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Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1903, 12 October 1906, Page 2

At nooa to-morrow Mr J. F, Pottie, nuotiouoer, will eel! the privileges in connection with the A. and P, Assooiaiion’s annual show, ‘j’he Gisborne Bowling Club opens the season on Thursday nosfc. A cordial invfta'ion ia exiondul so members and thoir hi oods.

A partner is advertised for with prac~ tioal experience in gardening. A four-roomed cofctisgo is advertised for sale at Mangapapa, Tho building must bo removed within ten days of the pur obnse.

Messrs Richardson and Company's Rum arriyed from Napier yesterday morn iofi with 20,000 ft timber for Gisborne besides general good.. Thi Toroa is due this morning from Napier. The following undefended eases were deult with at the Police Couit, before Mr BartoD, 8.M., yeeterday morning, jade ment being given by dofault Bermetl and Sherratt (Mr G. EE Lysnar) v. \y. jj Gibbs, claim £6l 19 i 4d, caste £4 7s 6 i ■ A, Keefer (Mr Nolan) v. L. P. Ballnn' oUfm £22 10s, cast.- £2 14-; F. Ga l (Mr Nolan) v. L. P, Buiieo, olaim £ls, costs £1 10j 01; O. J, More!! (Mr A. Coleman 1 v. P. Ho fen, balance of cla'm (£23 15 1 211 Cjs!s£2 14i; Robert Carlisle (VlrSioy' wright) v. Agnes Gordon, claim £4 16t 61, >nd 10s costs. In the caeo of S. Oxonbam v’. William Irwin, claim for rent, the parties male appearance and judgment was givou by consent, £6 oi Id aud 11s costs.

possession of premises to bo giton within 33vrn days'. Too defend'd ease Maekrell and Oolloy (Me Nolan) v. W. B. Markin (Mr Biait), claim £175 18s 4d, camo on tor hearing at tho afternoon sitting. Shis was simply a question whether or not the plaintiffs had given defendant credit for

certain payments made by him and involved in tho above amount. Tho case was adjourned to Monday to al ow tho pariios to ooDfsr.

remarks on tho subject that again Htuks o;io’h hopes to zero, and raises a wdl gio indod fooling of despair ilmt tlio promisod reforms will amount to anything worth having. In attempting to movo tho Minister to notion in tho mattor, tho mombor for Waikato said “it was notorious that a groat deal of friction oxistod between certain ollicors of tho Department, and it was t.iiuo some one spoke out foarlossly and stated that tho Department should he reformed. Jin trusted that a little moro life and energy would bo infused into this branch.” Auyono who knows anything of tho horribly chaotic condition into which things havo boon ullowod to drift in this, one of tho most important branches of the Service, will thoroughly oudorso those expressions, | and will most heartily thank Mr Groenslado for boing tho first and only mombor of Parliament to thus draw public attention to tho wholesale mis management that has oxistod for so long. But what can bo said of tho Minister’s reply? Instead of rising to tho occasion and Irankly acknowlcdg* ing tho unsatisfactory condition of things being duo, as they unquestion-’ ably are, to tho inoptituuo of tho former Minister for Agriculture and tho carelessness, if nothing worse, of the Secretary, ho endeavors to throw th i blame upon members of tlie Rouse. “Tho Agricultural Department,’ ho said, “ought to ho tho gioatost 1 Department in tho colony, because it ‘controlled the production of nearly 1 all tho wealth of tlio colony. It had ‘ grown very rapidly during the last 1 i'-nv yoars New divisions had been ‘added, but every extension of tho ‘ work met with a howl of dorision and ‘ ridicule from some sections of the ‘Rouse. One of tho results of this ‘ fierce criticism was that the Minister’s 1 hands had been paralysed, and tho ‘ result of the quick development was ‘ that while nobody was to blame tho ‘ Department did not possess that ‘ systematic classification found, in other ‘ parts of tho Government service.’’ It i 3 perfectly true that the late Minister’s hands were paralysed—not by members of the House, however, but by tlio Secretary for Agriculture, who appears to have inoculated the present Minister also with the germs of departmental croeping paralysis. If this official is not the one and only one directly responsible for the mess into which his Department has drifted, the Minister must take the responsibility upon himself, ard it cannot be trans« ferred to other shoulders But whichever of them is to blame should at once vacate his position and have the reorganisation to bo done by more competent hands. Instead of taking this, the only logical viow of the matter, the Minister feebly replies, “As to the complaints against the Secretary for Agriculture, he was absolutely the poorest paid officer for his position in the Civil Bervice.” That is certainly a rather comical way of excusing incompetency and answering complaints. What does it mean ? Does the Minister mean it to bo inferred that because the Secretary considers himself poorly paid for his importance that he declines to do his work properly, and that whon his own estimate of his importance is duly satisfied by raising his already fat salary for so inefficient an officer, ho will condescend to do the work pro* perly required of him ? That 13 really tho Minister’s admission, and a most woefully inane one it is. It may be a matter of individual opinion; but we hesitate not to hazard tho statement that £OSO per annum for tho muddling work done by the Secretary is more than doublo what that work is worth to the country, and the Miniptej;OJJO'txf to know if. duffing of new divisions Has hampered results; but the Minister cannot point to a single instance within the last decade in which members of the House have refused to grant the votes placed upon the Estimates for the successful work-* ing of the Department, and these have frequently included £SO rises in the Secretary’s salary. Anyway, the raising of that salary to £IO,OOO a year ought not, and cannot, make that I official more competent than he is at present. Yet this raising of salary appears to be the Minister’s only method of improving the work of the Department. There are, we admit, officials in tho Department whoso salaries ought to be raised, for they are men who have done good work, and some of them have refused much higher figures to go elsewhere. But these are the very men whom the Secretary is endeavoring to crush. They are, in fact, the only men whom to retain it is worth while keeping the Department in existence at all, for without them it would become a source of useless expense to the country. Needless to say we refer to the vote* rinary branch under Mr Q-ilruth, and some of the dairy experts, especially the former, and they havo been hampered and thwarted in their work by the Secretary in such a way as to make their lives almost a burden to them, and it is only their ardent desire to advance tho benefits of their profession for the good of the country that persuades them to put up with tho irritation and humbug inflicted upon them. No wonder that the member for Waikato thought " it was time someone spoke out fearlessly,” and if the Minister could only be persuaded to think so too the country would get better value for its money But. the Minister—Ah! well, the Minister has promised that “ after tho recess” (not during it) he will take a trip round tho colony in search of “ an idea of the extonsive ramifications of the Department.” Poor misguided people ; we hod given him credit for knowing something of that already.

