PAPERS RESPECTING GOVERNOR'S ALLOWANCES.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1873 Session I, A-01b

It,

1873. NEW ZEALAND.

PAPERS RESPECTING GOVERNOR'S ALLOWANCES.

Presented to the House of Representatives by command of His Excellency. No. 1. (No. 17.) Government House, Wellington, My Loud, — New Zealand, 21st February, 1873. 1. At the request of my Responsible Advisers, I have the honor to transmit herewith a Ministerial Memorandum respecting the allowances of future Governors of New Zealand. 2. This Memorandum was not intended to refer in any way to me ; and as I am on the eve of my departure from New Zealand, I have, of course, no personal interest whatsoever in the matter. But I thought it right, on public grounds, to make the observations contained in the minute of which I enclose a copy. 3. The further proposals of the present Ministry will be seen in Mr. Waterhouse's second Memorandum, which is also annexed. I have, &c, The Right Hon. the Earl of Kimberley. G. P. Bowen.

Enclosure 1 in No. 1. Memorandum by His Excellency the Governor. 18th February, 1873. The Governor received the Ministerial Memorandum, of the 15th January, ult, on the sth inst., after his return from his recent official tour in the Southern Provinces. He will forward it, as Ministers request, to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. As the questions alluded to in this Memorandum are not intended to have any personal reference whatsoever to himself, and as, indeed, he being on the eve of his departure from New Zealand, can have no personal interest in them, the Governor thinks it right to make the following remarks : — 1. If it is proposed to curtail in the case of Sir James Fergusson the allowances and advantages enjoyed by his two immediate predecessors (Sir George Grey and Sir George Bowen), it is to be regretted that this proposal was not placed on record before Sir James's appointment was made. It has hitherto been considered improper to reduce the allowances of a Governor after his acceptance of office. Now, Sir James Fergusson's appointment was known in New Zealand about the middle of last November— i.e., two months before the date of the Ministerial Memorandum. It appears that New Zealand already ranks fourth on the list of the British Colonies in revenue, trade, and general importance ; being surpassed in these respects only by the Dominion of Canada, by Victoria, and by New South Wales. But New Zealand ranks fourteenth on the list so far as the salary of the Governor (£4,500) is concerned ; being surpassed in this respect not only by the three Colonies just mentioned, but also by the following, viz. :—Jamaica, British Guiana, Gibraltar, Malta, the Cape of Good Hope, South Australia, Mauritius, Ceylon, Hong Kong, and the Straits Settlements. 3. This discrepancy seems in itself anomalous ; and it acquires much practical importance from the fact that the Imperial Act giving retiring pensions to Colonial Governors (28 and 29 Victoria, Cap. CXIIL), expressly provides that the full rate of pension (£1,000) can be granted only "in the case of officers who shall for at least four years have administered the Government of any Colony or Colonies in which the salary of the Governor is not less than £5,000." Consequently, a former Governor of New Zealand (Sir T. Gore Brown) now draws a rate of pension much inferior to the rate to which the Governors of far less important Colonies (such as Guiana or Hong Kong) would be entitled. It is obvious that New Zealand might, for this reason, lose the services of a good Governor. 4. Ministers will doubtless take into consideration the high cost of living, and of servants' wages in New Zealand, as also other aspects of the question which will readily suggest themselves; among them, the recognized public advantage of the exercise of a liberal hospitality on the neutral ground of the Government House.

A.—IB

2

On the whole, it would probably be well for the interests of the Colony if Ministers were to defer any final decision on this matter until the arrival of Sir James Fergusson ; and were then to propose to the Colonial Parliament, with his acquiescence, such a re-adjustment of the existing salary and allowances as would, at least, entitle the Governor of this Colony to the full rate of retiring pension. G. F. Bowen.

