The Taranaki Herald. (DAILY EVENING.) TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 1913. THE PUBLIC TRUST OFFICE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 144082, 29 April 1913, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. (DAILY EVENING.) TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 1913. THE PUBLIC TRUST OFFICE.

The Public Trust Office is an institution of which New Zealand is pardonably proud, and when complaints were made about its administration the Government acted wisely in appointing a Royal Commission to report upon its working. The personnel of the commission—Messrs. A. Macintosh, superintendent of Dalgety and Co., Ltd., and J. H. Hosking, K.C.—left no room for cavil, for they hold exceedingly high positions in the commercial and legal world of the Dominion. Their report has now been presented, and it may be said at once shake the confidence hitherto reposed in the office and which it is so necessary should be maintained. That there is room for some reform is also made clear, but in a manner which conveys no serious reflection on the staff or its administration. In order to make their subsequent observations clear the commissioners premise that the functions of the Public Trustee come under two different categories—(l) Those relating to the management and realisation of* estates, and (2) those relating to the investment of trust funds. The latter functions are comparatively simple, and that they are well carried out was made manifest, especially in the fact that in only thirty cases has it become necessary to have recourse to legal proceedings for recovery of money lent. The commissioners suggest, however, that the Public Trustee was a.little slow in availing himself of the higher rate of interest obtainable for "Investments during the last year or so, He continued to lend at 5 per cent, when he could safely have secured or more. This is a conservative policy which, in the case of such an institution, is perhaps excusable, considering that absolute security is the first essential, and it is justified in the conclusion of the commissioners that the moneys controlled by the Pubbc Trustee are satisfactorily invested, The commissioners found also,

that the administration in respect to the methods adopted in making investments and the collection of the income and revenue therefrom is eminently efficient, and that this is so is evidenced by the growing amount of business voluntarily placed in charge of the office year by year. Nevertheless they consider that it might be made more efficient by a little more liberality in the staffing. Two defects are pointed to: (1) Delays in answering correspondence and in rendering accounts; and (2) insufficient inspection of the various house and other properties under ( tlie office control. The methods are good, but the staff is too small to carry them out promptly and altogether efficiently. It is insufficient in numbers in the skilled departments and is greatly overworked, besides being underpaid. The case of one officer is cited who worked sixteen months’ overtime, counting by hours, in a period of twelve months, while a striking case of under-payment'is that of the cashier, who receives a salary of £l7O, with’ an allowance of £2O, and received over the counter in a half-year over half, a million of money, paying out about the same amount. It seems to us that the scale of payment from the top downwards is too low. The position of j?ublic Trustee is one of very great importance, demanding exceptional organising and administrative ability, as may be gathered from the fact that its capital funds invested amount to over £5,000,000, four-fifths of which is invested in mortgages of freehold property. The salary paid to the Public Trustee, who has all this responsibility on his shoulders, is £IOOO a year, and, as already shown, the cashier handling huge Sums of money receives a beggarly £l7O, with an allowance of £2O. The office cannot expect to obtain and retain the class of man jr, requires if such salaries are paid. One observation of theccrmmissioners is particularly significant, where they say that the absence of skilled officials and understudies to them is attributed to want of prevision in the past. The business has apparently outgrown the capacity of its heads, who should have organised and trained their staff on better lines and insisted upon better payment. The head should be a “big” man, “big” enough to organise and train an efficient staff, and his own salary should bo commensurate with his responsibilities.