The Globe. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1878.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1433, 19 September 1878, Page 2

The Globe. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1878.

Foil tho sako of tho colony it is to bo hopod, now that tho attention of the Houso has been prominontly drawn to tho rate of pay and consequent deterioration of tho police force, that a sufficient remedy will be applied. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that at the present time thero is not a man in tho force who is not disgusted wtth his position, and anxious to obtain othor employment. This fooling has arisen not merely from the inadequate payment. It is also caused in part by tho ridiculous system —or want of system —which prevails—by the manifold injustice and petty tyrannies to which the men are subjected under the name of " discipline, " the discipline exacted of them being that they shall bo servile as dogo to the few favored officers, shall play ths spy on ono another, and shall utterly abandon all claim to any self-respect. That is Colonel Whitmoro's notion of disciplining a body of free men in a free country! and it is this method that his official tools are carrying into execution with all diligenco. What wonder, then, if the police force is undergoing a process of demoralisation so rapid and marked that unless things soon alter, it may be expected in a very short timo that no respectable man will on any account join the force ?

But with respect to the payment, could anything be more absurd than Mr Sheehan's argument that, although the wages of a constable did not exceed those of a laborer, it must bo remembered that he had allowances, that ho was paid for Sundays, and for wet or dry days alike P This rising young statesman found it convenient to suppress all mention of the fact that the police, like tho laborers, are paid only for the days on which they work —that being called upon to work seven days in the week, wet or dry, they are paid for seven. He seems to think that the colony is doing them a kindness in allowing them this privilege, as though in the police force —whatever might be the case in other departments of life —the laborer was not worthy of hire, and ought to regard his wage as a benevolence rather than his hard-earned due. But even if Mr Sheehan's argument were in itself sound, it would prove nothing, for the simple reason that policemen, if they are to be efficient, must be of superior intelligence to the average run of agricultural laborers. The fact that tho Government should, even for the sake of argument, consent to consider the police on a par with men who follow callings in which strength and strength only is required, shows that Ministers have a ridiculously false notion of what is required of a constable. We hope the Houso will take the opportunity now afforded of impressing upon Ministers the erroneousness of their views, and demanding that they shall proceed upon the assumption that a policeman ought to bo of exceptional intelligence, tact, and self command, and that where those qualities are found, combined with a healthy physique, they are worth securing at such cost as may be necessary. So long as tho efficiency of tho forceps made the secondary consideration, and its inexpensiveness tho first, so long will inefficiency bo secured at tho cost of an increase in minor crimes and larrikinism. Wheu a certain standard of efficiency is established, and it is determined to secure that standard at whatever cost, on the ground that it will be incomparably the cheapest in the end, then New Zealand will begin to re-organise the force which she has latterly been steadily disorganising, and progressive improvement instead of progressive deterioration may be ex pected.

A squabble has recontly been in progress between the Chief Commissioner »f Crown Lands for Taranaki and the Roceivor of Land Revenue for the same district. The matter "was referred to Wellington, and in duo course a reply was received from tho Under-Secretary, from which the following is an extract: — " Tho Government expects its administrative officers to bo able to perform tho duties required of them towards each other and the public without misunderstanding or lengthy correspondence, which tends to inconvenience and loss to the public interest;' Without criticising the grammar of this remarkable sentence, which is perhaps as good as most UnderSecretary's English, wo may fairly say that it is as gross a piece of impertinence as could readily bo found in the official records of the colony. Further, supposing the principles laid down were to bo strictly followed, it is not too much to allege that then most certainly there would be serious loss to the public interest. Lastly, it may be remarked that any deprecation of misunderstandings and lengthy correspondence from a Government which is under the leadership of Sir George Grey is about as ludicrously incongruous a proceeding as could well be imagined, " Do as we say, not as wo

do" would seem to bo tlio doctrine which Ministers are desirous of impressing upon those unfortunate individuals whom fato lias subjected to their arbitrary bullying. It will bo observed in the case referred to that the Government instruct the Secretary to lay down a general principle, which is to bo applied irrespective of tho merits of any particular case. Public officers, like birds in their little nests, are to agree, come what may of it. It needs no deep consideration to show that any such rule is utterly bad, and calculated to injure tho public interests. Its moaning is simply this, that when a civil servant sees things- going wrong, or another officer taking an injudicious or improper course, ho is not to venture to remonstrate with him. It means that ho is to sacrifice any principle which may bo at stake for tho sake of making things run smoothly. Wo have hoard of a certain officer, who hold a responsible position in tho Public Works Department, being snubbed by his superior because ho reported to tho latter tho discovery that a contractor was cutting certain piles which he was bound to drive a given distance. That zealous officer was told that "it was no business of his," and tho contractor, who had friends amongst the '•high personages" of the land, was allowed to cut tho piles to such length as suited him. But it appears now that the principle is to bo yet further extended. Not only, judging from tho above instance, are civil servants to bo conveniently blind to tho little games of contractors who may havo influential patrons, but they .are also to bo blind to the good or evil doings of ono another. Tiiey are not to have misunderstandings. Supposing a clerk has reason to suspect that one of his fellow officci's is embezzling public money''or taking bribes, clearly it will, under the new rule, bo improper for him to take cognisance of tho matter, as that would bo creating a misunderstanding of tho most radical character. That lengthy correspondence " tends to inconvenience " at times is a thesis which it would be difficult to dispute, but on tho othor hand it would bo impossible to deny that quite as often it is tho very essence of tho duty to be performed. The Government do not contend that, in tho case which gave rise to their rebuke, the Commissioner of Crown Lands could have fulfilled his duty thoroughly without a misunderstanding, or without lengthy correspondence, but they demand that all officers shall discharge their functions under all circumstances without misunderstandings or lengthy correspondence: that is to say, tho avoidance of thoso things is to bo the first object, the fulfilment of the duty the second, and when the two are impossible tho latter is to be sacrificed to the former. On the whole we should imagine that tho public will not derive much advantage, nor conscientious members of tho civil service much encouragement from tho novel rule now laid down for the guidance of Government officers.