The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1880.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3524, 27 August 1880, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1880.

If eveeyone could succeed in getting remunerated according to the value each person places on his special acquirements and qualifications what a happy world we might have. It is true some might be found who could place no limit to the value at which they estimate their abilities ; but then they would be exceptions, and we know that there are exceptions to every rule. Mr. Conyers, Commissioner of Constructed Railways for the South Island, is certainly not an exception, for although he gives very broad hints that his services are worth more than his remuneration, he reluctantly fixes his own salary at the extremely low figure of £1700. We gather from a very modest letter of his, addressed to the Minister of Public Works, that bearing in mind the Minister wa3 "so good as to promise " an increase of salary " by way of annual bonus," he " ventures to put the increase at £500." The modesty is shown chiefly in the amount of the " venture." But then, Mr. Conyers urges that he had had disadvantages not experienced by general managers ; for according to him he had staffs to create. Wherever he goes he creates a staff. Managers in other parts of the world find their staff already created. These managers draw an average of between £3500 to £7000 a-year apiece, he says. The modesty of the creator of staffs in only venturing to try the experiment of being satisfied with £1700 — £500 to be contingent on a yearly epistle of unique character — is amazing. The Minister for Public Works did not, however, inform Mr. Couyers, as he might have done, that the responsibilities of all responsible people in large countries are greater than those in small ones, whilst their special training is more arduous and expensive, and therefore their pay necessarily greater. Some men would be cheap at £1700 a-year, whilst others ■would be dear* if their services were given gratuitously. What Mr. Conyers' services are valued at is not yet settled. The Civil Service Commission recommend that he should have "the sack." The charges brought against him were of a very serious nature, and his reply by no means clears him of the imputations made. We have no doubt, however, that further enquiry will be made respecting his qualification for the position he holds, when perhaps a more moderate estimate of his services will be made by the Minister than the one he " ventured " to suggest. Modesty is a virtue, and the Ministry must be gratified to find amongst the Civil servants one who possesses such a large share of it as Mr. Conyers exhibits in the unique letter referred to.