THE AGENT-GENERAL'S DEPART-. MENT.

Clutha Leader, Volume V, Issue 222, 11 October 1878, Page 3

THE AGENT-GENERAL'S DEPART-. MENT.

♦ The following letters have been published: — The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., June 18, 1878. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the sth April, No. 66, in which you direct me to further reduce the expenditure of this department, and in which you indicate some of the officers from whom I may choose those whose services can be dispensed with. I am sensible of the fact that it is my duty to defer to the wishes of the Government, and if merely dispensing with certain officers would give effect to your wishes, I should have nothing to do but to obey your instructions. But you throw on me also the responsibility of maintaining the efficiency of the department, so that in effect, beyond making the reductions, the discretion as to their nature falls on me. You will not,- therefore, I hope, think it unreasonable that I should like some little time to consider a matter of so much importance, and in order to do so I propose postponing answers to your letter till next mail, when I hope I will be able to lay before you fully the plan I propose to give effect to your wishes. — I have, &c, Julius Yogel, Agent-General. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., July 18, 1878. Sir, — In continuation of my letter, No. 517, of the 18th June, I have now the i honour to further reply to your despatch, I No. 6G, of the 2th April. I first anxiously considered the time when any reduction which should have to be made should cemmence, and came to the conclusion that it would be very injurious to the interest of the Colony to do anything to disturb the prevailing arrangements during the present immigration season. All the plans for immigration during the season are fixed, and every officer of the department is very much occupied. If the reductions commence after the immigration ■ season is over, we shall be able to make arrangements next season. In■deed, the only mode of reducing which I ■can see, without entailing disastrous re■sults, depends upon alterations which I ■propose in our immigration system, which ■iterations it would be impossible to bring Aito force during the present season. In Honsidering the reduction which it is Hossible to make without totally impairing Hie . efficiency of the department, I first the practicability of dispensing Hith the services of the various officers to HBhom you specially refer, viz. , Mr Kenna■Bay, the chief of the department ; Mr Hashel Hoey, my private secretary ; Mr the accountant to the departBient ; Mr Smith, the despatching officer ; Bid Mr Ottywell, the secretary to the department. Respecting Mr Ken|HLway, I have to submit that it would be HBthe highest degree undesirable to disHnise with his services. He has a thorough HBowledge of the business of the departI^Hmt in all its branches, and his assiduity anil devotion to work cannot be too highly extolled. In addition, his judgment is excellent. You will readily conceive that in carrying on the enormous operations of this agency, with its many and varied responsibilities, delicate questions constantly arise which call for the exercise of much discretion and judgment. It has been my good fortune, since I have held the office of Agent-General, not to have incurred the disarproval of the Government of the Colony in any one single particular that I can call to mind, whilst in dozens of cases in which I have exercised discretion I have received irom the Government an indication of their approval. I do not mention this with any view to self-glorification, but to enable me to say that I have derived the greatest possible advantage in being constantly able to discuss with Mr Kennaway all subjects relating to the department, and in obtaining from him his view of the same. I cannot reconcile it to my duty to the-Colony to dispense with Mr Kennaway's services. Concerning Mr Cashel Hoey, I have to say that my predecessor, the late Dr Featherstone, was allowed the services of a private secretary, and the Government that appointed me did not intimate their desire to withdraw from me a like advantage. Mr Cashel Hoey had everything to recommend him. for the position, and I deemed myself fortunate in getting a continuation of his services. It is idle to deny that he has been of great assistance to me, and that I shall greatly feel his loss ; but since a question arises of dispensing with his services, impelled by these considerations, I have with great' regret, given Mr Hoey notice that his services will not be required after the end of November next. With regard to Mr M'Kellar, I cannot see that it is feasible to dispense with his services. Mr M'Kellar, besides being an excellent accountant, has a thorough knowledge' of the special mode of dealing with New Zealand accounts necessitated by the 'colonial laws which regulate them. He is entirely trustworthy, and is constantly engaged in duties concerning which it ig necessary to repose large ...confidence in him. The amount of payments passing through the office is enormous, and accounts of a complicated: nature -have to be regularly rendered. Even if another accountant could be obtained for a less salary, lam sure the economy would be a false one. Concerning Mr Smith, I unreservedly express the opinion that it will be a great misfortune to lose his services. There are thousands of emigrants now comfortably located in New Zealand who owe to his intelligence, special knowledge,, and determination, much < comfort and a considerable amount of safety on their voyage to their distant home. We depend on Mr Smith for approval of the vessels and stores offered to us by the contractors, and with him rests the suggestion of such alterations as may be desirable to make the ship .safer or more comfortable. He 'is responsible "for his "storage arrangei ments, and on his tact and experience depends the smoothing over : of the diffi- . culties which constantly arise when emigrants are embarking. I should indeed be much concerned to lose Mr Smith's i services, but I have made him a proposal by which they would be. in part available

