The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 1885 Sir Julius Vogel v Colonial Treasurer.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1553, 15 July 1885, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 1885 Sir Julius Vogel v Colonial Treasurer.

A Latin poet tells us that Quern deus vult perdere ptius dementat. Not satisfied with having brought down a Customs tariff which met with almost upi. versal condemnation, and nearly caused their own destruction, the Ministers intend, it is reported, to ask the House to sanction the granting of a bonus of to Sir Julius Vogel for services rendered by him, while Agent-General, in floating a loan for the colony. This stale old claim was made years ago, and was so obviously insupportable that the Parliament of the day would not entertain it for a moment, and its refusal to do so was obviously in accord with the feeling of the country. The ground taken up by Parliament was extremely simple. Sir Julius Vogel was being paid the handsome salary of ■£ 1,500 a year for performing the duties of Agent-General. Now, the floating of loans is a part of the ordinary work of an Agent-General. It is done by the Agents-General of other colonies ; and Sir Francis Bell has performed it since he has been Agent-General for N*w Zealand. He has never asked for or been paid any special remuneration for his services in such matters, nor do other Agents-General get any. Why, indeed, should -they ? What is an Agent-General kept in London for but to attend to these and similar transactions? To a man possessed of an ordinary knowledge of the money market the floating of a colonial loan is not an undertaking which presents any exceptional difficulties. It requires a certain amount of tact and judgment and but little more. It must further be borne in mind that Sir Julius Vogel was aided by the judgment and experience of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, two men who had been engaged all their lives in floating colonial loans. In short, Sir Julius Vogel has neither a legal nor moral claim for special remuneration for doing what was really part of his ordinary work as Agent-General. Nor can it be said that the colony has treated Sir Julius Vogel ungenerously in other respects. Opinions differ widely as to the wisdom of his borrowing policy; but even his j warmest admirers must admit that the ; colony has granted him pay and allow- ( ances with no stinted hand. No other i

public man in New Zealand has been I treated so liberally as Sir Julius Vogel; and we think, to put it mildly, that he is showing little consideration for the colony when he makes such a demand as this upon its purse when it js suffering from' the deepest depression, and its taxation is about to be largely increased. If the House deals with this claim upon its merits, it is perfectly certain that the claim will be rejected; but unfortunately the political machine does not always move in the direction of the public interests.