Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1880.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 249, 11 December 1880, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1880.

The case of Mr Tucker, the manager of the Telegraph Office, to which we referred yes^ terday, is one of which it is only just and fair that some public notice should be taken. The Government have entered vigorously upon a policy of economy, and in doing so they have, we believe, in the main the approval of the public, for it had become notorious that the Civil Service of the colony bad grown beyond all reasonable limits, and ■was draining the Treasury to an extent that ' -was as unnecessary as it was inexcusable. It waß a thankless and an unpleasant duty that Ministers undertook when they entered upon the task of reducing the standing armj^ of 11,000 officials, but it had to be done, and after a little shivering on the brink they took the plunge. How they have been progressing we have heard from time to time in- telegrams and newspaper paragraphs, and in pursuance of their announced intentions they haye 'probably created a larger number of enemies' than any.set of Minis .era who have held the reins of Government since the Constitution, was granted to New Zealand. On the other hand they should have gained many supporters, for there can be no doubtingthe

zeal with which they have carried out their policy of economy, tbe result of which must he to produce a sensible reduction in the cost of governing, the country. It appears, however, to us— and ifc must strike all who have given the matter any thought iv the same way— that, in effecting the alterations and amalgamations which they bave con~ sidered necessary, they have displayed _ a lamentable want of discretion and an indisposition to study the circumstances of each individual case with which they were called upon to deal. Judgment was wanted as well as determination, and of judgment they have shown little or none. Take the case before us— that of Mr Tucker. He is a valuablo and thoroughly efficient officer, one who was always at his post, no matter what the hour of nighfc or morning, seeing that the work of the office was beiug properly performed ; exercising a kindly superintendence over his subordinates : and displaying a courteous consideration for the public, such as we have seldom seen equalled, and never exceeded by any Government official. For seventeen years he has been in the public service without, we believe, a single complaint ever having been made against bim ; he is doing his work faithfully, and has every reason to believe that he is giving complete satisfaction to his employers —that is to the public — when suddenly he receives notice that in the course of six or seven weeks he, with a wife and family of eight children dependent upon him, is to be deprived of his means of. living. Seventeen years in a telegraph office in a country where the Government is tho sole owner of the telegraph lines is but ill calculated to fit a man to earn his bread- in any otber service, and it is little to be wondered at if the officer referred to should look forward to the future in blank despair aud ask, " What an. Ito do for my family ? To dig lam not able ; to beg lam ashamed." Now we cannot conceive that the State is reduced to such straits as to bo driven to such an act of positive cruelty as to turn out an old, a good, and a faithful servant to starve. If it is deemed advisable to amalgamate the Post and Telegraph offices in Nelsou, and to place them both under the present Postmaster, then some other provision should be made for Mr Tucker. There are younger men in the service who have not families dependent upon them who should be the firsfc to go, aud to an officer in Mr Tucker's position there should be offered some other situation even though the salary were lower than that which he is at present in receipt of, tbough Heaven knows that even thafc would be bad enough treatment of an old servant. To turn him completely adrift, however, is an act of cruelty that cannot possibly be justified so long as one unmarried man is retained in the department upon a salary on which tho preseut Nelson manager and his family could subsist. It is in dealing with cases such as this tbat the Government have displayed that lack of judgment of which we complain. We trust that upon the case being fairly represented to tbem, as we hope it will bo, they will acknowledge the error they have committed, and do what lies in their power to remedy it without delay.