NEW ZEALAND OFFICIAL YEARBOOK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 10

NEW ZEALAND OFFICIAL YEARBOOK.

I RETIREMENT OF THE COMPILER. Amongst the numerous civil servants of the Dominion who are being retired at the present juncture is one who, though but little heard of outside his own immediate circle of frjepde, has done signal service for his country, and whose work, which he was called into the service to undertake, is year by year growing of greater importance to the press, public men, and people in nearly all walks ol life, The gentleman referred te is Mr Charles Janion, the original compiler of the " New Zealand Onicial Year-Book.'' In the year 1892 Mr Janion arrived back in New Zealand from a trip to the Old Country, and had in his mind tho publication of a New Zealand handbook on similar lines to the Australian Handbook, which had been annually published for some years previously On his arrival in Wellington, which he puroosed making his headquarters, he was sent for by the Hon. , Mr Ballance (then Premier) and requested to andertake the compilation for the Government of a New Zealand official bandbook. Mr Janion acquainted Mr Ballance with the fact that it was with thq intention of issuing auch a publication^ as a private venture, that he had returned to New Zealand, but, recognising that there would be no hope of success for a private venture as against a Government publication on similar lines, he agred to accept service under the Government as compiler of the handbook and to place at tHe disposal of the Government tfie large amount of statistical information which for many years previously it had be«n his hobby to collect. That year the first issue of the "New Zealand Official Handbook" came out, and it gained such high encomiums from the press and from members of Parliament, as evidenced by the debate on the Colonial Secretary's Department when the Estimates were being Considered in 1893, that the future publication of the handbook was assured. The sollowing year the. title was altered Jo

"New Zealand Official Ycar-Book." In the first and second issues Mr Janion's work was recognised by a short note in* small type at the foot of one of the initial! pages, but after that the name disappeared, and the credit for tho publication was attributed to the Registrar-generai. Of course, once fairly started, the "YearBook " practically ran itself, and tho man responsible for its compilation in tho first place gradually had less and less to do with it, until eventually his timo was entirely occupied with the routine work of the department; but it is significant; that when, on the occurrence of two crises in Auckland and Christchurch, and a mans who had a grasp of figures and a penchant; for statistics was required, the officer selected each time for the purpose was "V£r Janion. There is ample oroof that Mr Janion's services 'have proved very valuable to the Registrar-general's Department of New Zealand", but it is as the originator of the "New Zealand Official Year-Book" that he is entitled to the thanks of th» Dominion and the consideration of Parlia* ment.