Memorandum for His Excellency. Ministers find that the attention of previous Governments has on various occasions been directed to the subject of the Governor's allowances, but that for obvious considerations the settlement of the question has been deferred until a change in the Governorship of the Colony should be pending. They think it therefore desirable now to place on record, and to request His Excellencj to bring under the notice of Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies the decision at which, after careful consideration and communication with the Australian Colonies, they have arrived. Governor's Residence. There is but one residence that the Government of New Zealand undertake to provide for the use of the Governor and his establishment, viz., the Government House, Wellington. So long as the Government do not require, for purposes of use or sale, the land at Lowry Bay originally acquired as the site for Government House, or the land adjoining the Government Offices in Wellington, the Governor has the free use of such lands ; but the Government does not engage to retain these lands for the use of the Governor for any specific time, as the latter may be required for General Government pui-poses, and the former it has long been the intention of the Government to sell whenever a suitable price is to be obtained. Furniture. The Colony furnishes the " public rooms " of Government House in Wellington, viz. :— Entrance and main halls Corridors Passages and staircase Ball room Two drawing rooms Dining room State bed room Dressing room and ball room Kitchens, laundries, pantries, excepting culinary utensils Offices. Executive Council room Private Secretary's room Aide-de-Camp's room Governor's room , At present, all the rooms are furnished, and the use of this furniture will be continued to the Governor, but except in regard to the rooms above mentioned, the Colony will not repair or renew the furnituie. The Governor finds all linen, plate, chiua, glass, cutlery, kitchen utensils, and stable furniture. The Colony provides coals for the offices of His Excellency, the Aide-de-Camp, and Private Secretary, and for the Executive Council room. The Colony provides gas to an extent not exceeding £120 a-year, this being estimated to cover the cost of lighting the public rooms and offices. The windows and gaseliers will be repaired and kept clean by the Colony. The above arrangement, as far as circumstances permit, follows the rules laid down in Colonial Office Regulations, Chapter 9. Inventory. An inventory will be kept as specified by the 287 th section of the regulations above mentioned. 15th January, 1873. G. M. Waterhouse.

Memorandum for His Excellency; Ministehs respectfully submit that they have had under their consideration His Excellency the Governor's remarks upon the Ministerial Memorandum of the 15th January relating to the allowances of future Governors. As regards His Excellency's expression of regret that this proposal was not placed on record before the appointment of Sir James Fergusson to the Governorship of the Colony was made, Ministers would submit that the subject itself, as shown by official documents in the offices, had previously engaged Ministerial attention, although action had purposely been postponed until a change of Governors should be impending. That the proposal should now be made subsequent to the appointment of Sir James Fergusson is due to the fact that His Excellency Sir George Bo wen himself has been promoted from this Colony prior to the expiration of the ordinary period of governorship, and that the news of Sir James Fergussou's appointment arrived concurrently with those of His Excellency's promotion. Ministers deem it desirable that the salary of the Governor of New Zealand should be placed on a different footing from what it holds at present, and purpose recommending to Parliament, at its approaching session, such a revision of the Civil List as would entitle future Governors of New Zealand to claim, on retiring, the benefit of a first class pension under the Imperial Act. Possibly this alteration may involve a re-consideration of the general subject of the Governor's allowances, for it appears that although the salary of the Governor of this Colony is below that fixed in many other less-important Colonies, yet the allowances are in excess of those provided in many Colonies in which the Governor's salary is nominally fixed at a higher rate. Wellington, 20th February, 1873. G. M. Waterhouse.

