GOVERNMENT EXTRAVAGANCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6740, 21 September 1883, Page 4

GOVERNMENT EXTRAVAGANCE

TO THE EDITOB,

Sib, —My attention has been directed to the letter of tho Hon. Mr Reynolds which apE eared in jour paper of Monday' last, and ayinggot hold of a copy of tha Jlstimates, I am disposed, aftefcareful perusal of their contents, to think that Mr Reynolds is not far wrong when ho stateß that some £100,000 a year might be saved on the ordinary expenditure If I mistake not, the ordinary Government stroke virtually commences at 10 a.m. and ceaseaat 1 p.m., and as a rule, rather than the exception, the officers take an hour for lunch: thus for five days in the week the Colony gets five hours' work, and three on Saturdays. : Now, while I am by no means an advocatefor long home, yet I do think that our worthy Government officials might well commence their duties at 9 a.m., and continue them till 0.30 p.m. This, with the allowance of an hour for lunch, would Rive eeven and a-half hours instead of five. If. this wefo tho rule of the Service, tho Colony could well dispense wsth one-third of ita clerical staff. Now in going aver the Estimates and excluding all salary votes for electoral, registrars of births, lunatic asylume, sheep, cattle, and rabbits, judges and resident magistrates, prisons, hospitals, post ( and telegraph offices, custons, marine;; stamp?, education, Native, mines, ' wbrkipp railways, defence, constabulary,. a moiety-"of-land and survey, as also public works 'departments, &c, &c, unless where apy~: of J-these yotc3 are for the general "julminiatration, I find tho general Hilary ""vbtes amount to £180,733,, to-which maiiy additions might fairly be; made under the exempted heads above enumerated. Now if the. Colony got seven and a-half instead of five houis' work out of itß employes; the services of at least one-third of this clerical staff could be dispensed with, involving a saving of over £63,000. Then,' without entering upon some- of the items on the Estimates for salaries which appear tome to be extravagantly high, &s also ~ several others which might be' considerably cut down, or bo dispensed with. altogether, I will only take up those connected with the legislative expenditure. This, I feel sure, might be easily reduced by at least £2500, and -by a further Bum of £12,250 for honorarium ; the remaining £12,250 would givo a payment to each member of £105, instead of £210, for their three months' session, which sum ought to fully meet all their necessary expenditure: Thus, if my propositions were to meet with favour by the powers that be, and were carried into practice, savings might be affected as above of £77,750, and on a_ low calculation I Bhould say that where practicable to.ap^ly tbe 71 hours' system to some of the departments which I have excepted, a further reduction of the staff to the value of,at least £16,000 could be effected ; and then I am not pure but that I could point out other savings, amounting to some £20,000, which would be made without ] affecting ihe administration,' but on this point j L would not like to risk my reputation unless I ; wore, as Mr Reynolds suggested, to " tak» two i imonths'to look into the-working of the Go- I vernment departments." .Before concluding, I Would like to refer to, the system existing of paying a distinct salary to an officer for each distinct Office he holds. As an example, I find under the head Inspector of Lunatic Asylums a vote of £1000, and another vote for the same officer of £200 as Inspector of Hospitals, This i£'by no means an exceptional case, seeing the system pervades right through the Estimates, lit my opinion an officer's whole time is paid fjcr by the State, and his one salary should caver all the offices he may hold.—l am, &c.,; ■ '■■ .' - ' • Accountant. / September 20. > . ~;