THE PUBLIC TRUST.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 530, 10 June 1909, Page 6

THE PUBLIC TRUST.

NEW BUILDINC OPENED. , HISTORY OF THE : INSTITUTION. ' SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER. A large gathering, comprising Ministers of the Crown, ; members of both Houees of Parliament, heads of Government Departments, and -leading citizens' of Wellington; and many ladies, assembled, at noon yesterday at the now . Public Trust Building, Lambton Quay. This fine building, which flaa lately described in these columns, was constructed to the plans of the Goyernmcnl Architect, .and tho contract price was £40 780. Its bold and dignified exterior is notable among the architectural' features o. the city, and the interior is spacious am handsome. The upper floors are already ii the occupation of 1 the Electoral, Publii Health, and Tourist. Departments, and thi Public Trust Office itself is to-day carryinj on its-business on the ground and first floors, while, largo quantities of its record; have been deposited in the cellars. Nearly atfhundred ladies and gentlemen sat down to a, luncheon in the Wills and Trusts .Room on the first floor, which was hung with numerous large flags. The Public Trusted...(Mr..;J.' W. Poynton) presided, and among his supporters were Sir Joseph Ward (Prime Minister and Minister' of Pinancp), the Hon. A. T. Ngata (Minister in chargo of the Public Trust Office), ; Dr. : Fitchett (Chairman of the Public Trust Office Board),, tho Hon. E. C. J. Stevens, M.L.C. (the originator of the offioe), and members of the Ministry. .

Tho Prima Minister's Speech. . ■ Sir Joseph Ward, in proposing "Prosperity to the Public Trust Office," said that the dimensions of the building wore ■an indication of the largo amount of business which was transacted T>y the Department. Thirtysoven years had .elapsed since the Department was brought into existence. When he said that tho amount administered to-day was not less than six millions sterling, those present Would form some idea of the, immense amount of business entrusted, to' the office. (Loud applause.) He was sorry that the man who was responsible for introducing the Bill creating the office—Sir Julius Vogel —(applauso)—had passed over the bourne from which no traveller returned. In introducing that measure, Sir Julius bad • said that it was the outcome of a conversation with the Hon. E. C. J. Stevens, who was present that,day.(Loud applause.) The office commenced, business on January 2, 1873, under [ the charge of Mr. Jonas Woodward. It' was self-supporting a.t the end of the second year, and from that .time all salaries and expenses had been paid out of profits. To-day thore was, in addition, a net balance of about £10,000 per annum. AQtho busmosatransacted by the \ institution was guaranteed by the State. He would like to take that opportunity of publicly- congratulating Mr. Poynton upon being tho head of.an institution which showed suoh fine results. Under the law. of the country a-quarter of the profits went, to a reserve fund. -The balance could, he continued, be taken td swell the- Consolidated Fond. But, upto. date the total amount frtiich had been paid to that fired was only £38,000. The cost'of the building, and furnitpre. £42,000. would be met out of the reBervo fund to tho extent .of £38,000, together with a small portion ■ out of tho present year's profits,,so that.the State had not had to pay one penny towards its oost.. : Sir . Joseph went on to say that .the framer,of the Bill creating the offioo was the'late'Mr. Fitz(Applause.)"' After Mr; Woodward, the'position of' Public Trustee was filled by Mr. R. C. Hamerton m 1880; by Mr. J. K. Warburton in 1891; by Mr. J. C..'Martin in 1896;" and,' four years later, by Mr. Poynton, tho present occupant of the office. Sir Joseph then outlined the different olasses of business transacted by the offioe, and went on to say that tho institution had commanded a great deal of notioe; numbers of pcoplo had come hero to inquire into its workings, and other countries had copied it. In England to-day there was now a Public Trust Office, and.it was proposed to establish one-in Victoria., That was a" high compliment to tho man Who in 1872 had suggested; tie idea in

