THE HALL-VOGEL CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 184, 4 August 1881, Page 1

THE HALL-VOGEL CORRESPONDENCE.

The remainder of the Yogel correspondence (except the returned letter) was laid on the table last week. Dismissing a considerable quantity of uninteresting details, the chief features are the following:— The Premier cabled j to Sir J. Yogel, under date 7th September, as follows .— " Parliament reduced vote, for office to £3000 ; reduce secretary's salary to £600 - engage accountant not over £300 ; dispense with shipping agents. All other salaries inclnding Agent-General's to be reduced 10 per cent from October Ist. That reduction made by Parliament on all New Zealand salaries. Instructions wili be sent by next ■ mail —Hall." Sir J. Yogel, after detailing the departmental reductions he had effected added the following remarks : — " Your wish that all salaries from the Ist October shall be reduced by 10 per cent will be attended to. I have taken upon myself to think that you do not include office-boy, who receives 10s a week. It seemed to me, however, so hard on all the officers in receip'tof ; small salaries to be suddenly derived of their means, and perhaps thereby be ; subjected to great hardships, that I ihave out -of my own pocket paid, to Mr ; David Feen the loss he suffers during Ithe remainder of his stay, as also the 'loss sustained by Mr Shortt, Mr Hack- ; worth, and Mr McKillian, for a period !of six months. You will allow me to say that the records of my department show great reductions in the face of an I enormous mass of work. You will ■ also permit me to add that the officers, of the department haye i enjoyed very' ■rare increases of salaries ; that they have longer hours (10 to nearly 6 o'clock on ordinary days, and 10 to 2 | on Saturdays) than the other officers in | the Civil Service, and that they are j subjected to the exceptional- hardship. |of an Income Tax, which the other ! colonies do not allow their officers to i lose. I must not, how.ever, ; be sup-: i posed by this comparison to imply that I regard with favour the reduction. Other officers in the service have ■suffered, and knowing so many of them as I do, their detoted service, and as a rule their small means.,, it . is to me a matter of keen regret that a weal thy colony like New Zealand has found it necessary to make them suffer for the policy of opening up the country, which has of late been pursued. — I have, &c, Julius Yogel, AgentGeneral." Mr Hall, in replying, commented as follows upon these passages in Sir Julius Vogel's letter : " The Government regret that you should out of your pocket have paid to the several officers. named in your letter the amounts by which their salaries for. six months were reduced by your compliance with the instructions in my telegram. Such an :act h£ an officer holding the position of ■Agefft-General was calculated, whatever may have been intended;, to suggest to his subordinates that he believed they had been unjustly treated. The Government recognise and regret that hardship has in many casss been caused by compliance with the instructions of Parliament as to salaries, but they are satisfied that that direction was a necessity, in view of the condition of the colonial finances, and was not unjust. They think, therefore, that the AgentGeneral should, supposing him to be personally unable to agree with the views of Parliament and of the Government, have confined hemself, in officially dealing with the question, to informino 1 his subordinate officers what those views Were. -I have to add that the Government consider the last paragraph of your letter altogether uncalled for, as being an expression of opinion upon the action of Parliament affecting departments not under your control. — I have &c, John Hall." To the above Sir J. Yogel replied in the following letter, which closed the correspondence : — " 7th February, 1881. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 4th December in reply to mine of 6th October, in which you take exception to the course I had pursued in making reductions in my department. As that course was dictated by considerations, which, to do myself justice, I must set out at considerable length, and as I am about handing over /my charge -to my successor, I will, with that gentleman's consent, retain a copy of your letter and reply to it when I am more at leisure, and when, too; I shallbe more free to express myself unreservedly on the. whole question.—l have, &c, Julius Yogel, Agent-General." Sir J. Vogel's resignation followed, after which he sent the insulting letter which the Government thought right to return to him unanswered.