Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1871.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 18, Issue 1132, 28 September 1871, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1871.

Steamers' visits to Hawke's Bay have of late, become comparath ely few and far between. Just at present, 1 owever, we observe the names of no less than four in the list of expected arrivals. Of these, three may be expected to arrive in our waters to-night —the Star of the South and the Keera from the North, and the Ahuriri from the South. The Star left Auckland on Tuesday night, the Keera left Tauranga at 2 p.m. yesterday, and the Ahuriri left Wellington at 9 o'clock last night.

The outward mails for Europe, &c, yia California, were forwarded hence last night by the Napier, which steamier left for Mahia, Poverty Bay, and Auckland about midnight.

The ball to commemorate the joint anniversary of the Napier Artillery Volunteers and Hawke's Bay Yeomanry Cavalry takes place to-morrow night, in the Oddfellows' Hall. From all we pan hear, the attendance bills fair to be yery large. In the House of Representatives on the 6th Sept., in reply to a question from Mr Reader Wood, relative to the intentions of the Government on the Civil Service Act, Mr Gisborne said tljat the Act divided itself into two parts —one relating to pensions, and the other relating to discipline and promotion of officers. With regard to the first part, which related to pensions, there were, in fact, three Civil Service Acts in force. There was the Civil (Service Act of 1858, and there was also the Civil Service Act of 1861, which not only greatly increased the rate of pensions, but stated that an office]' might retire at fifty years of age without any medical certificate. Honorable gentlemen would see by the returns that, out of ,£34,000 spent in pensions, the sum of £21,000 per aniium had been expended in pensions to retiring officers under that particular Act. The Civil Service Act of 1866 reduced the rate of pensions, and jbrought it to the same scale as was in force in Victoria and in Great Britain. He should mention that the Act of 3861 was not a general Act, but applied to officers who were in the service before the 12th August, 1858; so that, pf course, the number of officers to which it applied was annually diminished. After a careful consideration pf

the report, prepared under the direction of the honorable member fot Timaru, who was then Prime Minister, the Legislature adopted the rates of pension under the Act of 1866. It was not the intention of the Government to bring in a Bill either to increase those lates or to lower them. With regard to the oiher part of the Act, relating to discipline and promotion, it was not the intention of the Government to repeal that part of the Act; but it might be necessary, in regard to some of its details, to amend its provisions. Probably, dui'ing the present session or in the course of next session, some measure might be introduced to amend certain clauses relating to the classifica tion, promotion, and discipline of the officers.