RUAKURA STATE FARM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 266, 20 April 1915, Page 6

RUAKURA STATE FARM.

LATE MANAGER'S SPEECH. THE MINISTER'S KEPLY. A correspondent, signing himself "A. Mills," writes:— Sir, —Will you kindly publish the enclosed cutting in justice to the Public Service Commissioners? It is onl} r fair play, after widely spreading the grievance:; of .Mr. McConnell:— (Enclosure). When questioned on Friday concerning the speech delivered by Mr. Primrose McConnell at a farewell gathering at the .Ruakura State Farm on March 31, in which Ml, McConnell, who has resigned the position o? manager of the farm, attacked the Public Served Commissioners, the Hon. A. 7.. ITerdman made the following statement' "Mr. McConnell, speaking contemptuously about regulations issued by the Commissioner, said liis audience would scarcely credit it when he told them that an experimental farm manager was not supposed to engage a temporary employee without first consulting the Commissioners! This statement is a misstatsment. Regulation 150 actually provides that temporary workmen or employees required in the following Departments or works shall be engaged and discharged by the officer mentioned, viz., 'on farms by each manager or overseer.' Mr. McConnell has either never read the regulations, or »he has not understood them. Otherwise he would not have blundered so gravely. "Next Mr. McConnell says that farm managers are not allowed to increase wages without authority. Mr. McConnell is, no doubt, referring to the case, ef his brother-in-law, Mr. G. Douthwaite. When this gentleman was acting as temporary foreman at the farm he was recommended by Mr. McConnell for an increase of wages from 7s 6d to 10s per diem, with board and lodging. The permanent head of the Department, Mr. Pone, approved of the proposed increase, but as the employment of temporary hands is contrary to the spirit of the Public Service Act he suggested to the Public Service Commissioner that Mr. Douthwaite should become a permanent public servant. The suggestion was approved, but Mr. Douthwaite apparently did not want to become a member of the Tiermanent staff. "Meantime, Mr. McConnell, on his own initiative, advertised for applications for the foreman's position at the major salary of 10s a day, and after considering the applications received appointed Mr. Douthwaite. Apparently he rejected all others and appointed his hrother-in-law. The Public Service Commissioner at first declined to approve of the increase of pay, but ultimately agreed, upon the understanding that Mr. Douthwaite should he transferred to another position at the first convenient opportunity. The Pub'ia -Serwcc Commissioner, upon the : principle thai JSie employment of too I many relatives together ia undesirable, toijk exception to the number of Mr. Me- | Connell's relatives who were emploved on i the State farm, and Mr. McConnell was j told that the number employed must ■ be reduced. At'one time Mr. McConnell I iand five relatives, a total of six alto- j eethcr, were drawing wages and salaries , from the State as employees on the Biiakura State Farm. To this the Commissioner took excention, and arranged i for the transfer of Mr D.. McConnell, a , son, to the Tauranga experimental farm. I No reflection of any kind is made or was made upon the abilitv of these em-1 ployees; the principle of the segregation of relatives was merely being insisted upon. I

"Mr. McConnell, no doubt, believes that he has a grievance, inasmuch as he was not granted the salary he desired. 'His salary was fixed at £2BO per annum, rising to £3OO by'' annual increments, >with board and lodging for himself anrt wife, which was considered worth £lO4 per annum. To this Mr. McConnell took exception, and Jic appealed against his classification. The Appeal Board, an independent body, heard him, and would ?>o doubt eive him permission to bring forward all evidence available. His appeal was. dismissed. Mr. McConnell received an addition to his salary of £25 Ber annum from the Justice Department for services which he rendered. This arrangement received the approval of the Commissioners.

"Finally Mr. McConnell anpears to have attempted to cros 1 - 'he impression that the Public F-rwe Commissioners are managing the Department of Agriculture. So that there may be no misapprehension on that point, I may state that the Commissioners, whilst they are clesely concerned with the staffing of all Government Departments, do not interfere in any way with the administration by the Agricultural Department of its farms. This business is.the exclusive concern of the Minister and the permanent bead.'' Mr. Herdman added: "I believe that Mi. McConnell proved himself to be an excellent officer when in the service, and I am led to understand that the condition of the Ruakura Farm reflected great predit upon his management. I know that the advioe he tendered to the Justice Department in connection with the management of the Waikeria prison property has proved of great help. Nevertheless, he appears to be a man with a grievance, and suck people are belter out of the service. The circumstances of this case exemplify the usefulness of the Public Service Commissioners.™ V MR. McCONNELL INTERVIEWED. A REPLY 130 THE MINISTER. Following en the remarks by the Hon. 'A. IJ. Herdman in regard to Mr. McConnell's statement, a Times representative waited on Mr. McConnell at tho Dilworth School of Agriculture, Papatoetoe, and asked if he had any comments to make. We publish the article to permit readers to hear both sides of the ease, and draw their own conclusions: — Mr. McConnell said he bad no desire to carry on a controversy in the press, but as he had been attacked on several points be thought it only fair that he should give an explanation.

