THE Thames Advertiser. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 1880.

Thames Advertiser, Volume XIII, Issue 3570, 24 March 1880, Page 2

THE Thames Advertiser. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 1880.

Government hit upon a capital expedient for rewarding their friends and supporters when they introduced the Hoyal Commission business, and summoned Native and Railway Commissions to inquire into local industries, and the working of the Civil Service. Not only are members of both Houses appointed to act on theSp Commissions, and paid by means of expenses, ; honorariums, &c, but old friends and supporters find rewards for services rendered in seats on one or other of the four: Royal Commissions referred to., f}& cannot blamo Ministers for remembering their friends in this way, provided the end justifies the means. It would be base ingratitude on their part to appoint opponents, and leave so many needy suppliants out in the cold. But we are not at all convinced that any good will be effected by the Commissions. Are Ministers to be told what railways to make? Then we hope the'- advice will be acted upon, provided it is given in good faith after sufficient and exhaustive inquiry. But is it. not rather a disguise for favouritism, in order that the House may be properly hoodwinked? Even the Commissioners may be made tools' of, just as directors &ometimes are by certain mine managers on the field. The latter hoodwink the directors by flowery reports—especially when the latter are sitting forty-two miles away from the mine, and scarcely ever visit it, or when they do know as much about it as the man in the moon. So it will be with these Commissions.Gpvernment will carefully lay their reports on the table of the House, and act upon such portions thereof as they think proper. Are they to be told what civil servants can be dispensed with—then thoy will economise where it suits them to do so, and retain or transfer in those cases where it is considered expedient to do so. Those servants having the most influential friends will be spared, because" kisring goes by favour" in the civil service, notwithstading the reports of fifty Royal Commissioners. Offices will be conjoined, salaries reduced, and servants dismissed, just as it suits Ministers, and the report of a Royal Commission will necessarily bo subservient to. their inclinations or to surrounding circumstances, Can some idea be obtained as to what extent assistance is desirable in the matter of' fostering local industries, then such report may prove a valuable guide to the House. We look upon this as the most bonafide Commission of the whole.. Each successive Government has taken action of some sort, but each attempt has ended unsatisfactorily, and we aro glad to find that the commercial and industrial talent of the colony has been called together to discuss this im- : pot'tant question, and give the House j

and the conntry the benefit of its combined deliberation and research. If this section of the Commission is .successfully conducted and results follow, we shall be content with the failure of some of the other Oommissiohs. They will be in a position to collect a great deal of valuable informalum to lay before the House, and to guide hon. legislators in arriving at an opinion. If the knowledge thus gained is carefully collated, we shalt have something perhaps valuable aa the result of inquiries by the Commission. But we cannot approve of the principle involved in appointing so many Commissions composed of so many members of Parliament and others, who are merely appointed aa rewards for political services rendered. Doubtless the Opposition will demand to know all about these appointments and the scale of remuneration. A Wellington correspondent, writing on this subject, points out that tie composition of the Commission to Inquire into the economy of the Civil Service is not such,as to command much weight for its reports. He remarks," Nobody can clearlyjrnderstand by what process of naturaPselection Sir Robert Douglas and Mr Pharazyn developed into Koyal Commissioners on the Civil Service, nor. have either Mr Saunders or Mr Kelly ever exhibited such special aptitude for such duties as to suggest their choice for the position." Then we have the hon., member for Bruce, Mr Murray, a Waikato farmer, appointed on the Industries Committee because he is tho_ great talkist of the House, and will 'intrude his opinion whether it is required or not. Mr Wakefield, too, is a needy special pleader for any Government which will amply reward his services. He is quite as talented in the advocacy of one side as the other, and as much ap« predated, for that matter. He has been provided for, if we mistake not, as the conductor of the colonial journal, issued somewhere in Cook's Straits, but his guns are to be kept in reserve until the session commences, when he will open fire from a new stand-point, and will no longer be known as the truthful Jeames of the" Timaru Herald." But we need not multiply examples of this kind in connection with these Commissions. The appointment of Sir Win. Fox on the, Native Commission is another striking example of rewarding political supporters, if we had not already mentioned sufficient to illustrate this point. We trust the result will, be somewhat more satisfactory than we have reason to hope for, when ' we shall be glad to admit that all has not been in vain.