Tho annual mooting of tho Povorty Bay Oriukot Association will bo hold in tbo Muaoriio IIot»l this evoning.

Me Bai'ton, H M , grunted a prohibition ordor yesterday altoruoon agai'ist a rosidont of Makuuri.

Tho serious ohargo against W. D. Turnbull, sot down for hearing yesterday morniog, was furtbor adjournod till tho 17th ioßt.

An illuminated addroßs and purso of sovoroigns wero presented to Mr 1 1 . W. G,i tilths on tho ovo of Ms departure from I s :iocoa to Gisborne, Too gathering took p|-too on Saturday evening, tho county chairman (Mr W. G. Nioolls) prosidiDg, and making tlio presentation oo bohalf of Mr Grillitha' many friends. Mr It. 11. W. Bliglt, who is expected to arrive in Gisborne to-morrow, is an-

nounced to speak in His Majesty’s Theatre on Sunday. Mr Bligli has great famo as lmi orator,

A Press Association telegram from Hokitika states: The Hokitika Borough Council unanimously adopted the scheme of Mr Loslio iicynolds for a water supply

for tho town. Tenders are returnable on November 25th, and are to bo invited forthwith.

A copy of flic Christmas number of the Auckland Weekly News lias reached this office. This is one of tho finest productions ever issued by the proprietors, the

whole of the work being done in Auckland. The print is clear, and illustrations

cover a wide range of subjects, mountain, field, forost, highland and lowland, all are

represented, the number being devoted to New Zealand’s scenery and Now Zealand’s production. Some of the half-tone blocks

are equal to tho best prize work, and altogether the number is a most interesting one and highly creditable to the colony. The local bowling season is drawing nigh, and active preparations arc being mado by the Turanganui Club to get their grounds in first class condition. Since last season the green has been top -dressed and trued up, and is at present looking in tho very best of order; indeed its splendid condition is exceedingly satisfactory, seeing that it lias only been laid down a little over twelve months, and without a doubt it rivals tho greens of older clubs. A number of improvements arc being made to the grounds, which will ensure more convenience, comfort and privacy to members and put tho club on an equality with other clubs in this respect. It is expected to open their season on Thursday, November Ist, when doubtless there will be a large gathering of members and their friends.

Entries for tho A. and P. Sooiofy'a

annual show olose to-morrow night, and it is to be hoped that at tho forthcoming show the growing importaoae of the dairy industry will be evidenood by a large numbor of entriea in those olasses. The fact that in previous years these olasses have not been well represented should be an induoement this year for people owning stcck that could be entered for tho competition, to make a speoial effort to gain some of the prizes, The prizes are of good value, and even in the ease of those who do not fool inclined to take the little trouble necessary, they should oonsider that by entering exhibits they emulate others to do the sem?, and also rendor distinct service by increasing the attraotiveDßss of the show. Farmers should make an effort to oonvotl what has hitherto been a weak portion of the show into a really strong feature that will do credit to tho district.