The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, JULY 12, 1883. A Minister for Railways.

Feilding Star, Volume IV, Issue 14, 12 July 1883, Page 2

The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, JULY 12, 1883. A Minister for Railways.

■ ■ . '>'•'-.'■■ ■■'■ "<»' •'-••=■• - ■■■'" IThe proposal of the Government to j appoiotja f Ministernfor .Railways d >es mot muet with universal approval. \A's r tL } large 'section of the communir y iare of opinion that therailways should be managed apart from political influences, thw is not surprising 1 . It is pretty .generally understood that. the Ministry" are desirous ■ of strengthening- their hands, by the; accession of another colleague by creating" a new portfolio. The duties of tue Minister of Pui)Hc oWorks are not.: 60; onerous--4s to require to be divided in order that the work .may^ be done ;, take away' the railway management from hie ! department, and the position of the Minister would be almost a sinecure, in his case, as in the case of other Ministers; it would be much better to depend a, litt'e v ore upon th« heads of departments to manage details, and to comjilete ddcuinents of trivial importance. The present system under which M inisters permit, themselves to work is not calculated to, facilitate the business oi the Col ony, but, on the contrary, has a most retarding effect, and causes complications and delays which could 'be avoided by allowing departmental clerical work^and its general superin-' tendance to be performed by .those, persons; who are paid to ; do it, and, who, from experience and knowledge are nominally qualified to dp so. It is impossible for even the hoxt gifted individual, when elevated to the position of a Minuter oi the Crown, to i grasp the whole, working system of 1 the department he id , called upon to manage, and it is absurd e,ven to pre-, tend to attempt it. Ihe clerical head is absolutely the only person able to assist and' guide lii'in' in the per. 'ormance of duties J of_mere details If ■Ministers would] only;; confine Themselves to . statesmanship, and abandon all unnpccesfiar> interference with the clerical* work ot their respective portfolios; more real f work would be done, and the government of the country would be^-better attended to. We believe that tKeTcpnstitutional disinclination for' hajrd_work which exists in. the , mind and bo \y of our member and Minister "the Hon.,WALteh Johnston, ha-, a good deai to do with .the desire, to bav<> a Minis-ter ifor liaifw«y8 r to' rieheve him of l tlii*"* li artiest i por.iori 1 'o t ' J His duties, via. ; l tuut 'coilneVtcii "with" ralwuys, and

Minister* probably WiSi; ro huve an - other '• fighting- member " to assist Major Atkin on, who. althoujihthrecognised '"strong man" of the Government, is not always able to do all the fii»litin<r work, and sometimes needs » colleague after his own stamp to relieve him. Loiiving the po itica.l side of the question, we venture to think that for some years at leaet Hie m-iaagement of the constructed mil ways should be under one head, and, as at present, that one head should be directly responsible to the Minister, but he should have largely extruded powers which would enable him to rule and govern the department absolutely, without it being necessary for him to consult the Minister on the most trivial matter, as is now the rule, before he can act He should have uncoi. troll ad author ity over the tariff rates in order to make the best arrangements for the benefit of the Colony at larire, and local trade particularly. Giving these large powers to a professional expert would be far better for the country than having a mere politician, who, after all, would only act as a sort of buffer between the Kailway Manager and the Ministry. If the General Manager was unfit to exercise these large powers, nothing is easier than to dismiss him and employ another., Under no combination of circumstances could a manager make such a hash of railway matters as could be made by an incompetent Minister, or by one who had a " fad " for the work.- Jf it is absolutely necessary to have another portfolio, appoint a Minister for the Gold Fields. This would be an appointment where very little harm could he done, and possibly some little good.