AN EXTRAORDINARY SITUATION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 776, 28 March 1910, Page 6

AN EXTRAORDINARY SITUATION.

The latest announcements concerning the case of Me. P. Hbyks, Land Tax Commissioner and Valuer-Gen-eral, are quite as puzzling as the attitude'of the Prime Minister'has been" throughout this mysterious affair. We are told now, after montjis of waiting, that a Board of Inquiry, under the Civil Service Act, .is to.be set ..up".to investigate various charges made against Me. Heyes/ and.most remarkable of all,Me. Heyes is still on leave. The public is hardly likely to, have forgotten the circumstances under which' Me. HeyesJ' ■ nearly i four months ago, was placed on leave on full pay. -As the result'of allegations made, by an officer or officers of the' Department, two judges of the' Supreme Court were'appointed ■to conduct a secret investigation.of certain transactions in the Land and Income Tax Department. The Prime Minister refused to disclose the, nature of the charges made or to make known the findings of the secret tribunal, declaring his intention to treat the judges' report as confidential... The matter was. discussed in Parliament, and Sir Joseph Ward eventually, announced that as a-result of the inquiry, 'test ' cases would be taken to the- law 'courts 'and the control of the affairs of the Department; would, for the time being, be taken' out of; tho hands of Mr. Heyes, who would,be granted leave of: absence.:, This, was the .position, four ..months ago. /The. ■ public-mind was'much-perturbed by the rumours in circulation,';and the mystery with which the Prime Min-. ; ister surrounded ' the affair,'added to the general feeling of uneasiness. Everybody felt that the sooner' any. doubts . which. might exist were .cleared up the better. The matter, however,, has been allowed to drag :along all these months regardless of the feelings of Mr._ Heyes or of. the concern of the public as to what has been happening in connection with ; the Tax Department. An action' was brought a few weeks ago at Christchurch by an officer of the Department which presumably had a bearing on the subject, but the fact .that Mr. Heyes has not returned to duty'makes it apparent that the charges made have not been cleared up. >What the public will .-think.-of this delay can be guessed at—it cer-. tainly .is not likely to restore their, confidence in this important Department of the State—a , Department which above all others should be placed beyond any shadow of suspicion of any .kind. But while we must again .enter an emphatic protest against the delay which has taken; place in investigating so serious a.matter, it is necessary to point out that the first false step taken by the Government in shrouding the matter with so. much mystery has been followed by one equally unwise and improper. We refer tothe constitution ■ of the Board appointed to conduct the belated inquiry now to bo held. To appoint three Civil Servants to hold an inquiry of this nature is surely most improper. We have nothing to say regarding the ability and integrity of the gentlemen in question. All :three_ occupy high and responsible positions and we have no doubt they are fair-minded men. But is it fair to them to place them in the posi-' tion in which they have been placed 1 Is it fair,to place anyone dependent on tho Government of the day in that position? 'Moreover, the Prime 'Minister . has laid great stress on the, necessity for secrecy in connection with the business of the Land and , Income Tax Department—he has seen danger in disclosing even the nature of the charges -made. He appointed two Supreme Court judges to conduct the original investigation in order that the public should have every confidence that the private affairs of individuals having business with the Land and Incomo Tax Department would be in safe keeping. And now he makes a complete change of front. Already _ he has admitted to this confidential Department the head of one outside Department who has acted during tho absence of Mr. Heyes; and now three more are to be introduced. Altogether the position is most unsatisfactory. In the first place the inquiry as a matter of common justice to all concerned, and in the public interest, should have been held months ago and whoever ■'. is to blame called to account; and secondly it should have been conducted by a tribunal absolutely independent of Ministerial influence.