to the department when required. The nature of this proposal ia, that he attends to the shipping of plant and material, for which we now pay the shipping agents a considerable sum yearly, and that for his emigration services we pay him a small salary. He has not yet told me whether he will entertain the proposal, and meanwhile I have told him we will dispense ..with his services after the end of November. I should point out to you that the contract made with the New Zealand Shipping Company requires that we should provide an officer to approve ships' stores, &c. ; in short, to perform the duties which Mr Smith so ably discharges. Mr Ottywell is an excellent officer, able, intelligent, and hard-working, but the Scotch Agency is by no means a pressing necessity. I arranged to re-model it because of its previous existence, and this remodelling has worked well, but the applications considered at Edinburgh coxild as well be considered here, and I have given Mr Ottywell and his clerks notice that we will not require their services after the end of November next. I have not yet decided whether to ask Mr Andrew to continue to act as Commissioner. He would have in such a position no special function. Of course, in doing away with the Scotch agency we should have to depend .on the Albion Shipping Company for seeing to the departure of emigrants, and for providing fitting vessels and accommodation. I understand that your long experience of the Albion Company makes you willing to do this, indeed you .incidentally suggested that they might select emigrants. It is just possible I may be able to make some provision of this ' nature. I have ppoken to Mr Galbraith, and if he can secure Mr Ottywell's services, we paying, some part of the latter'a salary, I think he would be disposed to aid in the selection. I am to speak with him further on the subject. The difficulty is the acceptance of the responsibility of making the selection, but some way to make this work smoothly may be found. Mr Ottywell has undoubtedly been of service in looking after the comfort of emigrants about to embark. I notice your suggestion in your letter No. 76, of 23rd April last, to dispense with the services of local agents. The proposal falls in with, my own views. The agents occasion a" great deal of expense and much extra work in the office. Unless you largely increase the number of emigrants you require yearly, I think we may obtain those you want without the aid of more than a very few agents, especially if you will let me know by January what are your requirements for the coming season. The difficulty of making selections is that I am not informed of the intention of the Government till very shortly before the emigrants are required to sail. The better the class of emigrants, as a rule, the more reluctant are they to hurriedly rush away, and you will, I hope, excuse my strongly urging that in future I be advised of the Government requirements for the coming ■ season not later than the beginning of January. With this proviso I think I can save the Government LBOO a year in agents' fees, and probably L2OO in extra „ incidental charges, such as clerical duties, printing, &c. The clerical duty of the* , office is heavily taxed, for examination of agents' accounts will be lessened. Finally, I may say I hope we shall be able to let one or two of the rooms now occupied, and dispense with the services of one or two clerks. To sum up, the positive reductions will amount as follows : — Scottish establishment, exclusive of Mr Andrew, L6OO ; Mr Cashel Hoey, L4OQ ; Mr Smith, say L2OO ; savings in agents, L 80 0; contingent agents, L2OO ; clerks, LIOO ; total, L 2300. Contingent — Mr Andrews, L 205 ; rent, LIOO ; Mr Halloray, .Ll5O ; travelling expenses; do, LIOO ; total, L 635. I really do not See that I can do better than this, and I am not; disposed to recommend that Mr Halloray be altogether. dispensed with, especially as I observe that you think well of such labours as Mr Halloray pursues, as you have recommended to me for similar employment in lecturing and personally seeing agricultural labourers a gentleman on his way home from the Colony. It is not necessary for me to give you again the statistics of the office, It will suffice that the correspondence ia enormous, and the duties most varied and responsible. In addition to shipping out during a short season a large number of emigrants, selected from a very much larger number of applications, we purohase and ship plant and material to a very considerable amount, and we discharge numberless duties for almost every department of the Government service in the Colony. , t In conclusion, allow me to say that you appear to think, we can find sufficient emigrants from those that are nominated ; but I have previously pointed out the number of nominated emigrants willing and eligible to emigrate is. small in proportion to the number nominated in the Colony, arid very much less than the number of emigrants I have to send out. — I have, &v, Julius Vogei,, Agent-General.