Now Zealand, and also to those w<ho had carried it into effect. (Applause;) The sum of £42,000 was no. doubt a huge' one'to be expended on the building, but tho Puhlio Trust Office could be made an exoeption of." From that day it would He so well filled by other tenants that'it Would more , than pay the interest 'on, the.- outlay. ! : In conclusion, .he Msd' that he expected that. ih'_ the course of a few years there would bofurther reductions in the charges to'those who deaired to do business with the offioe. • (Lotid applause.) A Humorous Response. ' Dr. Fitchett, LL.D., Solicitor-General, and Chairman of' the PubUo Trust Office Board, in acknowledging the toast, Baid the Government guarantee was the basis of the security'of the office, and the' oxijtence of that guarantee' was, by a curious parauox, the main cause of the guarantee not being called on. Othor causes of the success .of the institution wore the absence of profit? making/as 'an' aim, and the' moderation of the salaries. (Laughter.) Mr. Povnton received a salary which a leading tailor might pay to his 'chief 'cutter, and as for the board, the most rigid economist 1 , would think their remuneration- moderate, - as they did their work and .dealt with' glittering millions for what was commonly called -''nix "' After alluding, in a vein of racy humour, to tho wide powers and functions of' tho Public Trustee, and eulogising Mr. Poynton's manner of fulfilling his duties, Dr. Fitchett concluded by expressing high hopes: for the future of the institution. (Applause.) ■ The Originator of the Public Trust. ■Tho; Hon. E. C.J. Stevens, M.L.C., also responded to the toast. Hp said that when he proposed the establishment of the Public t Trust Offioe, hevaaperfeotly satisfied that

it must become a great institution, because tho basio principle' was sound. Thoy had reason to ba proud that England bad adopted the idea from the experience, not of any foreign country, but of New Zealand. (Applause.) Portraits Unveiled. Lady Ward then unveiled large portraits of the founders of the office—Sir Julius Vogel and the Hon. E. C. J. Stevens—and cheers were given on. the call of the Prime Minister, i "Parliament." Mr. H. 0. Tewsley, who proposed "Parliament," admitted that that assembly contained- some men to whom the. head of a business would not give £2 a week, but that could be amended. He contended for a higher appreciation of the importance of a 'agislator's duties, and of the training required. He. considered that Parliament had cted Imperially in. its decisions connected /ith representation at the Defence Confernce, and hoped that more co-operation and ' nutual. consultation in. Imperial, matters vould, obtain in the future. (Applause.) - The Hon. Dr. Findlay, Minister for Jufltioe, in responding, said that the men in the New Zealand Parliament to-day were just as patriotic, loyal, and efficient as the members of any popular assembly in the world. They had industry, honesty, and a desire to promote tho pubh'o weal. The outstanding I maxk of the present House was that it was I the most marripd House in the world, and he had been at some pains to find that out. • A bachelor, was as much out of pjaoe in the present House as at. a mothers' meeting. (Laughter.) He would advise his friend Mr. M'Nab, if he would i re-enter Parliament, and take that high position to which his talents entitled him, to go in not only for mlli-

THE LA3E SIR; JULIUS VOGKLT'*' Founder of the Public Trust. Office.

tary training, but' also for '» little matrimonial, training. (Laughter.) There was no need to , have women in as tliey already controlled it. (Laughter.) ;Mr. T. M. Wilford, M.P., in the course of his' speech, Teinarked humorously that he felt rather sad at the gathering, because he. had long reoognised, as a lawyer, that the Public Tract Office. was the cemetery : of the. legal profession. . "The Civil Servlca." : The-toast" of - "The Civil Service of New. Zealand" was proposed by Mr. C. M. Montebore. He thought that the-Civil-Service was really tho biggest thing in Now Zealand. One of theso days, when the Dominion had three or four Dreadnoughts of; its own, their officers would be civil servants. (Laughter.) Then, perhaps, tho officers of the Labour Department would go aboard when they were attacking the onomy to see that they did not s fire more rounds than was allowed by the Court of Arbitration. (Further merriment.) Colonel Collins, in reply, traced the growth of the Civil Service. To-day there wero in tho Service no fewer than 20,000 offioers, and commercial ventures of various kinds were

undertaken: by it. He added that there, was less' red tape and; more midnight ; oil burned in' the servioeof; the State than ,in private commercial- circles.-

