THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 163, 11 July 1874, Page 2

THE WEEK.

During tho week that tbe colonial Parliament has been in session not much has been done to call for remark, or to interest the general public. Perhaps the most impoitant matter, so far as Nelson is concerned, was the introduction of the Loan Bill by the Superintendent, and the refusal of the Government to permit any such measures to be discussed until the Financial Statement ia delivered. It is, of course, absolutely necessary, that the Colonial Treasurer should, in bringing down the Budget, deal with the whole question of provincial borrowing, but whether the Government mean to oppose or favor it is not yet known. It is, how- | ever, somewhat ominous and far from reassuring to those who, like ourselves, are looking to a loan »_ the only way out ot the difficulties with which we are befet, that no reference whatever was made to the question in the Governor's speech. Still, on tlie other hand, we have this consolation, that the speech waa of the baldest kind, and evidently framed with the intention of giving as little information as possible to all outside the pale of tbe Executive Council Chamber. Generally speaking, the financial statement is not looked forward to with any very keen interest in Nelson, and tbe perusal of it is regarded rather as a duty which has to be performed by those who consider it necessary to keep themselves informed cf what is taking place in the political world, but on tho present occasion there is certainly one portion of it that will be eagerly read in this province, and, if all the rest should be skipped until the eye alights on ehe borrowing question, who ehall blame those who thus show their anxiety to learn whether the depression which nt present exists here is to continue, or to be lifted from our shoulders ? It is quita impossible to exaggerate the importance to the Nelson province of the decision of the Government and Legislature upon this question. That was a melancholy list that was published the other day ef the proposed reductions in the Provincial Government service. I daresay that many a one who read it at all thoughtfully laid down the paper with a sigh and exclaimed "Aud is it lo this that the Province of Nelson has come after more than thirty years settlement. Old officers, who have done their duty faithfully and well, to be discharged, others to be reduced to the ranks, and younger hands to be turned off altogether, not so much on account of there not being work for them to do as because the money for which they have hitherto been paid for their services is wantpd in another direction." lam not at all sure that the Government have been altogether right in the action they have taken, and I believe that hundreds of others who have given auy thought to the matter agree with me. Here we are going to the Assembly to ask them to grant us a large loan — to authorise our borrowing a quarter of a million. We don't assume a bold frout and say, Now we have large resources that when once made available by tbe establishment of means of communication will render a province, which has hitherto been quite able to pay its way, flourishing and populous. We don't take care to let it be known thnt, in spite of the disadvantages to which we have been exposed by not reaping the benefit of the large Government expenditure that has been going on elsewhere, we have still been able to hold our own both in respect of revenue and population, thus showing that within onr limits we must bave sources of wealth that, neglected as they hf ye been, have proved sufficient to enable us to maintain our position;, but we prefer logo to the Colonial Legislature and plead our cause in- forma pauperis. Here is our case as it will be put by our representatives :— We are that miserably poor that we can't afford to keep up an efficient harbor and pilot staff; we are so impecunious that we are compelled to reduce our gaoler to the ranks, ahd place over him the head of another department; we are so badly off that we are compelled to dismiss a lot of clerks, and to ask the policemen to become scribes;; now, considering all this, wiil you be kind enough to lend us a quarter of a million?" Would it not have been better to take a higher stand — to say, " We have the utmost confidence in our resources if you will only assist us to develop tbem. We certainly could effect some reduction in our expenses if such reduction were really proved to be necessary, but we do not wish to do so until the necessity actually exists. Wo are unwilling to do an injustice to our old servants when we know full well that if you grant us what we ask we shall be in a condition so much more prosperous than that in which we now find ourselves, that in the course of a very short time wo shall require to reinstate those whom we have cast off, or to substitute others in their places." I may hold peculiar opinions on this subject, but I do think that what I have suggested would have been by far the more worthy and more dignified position to have taken up. I may be wrong. We all are occasionally. Retrenchment is certainly the order of the day. Clerical assistance in the Superintendent's and Provincial Secretary's offices is required, and clerical assistance must be paid for, but the great steam engine of economy has been set in motion, and, like tho oar of

Juggernaut, must crush everything under its wheels. After all the professions of saving money that have been made it would never do to employ an extra clerk — that is to say, it would he unwise to call the additional employe a clerk pure and simple, so some other device haa to be resorted to, and consequently a policeman who can write well is to be sent for from the Coast to take the place in our town force of one who, I presume, doeß not possess a qualification that hitherto has not been considered essential in a constable. Now, if Policeman X who is to be imported does his duty in that station of life to which he has been called, it is quite clear that he will have little time to act as clerk; if, on the other haud, he performs the work of a clerk, what a glorious time, the thieves, and rogues, and drunkards, upon whom be is supposed to keep a watchful eye, will have of it during that portion of the day or night in which he should be on his beat. Or perhaps it is intended that he should perform the duties of a ppiicemab from six at night until six in the morning, and those of a clerk from ten to four in the day. This is an amalgamation of offices that was scarcely expected, but when you come to analyse the work it is easy to see how it may be done, provided that tired nature's sweet restorer can be dispensed with. But the economy for which we are becoming famous is not to cease with the appointment of clerical policemen. Money saving in another direction bas been talked of, and, if carried out, will encircle the Province of Nelsou with a dazzling halo of respectability before which less daring aod less original Provincial magnates will bow in solemn awe. Some of my readers, —I think I may cay some hundreds ot them — -will positively refuse to credit i what 1 have to tell, and I shall not be annoyed at them for so doing, inasmuch as I myself was a long time before I could briug myself to believe it, but my authority is beyond all question. In the Nelaon gaol there resides a gentleman who once held an office of trust under the Provincial Government of Nelson, but now occupies a cell in the establishment that her Majesty has kindly provided for tho9e who have a difficulty in recognising the difference meum and tuum. He has had some experience in keeping books, some of which he Kept to his temporary advantage but ultimate disadvantage. Now, will it be believed that it has been seriously proposed by a member of our Responsible Government that this gentleman's abilities shall be turned to account, and that clerical work shall be sent to his temporary residence for him to perform ? Incredulity may be pardoued, but so it is. Imagine the pride and gratification that would be experienced by any respectable member of tho community who upon calling at the Government Buildings to see the Provincial Secretary should be gravely informed that that gentleman had gone up to the gaol to have an interview with his clerk. Then again, suppose somo correspondence between the Provincial Secretary and Colonial Treasurer were called for by an inquisitive member of the House of Representatives, how delightful it would be to every Nelson man to see the correspondence reported in the newspapers in this fashion: — Nelson Gaol, February 29, 1874. Sir — I have the honor, by direction of the Provincial Secretary, to. inform you that there ia a farther sum of fifteen shillings owing to this province on account of capitation al'owance, one little child who was lost in the bush on the night the census was t iken not having appeared on the returns. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant. N- — G , . Convict, anl clerk, pro tern, to the Provincial Secretary. The Hon. The Colonial Treasurer, Wellington; Mr Yogel," when he was our guest, slightly sneered at us for being behind hand as compared with our Canterbury neighbors, but if we go on as we may yet do I think we shall be able to teach him a thing or two. lam sure he would appreciate a letter of this kind, and acting upon the hint therein conveyed I should not be in the least surprised to find him issuing a proclamation to the effect that on and after such and such a date all prisoners who could write a good hand, and had been accustomed to book-keeping should be deemed to he ex officio members of the Civil Service of New Zealand. F.