RADICAL CONSISTENCY.

Wellington Independent, Volume XV, Issue 1369, 4 October 1859, Page 3

RADICAL CONSISTENCY.

In going through the Estimates the other evening, the Council, after discussing the items singly, passed the whole with som6 few exceptions. One of those exceptions has given rise to considerable comment out of doors, —the reduction of the Provincial Treasurer's salary by one half. While the vote was under consideration in Committee, Mr. Woodward refrained from urging one word against the proposed reduction, but on Thursday evening, when the Estimates had come before the Council in the shape of an Appropriation Bill, the glaring person-

ality induced him to describe it as a " deliberate, cruel, and intentional insult " —& description which the Wakefioldites had the bad taste to denounce aa unparliamentary, and insisted upon its being taken down with a view to extort an apology,—an apology whichj we are happy to say, Mr. Woodward decidedly refuses to make. This redaction is said to have been made on the score of consistency, arid solely without reference to the individual affected by it. The duties of Treasurer and Secretary, the Radicals tell us they have always maintained should be performed by the same individual. They were so in the early days of the Province, when Mf. _ FitsSherbert held the two offices conjointly. They were so during the short time when Mr. Speaker Ludlarri was Superintendent, Mr. Wakefield being then supposed to perform theni. With a view to enforce an amalgamation of the two office's, the salaries of both the Treasurer and Secretary were reduced dne half, sd that on a junction taking place, Mr. Woodward or Mr. Fitzherbert, whoever of the two took the double office, would receive the sarrie salary to which he had heretofore been accustomed.

And a perfectly consistent arrangement tod, >ill be the opinion of every one who reads such a statement for the first time; but a few words will shew them that like all Mr. Wakefield's doings; this proceeding, while carrying dri its face the appearance of fair play and consistency, has l-eally not a particle of any such i virtues about it; but is what Mr. Woodward said it was—a " deliberate, cruel; and intentional insult." "What then are the facts. The salaries of the Treasurer and Secretary were on Tuesday night each reduced from £-100 to £200. The ostensible character of the vote was well understood. Mr. Fiteherbert or Mr: Woodward might settle between them who of the two should take' the double office, or if the Superintendent still chose to continue employing the services of both gentlerrien, the Council sanctioned his doing so provided he did not put the province to a larger expense than what is admitted to be a fair salary for an efficient head of department. On Wednesday night, however, the Radicals completely stultified their previous argument by making up to the Secretary the reduction they had effected in his case the night previously. Mr. Fitzherbert has for some time held two offices— : those of Provincial Secretary and dhief Land Commissioner—for the first he has always received a salary of £400; for the second nothing. The Radicals thought fit to vote £200 for this latter office, thus giving Mr. Fitzherbert his £400 per annum as usual,—in fact rolling tlie Secretaryship and Commission-ership into one and cutting off all chance of the amalgamation of Secretary and Treasurer, as determined on the night before. Mr. Woodward was thus left in the humiliating position of a Head of Department and Executive Officer, with a salary cut down to that of his clerk, and deprived df tlie power of accepting the second office at first intended to be joined with hisown,because that office (the Secretaryship) had been amalgamated by the radicals theulselves with the Land Commissionership. How holiow . are the' pretensions, of consistency on Mr; Wakefield's part is thus sufficiently shown; and the refusal of the Council to relieve Mr. Woodward from the position in which they had placed him, was sufficient to warrant his characterising their conduct as a " deliberate , j cruel, and intentional insult/ 5

We should bo equally guilty of a "deliberate, cruel, and intentional insult" towards Mr. Woodward, were we to attempt to expose the fallacy of the argument, for an amalgation of the two offices, drawn by Mr. Wakefield from this latter gentleman's .having. held the two offices during the few weeks of Mr. Ludlam's acting Superintendency. That the two offices can be conjoined with advantage may or may not be true; but certainly if Mr. Wakefield was obliged to obtain the services of his friend Mr. Yule to keep the accounts, being unable to keep them himself, and after all leave the work of the office in such a state of confusion as to impose a very large amount of trouble on his successor, the less frequently Mr. Wakefield appeals to his own occupation of the two . offices, the better it will serve his general argument.