3

A.—lb

Memorandum of Hon. the Premier to Ministers. The Premier reported that he had spoken to His Excellency upon the subject of the Governor's allowances, and also as to arrangements respecting furniture in Government House. His Excellency approved of the Governor's salary being increased to five thousand pounds, as suggested by Sir George Bowen, and approved of by the Cabinet. Otherwise, the Governor would not be entitled to a first-class pension; and in addition His Excellency would suffer by being transferred from South Australia to New Zealand. The five hundred pounds to be added to the salary it is proposed shall be taken off the total amount of allowances. The amount hitherto voted as allowances has been sixteen hundred pounds, but the vote has constantly been exceeded. Out of the total of the vote, payments have been made for the salaries of Private Secretary, Assistant Private Secretary, Clerk to the Executive Council, and Messenger; also for forage allowance, orderlies, and contingencies, including gas and coal. The Clerk of the Executive Council and the Messenger are the same as acted under the late Governor, and it will be but justice to them, that in any fresh arrangements a stipulation shall be included that their salaries shall be paid out of the sum voted for Governor's allowances. The salary hitherto paid to the Clerk of the Executive Council has been two hundred and fifty pounds a year. The Premier advises that it shall be increased by fifty pounds, in consideration of the largely increased duties since the introduction of the Public Works Policy, and because of the responsible nature of the Clerk's duties. These explanations are necessary in order that the course which it is proposed to follow may be understood. His Excellency is willing that the five hundred pounds to be added to the Governor's salary shall be taken off the amount of the allowances. The latter would, therefore, stand at eleven hundred pounds ; or with the fifty pounds to be added to the Clerk of the Executive's salary at eleven hundred and fifty pouuds. Out of that amount His Excellency would engage to recommend that there be paid to the Clerk to the Executive Council three hundred pounds, and to the Messenger (as at present) one hundred and thirty pounds—the balance to be available for any of the following purposes as required by His Excellency, namely :— Salaries of Private Secretary and Aide-de-Camp, forage allowance, gas (not to exceed one hundred and twenty pounds per annum, being the estimated cost of lighting the Domain and Reception Rooms), fuel for offices at Government House, orderlies, and contingencies. But His Excellency is willing to agree that the total expenditure under these heads shall not exceed eleven hundred and fifty pounds a year, or, if the salary of the Clerk to the Executive be not increased by fifty pounds, then that the total expenditure shall not exceed eleven hundred pounds a year. These arrangements can only take effect after the Legislature has approved them. For the meanwhile the present salary and allowances must continue. The Premier did not propose to His Excellency any alteration of the understanding upon which the Government Houses, are at present available to the Governor, except that a plan should be adopted similar to that recommended by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, as embodied in an Act of the Queensland Legislature, namely, that there should be an arrangement respecting the furniture in what may be considered the private rooms. The Premier does not consider it desirable that the plan which has before been proposed—that additions made to furniture in the private rooms be paid for by the Governor—should be adopted, because it would involve a very unsatisfactory division of property. The Premier thinks it will be much better to adopt a plan like that of Queensland, namely, that the Governor shall pay six per cent interest upon the value of all furniture in the private rooms. Obviously however such a plan cannot apply so fas' as existing furniture is concerned to any Governor who has taken office, His Excellency agreed, therefore, that in the new Bill similar provisions shall be introduced to those in the Queensland Act, section 8, with this proviso, that during the continuance in office of the present Governor the interest charged annually shall only be on the furniture, &c, added to the bed rooms, kitchens, and other rooms not used for the public reception of company. The valuation in terms of clause 8 to be made on the assumption to office of any Governor after the present. Cleaning, keeping houses in repair, and gardening, the same as during the term of the late Governor. There should also be contained in the Bill provisions respecting Acting-Governor similar to those in the Queensland Act. 17th June, 1873. Julius Vogel. Extract from Minutes of Proceedings of the Cabinet Council of 19th June, 1873. This was agreed to in Cabinet excepting that in the opinion of Ministers the Governor should not be charged interest on the additions made during his term of office since he is entitled to the same conditions as previously prevailed, and such interest would not in case of previous Governors have been charged. The provision respecting furniture therefore to apply only to any new Governor.

Memorandum from the Governor. The Governor, according to the advice of Ministers, directs that there shall be laid on the table of the House of Representatives a despatch from His Excellency Sir George Bowen and other papers upon the subject of the allowances voted for the establishment of the Governor. He desires that it shall be understood that he does not consider that Parliament is in any way precluded from reviewing the terms upon which he entered upon the occupation of Government House, and that he will acquiesce, should they see fit to make the rules in regard to Government House contained in the Governor's Salary Bill applicable to himself. James Fergusson, Government House, 2nd August, 1873. Governor. By Authority : Gbokge Didsbury, Government Printer, Wellington—lB73.