -as from the beginning of the current; financial year.

. Using Private Means. This abatement, which is rendered possible by drawing upon our private resources in England can, at the option of th& Government, either bo specifically provided for by special statutory enactment submitted to His Majesty the King for approval, or, following the precedent which I created in April of last year, be effected by the discontinuance of payment to my credit out of the Treasury of the amount represented thereby. "In any case, as I have intimated on previous occasions, no deduction in the > Governor-General’s emoluments now arranged for must be deemed applicable to my successors in office.

“If i 3 hardly necessary for me to remind you that extensive economies

have already been effected in respect of those Government House establishment charges which normally fall on the public purse, and we shall gladly adopt any others which, after full investigation, the National Expenditure Commission may suggest, in pursuance of my request to this effect made three months ago. If, as I then intimated, it is deemed desirable during the present emergency to close at least one of our official residences, wo shall in no way demur to the proposal.

"Let me add in conclusion that the Government and the country .may confidently count upon our cheerful compliance with any practical suggestions which the Government may make, with a view to making our measure of sacrifice during this period of adversity comparable to that of the rest of the community."

Iu a postscript His Excellency adds? "Except for an addition of £SOO to the Governor-General’s allowance made during the war, the emoluments of office have remained the same ror the last 32 years."