THE COLONIAL OFFICE.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 394, 22 September 1849, Page 116

THE COLONIAL OFFICE.

[From the Examiner, April 21.] We can neither agree with those who are perpetually assailing and vilifying the administration of colonial affairs, nor with those who declare it excellent, and deserving the admiration of the world. It is indeed a wonder that it is as good as it is, or a wonder that it is not worse, as will be acknowledged upon a little consideration of the working machinery.

There are forty-three colonies to be governed in different parts of the world, and the department which has to study and direct the management of their offairs is composed of one secretary of state, two under-secretaries, one assistant-secretary, one chief clerk, five senior clerks, and eleven clerk?, making sixteen clerks and a staff of five superiors, and in all twentyone persons. So that setting aside differences of rank, and supposing a perfect division of labour, there is not one half of an official for every colony, or it would require an additional half clerk to complete the allowance of a half official to each colony. But dividing the labour between the two classes of superiors and clerks, there is one head for every eight colonies and three-fifths, and nearly a clerk, all but a very small fraction of a clerk, for every four colonies. So that in round numbers, and throwing in ten-elevenths of a clerk, four colonies of North America, the Canadas, New Brnn«wick, Newfondland, and Nova Scotia, may in their share of colonial administration boast the services of one clerk, bating ten-elevenths of a clerk ! If we throw in the five seniors, the account reaches the figure of two clerks and sixteen-elevenths of a clerk for a colony. But division of labour with such large results is not the system. All the business of all the colonies goes through all the staff of the department. We must therefore take another view of the labours of the office. Each secretary, under- secretary, assistant-secretary, and chief clerk, has to acquaint himself with the affairs of all the forty- three colonies, and to peruse and study every despatch. But even in the Colonial Office men cannot work for ever, and there must be periods of relaxation. We may then deduct from the time available and applicable to business a week at Easter, another at Whitsuntide, another at Christmas, and six weeks in the autumn recess, making nine weeks, which, substracted from the fiftytwo leave exactly forty-three, or a week of 6ix working days for the affairs of each colony. In six days, then the functionaries in the Colonial Office are to make themselves acquainted with the affairs of each colony for the whole-year, and to give their counsel on all the intricate questions involved. Now you may go to the pettiest parish in England, and in six days you will not be master of its affairs with personal inspection and vivavoce examinations. But such is the share of time that a secretary, under- secretary, or assistant of the Colonial department, lias to give to each of the colonies in different parts of the world. One day he is in the snows of North America, another he is broiling in the tropics and melting in the sugar distress; now he is in the Greek Isles, and anon coping with Htki in New Zealand. But attention does not allow of such exact division, and soms colonies must have more than their six days' tiiare of attention, some escape it altogether ; and here the interesting question arises whether those that are guided or those that are left to themselves get on the best. We should extremely like to know how a neglected colony fares, if a colony can be neglected in a department where there are five forty- thirds of a head to look after it, and "do for it," as they phrase it in lodging-house bills?

The great mistake in all sorts of governraen of man or beast are in doing too little and doing too much ; and^doing too little is always doing too much— too much in the way of meddling, short of settling. It would be excellent, by way of experiment, every now and then to shut up a department for a year, and see |how things went on without reading and writing, supervision and guidance. Nay, we will; jjo so far as to assert that shutting up the two* houses of Parliament for a year would have very beneficial and instructive effectß. There is an humble example in point. Drury-Lane theatre itself, under the famous committee of management, went on well when it was shut up, and the directors missing the nightly loss, exclaimed, " Oh that we could always «o on in this way !" Salomon's definition of violin-playing, which we have often quoted, applies to government as to most other things; there is the stage of no government at all, of government very bad, and of government very good. The question, is if you have not the machinery for the third strae, government very good,- whether the first stage, no government at all, be not preferable to tbe second, ftovernment very bad. We should like to see the question submitted to the test" of experiment. " With our present imperfect lights our only astonishment is, as we have often avowed, that the colonial system works as well, or no worse than it does. Look at the map, with our possessions dotted or sprawling all over the globe, and compare their demands with the capabilities of that dingy small building in Downing-street, the five superiors, and sixteen clerks therein. Many a union workhouse has a stronger administrative machinery. It is the Tooting Colonial establishment, with a nurse for every fifty-three sick children. Men who contrive to work tolerably well with a machinery so inadequate as this, by force of vast diligence and excellent ability, naturally overrate what they do. not looking at the results positively, but comparatively with the imperfect means at command. Not to miscarry is an exploit. Well said Mr. Mangles on Mr. Scott's rambling motion — "With the right hon. member for the University of Oxford, he demurred to the remark of the hon. gentleman, the Under Secretary for the Colonies, that the administration of the department would reflect credit and honour on this country. That statement was not consistent with the faqts of the case. That system was inherently vicious. No man, however gifted, or whatever his application, could do justice to the task now imposed on him in the administration of colonial affairs. First, there might lie before the Colonial Secretary a despatch from Jamaica. Thence be must turn to the affairs of Ceylon ; Van Diemen's Land, the Cape of Good Hope, British Guiana, the Mauritius — all solicited his attention. Were he an admirable C rich ton he could not be master of all tbe details relating to the interests of so many colonies. The British empire in India, which was larger than tbe colonies, was governed on a different system by means of aboard under control of a department of the 'stale. The Indian and colonial systems were so different, that both could not possibly be the" best But who should the system applied to India not be applied mutatit mutandis to the colonies ? As Spain had a Council of the Indies, whyjnot have a Council of the colonies consisting ofj retired governors, who should assist the Secretary of State in the administration ?" But, unfortunately, the Council of retired Governors would often be about as effective as a council of wig blocks. It? is quite a modern thing, and very much an innovation of Lord Grey's, to look to ability in the appointment of governors, and the very last gentleman nominated, Mr. Ward, is out of all question at the head of the class in respect of intellectual qualifications and official aptitudes. With proper care, however, in the selection of governors, the time may come when the retired list may furnish an able council in aid of the Colonial Minister, such as Mr. Mangles suggests, to which the retired colonial judges might also be eligible. Such a body, well composed, would be a reservoir of experience and local knowledge, of great help to a minister newly appointed, and necessarily ignorant of many subjects and circumstances upon which his judgment and authority are to be exercised. The organic defect of all our departments of state ie the frequency of change in the chiefs, and the consequent want of experience in the guiding power. A minister comes in with everything to learn, and with an Under-Secre* tary generally in the same predicament; and both go out at about the time when they may be beginning to be fit to be in. This inconvenience belongs to the system of parliamentary responsibility and party mutations ; but without dangerously trenching on responsibility, the permanent staff of departments, in which lies the experience and expertness in business, might be extended with great advantage to the particular service. Proposals of this kind are now unheeded, but the time will come for the question of recasting and remodelling departments whose duties have out grown their original information. The Ministers of State are over tasked. The business of their respective departments would alone fully occupy^ them ; but both are thrown upon them, and both are too much for the faculties of mortal men.

Madame Roland acutely observes, that the multiplicity of labours distracted the minds and destroyed the efficiency of the Gironde Ministry, matters of detail absorbing faculties which should have been devoted to high politics; and she came to the conclusion that the Council should be composed of man whose business should be to deliberate, not to administrate. Whether such a broad separation as this be expedient or not, we are not prepared to say ; but certain we are that the fitness of diminishing the administrative labour, increasing every day, will ere long be recognized.