CIVIL SERVICE RETRENCHMENT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1867, 14 June 1888, Page 3

CIVIL SERVICE RETRENCHMENT

The reductions m salaries throughout the EBtlmatea seem to ub far too sweeping to be either discriminative or well considered. The principle on * which the reductions are made apparently very much reeemblos the Donnybrook Injunction, •' Wherever you sea a head hit it," Ministers have hit all round, regardless of length of eorvlce, qcalificalicns, speolal dutla», or anything else, m fact\ The reductions are, m man,y c.ages, dreadfully severe, and it (a ha,rd on the Civil Service all roand that, m addition to having to. bear the increased taxation oommoD to all classes of the community, they should be subjected to aspeolalinoome tax of a remarkably heavy character. In many oases where the present Bilaries have been attained after a lifetime spent m the public service, it is especially hard that m their old age, when early retirement will m thecourae of nature beccme imperative, officers ehould find thglr oalartas, the amount on vrhjch $b,elc retiring 'pension ia ooniputed, re'c|qoed. Jt is, not the mere loss of salary that they sufler, hut reduQUoo m \hv permanent provision fo.r old age whloh they have gpent a lifetime m earning, and supposed they had secured. If it be necessary that the reduction* lo salary should be made on aooonnt of t'io exigencies of the State daring the present period of depression, the Government ought, we think, to introduce a short Bill providing that tha redactions which are necessary, aa bopQ, only temporarily, shall npt bp taken into account m theooraputatlon of pensions to those who retire. The pensions should be calculated as if the previous three yeara' service was atlll at the old rate. Wa think the older offioera J are at least entitled to this recognition i of what may almost be regarded, as a vested interae^, The Uat oj| "reductions, as hafe said, Bnows a want of proper diacrlmiuktlon, The rednotton of £15.0 a year id the salary of the SurveyorGeneral la one instance. There is no man m the public service of h'gher scientific attainments, or who bos done greater lorvlce to the colonji His salary (£900) has never been an excasslve one for the position he oooupies and th.a gegpenalbllltiea h,e Ij burdene4 wUh'J Hhife'the redqe.tio^ of '£16(0 a year la undoubtedly excessive, and. its anfairneas ia. brought out by Qompitrlaou with the case of Mr Maxwell, who, as General IVlanncror of Railways, retains his salary of £1000 a year unreduced. Between the scientific attainments and public uaefu'naae of the tyro gentlemen there can be no o mpariaon. There aie many other anomalies and injustices la the estimates bafpre us, but it It, we svsppoa^, uNelosa \o point them oat— -a^ least With 1 any expootMtoa of thole being ramedlecl,— " Bo«t,"