RETRENCHMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume 105, Issue 17751, 1 July 1929, Page 9

RETRENCHMENT.

TAKEN TOO LITERALLY.

MR STALLWORTHY’S STATEMENT.

(Special to Times.) WELLINGTON, Saturday. In the last of his pre-sessional addresses in Auckland at the beginning of the week, Hon. A. J. StallwOrthy, the Minister of Health, made an allusion to “retrenchment” which left with his audience the Impression that the Government was bent upon reductions in both .salaries and servioes. The misapprehension was so widely circulated that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Railways, who also is Commissioner of State Forests, deemed it necessary to disclaim any intention of “retrenching” in the manner usually applied to the term. “Nothing in the nature of retrenchment in the Civil Service of the kind made on previous occasions,” Sir Joseph Ward declared, "is contemplated- “There is not the slightest foundation," said Mr Taverner, “for the report that the afforestation operations of the Government ore to be curtailed.” No doubt it was the word “economy,” not the alarming ono of “retrenchment,” Mr Stallworthy intended to employ. “Retrenchment" is a term .of evil tradition with tho Civil Service.

As It Should Be. The “Dominion,” commenting upon the incident, includes the Minister of Health among those unfortunate individuals who allow themstdves to be swept away by “the exuberance of their own verbosity.” It takes it for granted that Mr Stallworthy employed the word attributed to him and approves of Sir Joseph Ward’s correction of his colleague. “It is the Prime Minister’s prerogative," it says, “to make policy announcements when they are decided on, and tho public rebuke administered by Sir Joseph Ward to his colleague, though unusual, apparently has been invited. At the same time the fact cannot be overlooked that in taking into his Cabinet inexperienced members quite unfamiliar with the inner working of the political machine the Prime Minister was courting trouble.” Doubtless Sir Joseph Ward materially increased his own labours for a time in associating himself with uninitiated members; but so far his venture has been attonded by encouraging results and with experience added to enthusiasm his team should be a particularly strong one.