OVERWORKED MINISTERS.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2466, 20 May 1915, Page 6

OVERWORKED MINISTERS.

DUTIES IHE WAR HAS IMPOSED. During the last few months, Ministers of the Crown, and especially tho Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, havo been compelled to decline numberß of invitations to public functions in different parts of the Dominion. They have even been unable to make exceptions in favour of patriotic meetings. The reason lias been that tile business to be transacted has increased enormously owing to the exira work imposed on Ministers in couueclion with the war. In tlio I'rinio Minister's office the stall' lias had to be iuoreabcd, There are now three secretaries and lour tvpistes, all fully employed ;nd frequently compelled to work » • .time. There is probably no otln-: .nan in Now Zealand who deals witii is much business day by day lir tho IVime Minister is handling every day now. His regular oflioe hours aro from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and very often he does several hours' work at his house in the even- , iugs. Mr. Massey has kept tho Imperial Meat Supply Branch under his own supervision. All the arrangements for procuring insulated ships and matters of this sort aro dealt with by him perj scnally, though the allocation of 6paea to different ports is now done by tha 1 Shipping Committee specially appointed by the Board of Trade, on whicli comniitteo Mr. Triggs is the Government representative. Mr. Massey has all the usual Departmental work' to deal with, ho has to find times for meetings or Cabinet, consultations with other Ministers, interviews with members of the public, and every day he lias to attend to a huge volume of correspondence. Every day 120 to 160 letters and upwards of' 100 telegrams come to his office, and every day lie has to peruse at least 100 Departmental files. Most of these letters can be speedily disposed of, but there aro among the lotters and telegrams a very much larger number than usual of important Stato communicntioiis passing between the Imperial Government and the New Ze.v land Government, through His Excellency the Governor. All tlieso communications, as well as a very large number of important communications with tho High Commissioner in London on war matters, have to go through tho Prime Minister's hands.