Asked as to the Minister's statement in regard to the employment of bis

relatives at Ruakura, the late manager said: "Mr. llerdman's mention of relatives was extremely unfortunate, as it seems to mc lie only succeeded in praising tiieir work. . The lion. gciit:e;nan slates that I had the foreman's case in view when I mentioned thai the diflir.i'.ty of dealing with the iV.rm was ir ille matter of wages, etc. As a matte/ >f fact, the fcr.vnau's ca.-e happrnoi ;on;c time ago, and he had slipped en tirely from my memory. I cannot thin! that the lion, gentleman tried to infer tli.it my selections were privileged over otl'.er members of the stall'. Indeed, it was well known in the neighborhood of Ruakura that my relatives were always the last to be considered —my own boy in particular. It is true he narrowly escaped being transferred to Tauranga, and 'possibly becoming a member of the public service, but I have since been more than thankful that this did not eventuate. My boy is now at the front, and I would rather hear of his honoraide death in the face of the enemy than hear that he had entered the New Zealand public service under existing conditions."

"A permanent officer," continued Mr. MeConnell, "is one who has the doubtful privilege of paying from 8 to 7 per cent, of his or her salary into the superannuation, fund, and if he leaves the service of his own accord even after he has served twenty or more years the large sum he has paid in is returned to him without interest, which is scandalous. The temporary man pays nothing into the fund, and yet he may have several years' Government service, as in the case of some of the old farm hands at Ruakura. The 'permanent' scheme can sever be applied successfully in connection with a farm staff, and 0 to 10 per cent, of the men do not want it. Indeed they would not have it. liO\V sJiHVIUii .Lb " Ui-iALtii.iv "The lion, gentleman also referred to my appeal," said Mr. MeConnell, "and stated that it received due consideration. How could it receive fair consideration when the necessary ability was not present to consider it ? As a matter of fact, the consideration of my appeal was a hollow fiasco. The general public is perhaps not aware that all publ lie servants are graded by the Commissioners. Now, I like that word 'graded,' because it fits the case so well. Most of us have seen a potato grader fn use. Well, it is a very fitting illustration of the 'grading.' Ido not like that word of the Civil Service officers. The big and the little potatoes are shovelled into the grader, and by a few turns of the handle the big, medium and small —irrespective of quality, or 1 triteness to form —are nicely separated from each other. The difficulty is that the grader cannot tell the difference between a Magnum Bonum and an Up-to-Date. I forget at present how many grades there are hi the Civil Service but I know' there are two—the 'general,' or navvy grade, and the 'professional.' I was in the navvy grade myself, no doubt because I was doing the work of two or three professional men over and above managing an experimental farm.

" GRIEVANCES." . "Mr. JTwlman stated that I was a man jrith a fr;? v a.ncc. I agree with him, ami v'ould g-t the same time point out that civil servants who state their grievances in a straightforward manner are cd the Commissioners, and the Comu ' missioners really think that a mero or- | dinary public official should possess a soul of his own? I think it is quite time that these officers were granted rights which even the meanest subject already possesses." In regard to control, Mr. 'McConnell said the Minister stated that "he does not rule the Department of Agriculture." "We'l," said Mr. McConncll, "I have wondered lately who does really rule it. It was the Hon. A. L. Herdman who hatched the Commisisoners, and the Commissioners hatched the rules, which in the main govern the Department of Agriculture. It is a pity both sittings had not been addled. Mr. Herdman also seemed to infer that interference with the management of the farm was of a rare occurrence, and was a thing of the past rather than the present. On the very date on which I had left Ruakura a letter was in the farm office which demanded why I had advanced a certain farm hand's wages—not a relation. There were also several similar recent letters, of which I fortunately hold copies.

DEPARTMENTAL MISFORTUNES. "The lion, gentleman may naturally enquire why I joined the Civil Service at all. My whole object was to get connected with experimental work, because I loved it for its own sake, and I was of course completely ignorant of the deplorable manner in which the Departwliieli has been made ten times more deplorable by the advent of the Commissioners. If ho will make a diligent search of some of the Government pigeon holes he will find my first letter to the then chief of the Department in which I stated that I wanted work of some kind with a view to farm managership. If it is any consolation to tho lion, gentleman I freely confess that I regret my severance from the work. At the same ! time I shall find plenty of scope here, and my work will be carried on under more pleasant conditions." Mr. Herdman referred to your serj vices to the Justice Department, and while expressing appreciation of them inferred that you had received extra payment in connection therewith. ' "Let me state that while doing the work for the Justice Department by special request I always received the greatest courtesy and kindness from the officers of the Department with whom I came in contact, and the lion, gentleman's remarks were not only a surprise hut also disappointment. From anyone holding such an honorable position I naturally expected soiijething of a higher tone. What the Hon. A. L. Herdman gains or 'proves by his remarks I cannot gather. lam quite content to allow the public to judge."