The Hon. j. A. Millar gave the toast of '(Tho Legal Profession,"- to which Mr..: M. Chapman. - K.'C. : , and • Mr.'' Stuart Meriteath responded,. .' • ! Former : Public Trustees. '• The Hon.' A. T.' Ngata, Minister in change of the' Public Trust ' Office, then . proposed ''Former Public Trustees." ; In doing so he remarked that onjv or.o ofithe former Public Trusted, Mr. Warburton, now AuditorGeneral, survived. Referring to the popularity.; of . the ; . offioe,- .he. said that in 1800 488 estates, of tiho, value' of £418,000 were administered' by it, whilst in 1908 the number was 5200,/ of/the aggregate value of 1 £6,000,000. (Applause.) Every, year the number of now estates , for adnun.igfcratic!ii was jnoreasing. 'It ..was no less than 2084 last. year.;. . ' Mr./J.'K.-'.Warburton, .in his response,', said that the Public Trust Office/would always be required until perhaps the. people of New Zealand bocamo one large friendly society, and the to possess and dispose of property, ceased to exist. - That time, even by thoso who believed in its possibility, would be admitted to be very far off. The Architect. • Mr. :A. Atkins, F,R.1.13.A,, hon. secretary of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, m proposing "The Architect and the Builders," said the Government was to bo congratulated upon having in its service an architect so worthy of/ite confidence as Mr. Campbell, and on allowing him tho opportunity of producing so admirable a building. It -was distinctly in -advance, of. other public offioes in design, materials', and construction. Tho planning woa excellent, and the desijyi

was worked oot , wit3i a <rofre6bing freedom from over-ornamentation that ermanood tiie effect of the granite, 'Hie cost was reason* able, And having regard to the etylo of construction and lasting qualities of the building and the accommcwaaon provided, it would be found that true economy hod been practised. Mr. Atkiiifl also commended tie architect's choice of materials, and made complimentary reference to the work of the contractors (Messrs. J. and A. Wilson, of WeiliiDgton).

Mr. John Campbell- Government Architect, and Mr. J, Wilson responded. The toast of "The Chairman," proposed by Mr. W. Ferguson, concluded the proceedings.

Music was supplied by Mr. M'Lauglilin's orchestra, but a programme of several numbers which had been arranged, . was abandoned owing to tho length of tho toast list, which was 1 not conoluded until 3 p.m.

A LIBERAL GOVERNMENT. > (To Tim Editor.) Sir, —There was a banquet held to-<3ay to celebrate tb.| opening of tho new Public Trust Office. There were nearly 300 persons present, of whom about 40 were public men or officials.- Champagne flowed like water. Tho menu was elaborate. Hie speeches and feasting lasted for three hours, after which the liquor was turned on as though it were but common Water. These are sordid details. The pertinent question is : AVho pays for.it all ? Was, it paid for by the Government, wliicli has had to retrench because it bad not enough.money to spare after paying for champagne banquets and other necessities to enable it to retain the .services of married men who have been jerked out on to an already overcrowded labour market? From Auckland and Dunedin and intervening places members of the Civil Servioo journeyed (at our expense, I suppose) in order ■ to enable them to quaff tho 'sparkling wines provided by a hard-up Government. Did these visitors pay their own expenses, or were they guests of the State? Perhaps somo member of Parliament will want to know. The cost of that banquet would have easily kept a retrenched Ciral' Servant with six children for a twelve-month, and the guests of to-day would have mado equally good speeches on a cup of tea and somo brown bread and butter. The new post office will provide another orgy if our members fail to raise their voices now.—l ain,' etc.,

„ . WORKER, June 9.