The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 6 September 1913, Page 2

The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Tiik Department of Agriculture rightly is regarded as one of the most virile of New Zealand's Government Departments. Certainly its works are justified by results. .But there are inherent weaknesses in Ihe machinery of the department. Some of these are indicated in the report submitted to Parliament (his week by the Public Service Commissioner. Hesavs:

"ruder (lie present constitufiou of the Department there ;ire four divisions which are practically separate Departments, over which is llio head oilice, which repeals a i>"ood deal of the oliice work of the divisions. Tlie divisions are as rigid as it is possble.to imagine, with Ihe result that overlapping and waste id' force is present in a marked decree, and. .if ihe mass id' evidence which has been obtained is to be relied upon, friction is altogether too much in evidence. The two main divisions arc the Live Stock and .Meat .Division and the Fields and Experimental Farms ])ivisioii. Two others are the Orchards, Hardens, and Aparies Division and the J)airy Prodece Division. The two in tier are relatively small and compact, and present no great dijliculties ol' management. Jn the two large divisions the organisation is broadly as follows: In the Live Slock and Meat Division there is a director, Avho is a professional oliicor, an assistant director, a chief veterinarian, several so-called supervising' veterinarians, ordinary veterinarians, and a great number of live stock inspectors. In the Division of Fields and Experimental Farms there is a director, an assistant director, supervisors, and a large number of inspectors of rabbits and noxious weeds . . .

Stock inspectors arc officers whose salaries range from (o .£"!()() per annum, ami the absurd position obtains that every stock inspector, senior or junior, is actually responsible only lo the head of the division in Wellington. Similarly, the veterinarians, notwithstanding the presence pf a socalled supervising veterinarian in their districts, are responsible only to AVellington. ]f a junior stock inspector in the extreme south fails in his duty, there is no senior officer nearer than Wellington who has the power to reprimand him. The duty of the supervisor is said to be to advise and to report anything lie notices to Wellington. In the words of one of the senior supervisors, the duty of the supervisor is "to act as n spy." It is difficult to conceive a worse arrangement. There is thus a small army of men of varying length of service and capacity over whom discipline can only be maintained from a distance too great to render it effective. . .

Practically the same organisation obtains in the Fields and Experimental Farms Division. There are supervisors who have 110 control, and inspectors of rabbits and noxious weeds cannot ho called to account except by tlie Director in

Wellington. The result of all 11iis is that there is a great deal of overlapping. ]f tlie stock inspector from A-— mentioned above is kind enough to drop a hint to the rabbit and noxious weeds inspector, the latter lias to make a journey which has just been accomplished by the stock inspector, to say nothing- of the Avaste of force. Is it any wonder that the travelling expenses of the department of Agriculture amount to .£•'>4,()()() per annum, or nearly .i'Bo Jo/ every working day of the year!-' The present organisation is without doubi bad, and, as I have shown, there need not be any difficulty in introducing a good organisation forthwith. The efficiency of the Department is of such vital interest to the country that there should be no halfmeasures. lam t|Uite sure that the Department contains men of the right calibre to fake charge of districts and to render a good account of themselves, who are at present performing work under conditions which are by 110 means satisfactory. There are at the same time men for whom places were found at fhe time of tlie last reorganisation whose cases will have to be very carefully considered."