South Canterbury Times, THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 1881.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2576, 23 June 1881, Page 2

South Canterbury Times, THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 1881.

There is. an open rupture between the Government and Sir Julius Yogel. It appears that the late Agent-General has written a letter of such an offensive character,, that the Government has sent it back to him unanswered. There is not the slightest doubt that the report is correct. It first appeared in the Ministerial journal in Wellington, a paper unusually well informed in official matters. It has been telegraphed without denial by the correspondents at Wellington who represent the Government papers in the South Island. It is not one of those canards on which so much ink is spilt before it is found out to be simply a concoction. The exact time was not stated when Ministers received the distasteful communication. However, it is no more than one might expect to follow a letter which was addressed by Sir Julius Vogel to Mr Curtis a few weeks since. In that letter Sir Julius in the most explicit terras condemned the action of the Colonial Treasurer in depreciating the credit of the colony in a time of financial crisis. He alluded to the Budget of Major Atkinson, wherein it was stated that there would be a deficit of close upon a million. Sir Julius Vogel states that it took the greatest exertions on his ps.rt to counteract the evil influence of that alarming statement on English bondholders. The writer most strongly condemned the “ political rest ” ideas of the Ministry, and expressed an opinion that jt would be national suicide to falter in the prosecution of the Public Works policy. Tbc first impression on reading the letter was that Sir Julius Vogd has an idea of again entering public life in Now Zealand, Bub events which have since happened have somewhat modified that view. The late AgentGeneral is still sore on the point of not receiving a commission on the last loan. That commission would have amounted to about £7OOO. Considering that Sir Julius was receiving a good salary from the colony at the time the loan was negotiated, we are decidedly of opinion that the Ministry and Parliament were quite justified in refusing to pay him such a large sum. It is no doubt good policy that the State should pay men in responsible positions a sufficient sum, if it were only to keep them beyond the roach of temptation, hut a claim of £7(H)U for “overtime” during a few weeks would be a trifle too much. Sir Julius Vogel is an able and farsecing man, but bo tails to apprehend the present temper of colonists. The age of the borrowed millions is past. The golden ora lias gone when a few thousand pounds were of little consideration.

There is another mutter on which the Agent-General fuels aggrieved. In tendering bis resignation be asked that lie be paid a month’s salary for every year ho was in oflice. I his would only "have amounted to a lew huudieci pounds, uud tne payment was asked for in accordance with a rule of the

Civil Service. The Ministry refused to accede to the request. The grounds of the refusal we have not seen stated. The Government, doubtless, thought Sir Julius Vogel had been paid well enough for his services. We believe in cases of voluntary resignations it is not customary to pay the retiring allowance to Civil Servants. It is a moot question whether or not Sir Julius Vogel voluntarily resigned. He was Chairman of a Land Company,and Ministers intimated to him that he must sever his connection with the Company or give up the AgentGeneralship. He chose the latter course. Sir Julius Vogel has stated that when he assumed the Chairmanship of the Land Company he did so with the full knowledge of the previous Government, and that he received no intimation that such office was incompatible with his duties as Agent-General. The question was a nice one to decide,and the Ministry dedecidcd in the way most economical to the colony. The Government carried out the letter of the law. Whether or not substantial justice has been done is another matter. However, we do not think that any considerable number of people would have growled at Sir Julius Vogel receiving a few hundred pounds on severing his official connection with the colony for which he has worked so hard during' the best years of his life. We do not suppose we have heard the last of Sir Julius Vogel’s quarrel with the Ministry. The late Agent-General is fertile in resources, and ho wields a vigorous pen. His influence is far from dead in New Zealand. During the “ panic ” he was soundly rated as the author of all the miseries of New Zealand, and in many quarters theremark was frequent that the public works and immigration policy had turned out a failure—that the borrowing of the twenty millions had been a ruinous speculation. The alarmists have regained confidence with the recovery of their senses. As a consequence, Sir Julius Vogel is rising high in general estimation. He is an able and influential man with a grievance, and that such a man can make himself particularly obnoxious to the members of a Government we have no occasion to go further than Sir George Grey for an example.