Ministers and their Memos.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7887, 1 August 1905, Page 2

Ministers and their Memos.

The Object or the System, * <l J cr Press Association.) CHRISTUHURUH, July 31. Regarding sit Joseph Ward's reported statement in the House as to tire light of members to send full telegraphic "memos" for domestic purposes, that it had been in existence 'since Dili), Sir John Hall, whose Ministry assumed office in that year, gave 'a. representative of' The Press" information as 'to the practice of Ministers with regard to private telegrams a,nd the'-'memo" systeni. He stated it was introduced whilst he was in office, but applied only 'to ofiicial telegrams sent on public business. Previously the practice had been that Government telegrams were kept filed at the telegraph ofhee iu the same way as ordinary, telegrams sent by. the pu'tflic were kept, but under the ''memo" system the telegrams were returned to the Department from which they, emanates and were either destroyed or placed otv the Departmental file, as .was deemed advisable. One reason lor making the change was that Government telegrams were sometimes of a highly confidential character, and it was desirable that they should be destroyed ana not kept on record. He himself had not, and, , so far as he knew, none of his colleagues had sent domestic telegrams on the'"memo" system.. On one occasion, > at the end of a telegram on official business to onoi of his colleagues, het iiad asked him to dine with him, and rt had troubled bis conscience for ■sometime afterwards as to whether he ought to have done this.