The Daily News. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER, 19, 1916. A SPECIAL BONUS.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 September 1916, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER, 19, 1916. A SPECIAL BONUS.

The Wellington Times has made public, a proceeding' which reflects little credit upon the Government. Payments to all civil servants are given in detail in tiia Estimates, but in the supplementary estimates, there was inserted (the Time« claims, secretly) a vote of £4OOO for "grants for special services." This sum was divided amongst the high salaried men in the Civil Service foi "special sericcs in connection with the war," the amounts ranging from £'2oo to £l2."j. Amongst the officers who participated are the Auditor-General and SolicitorGeneral. Our contemporary takes up the attitude that the Awlitor-Genersil had no right to accept the bonus, pointing out that when the present system of audit of the public accounts was established it was never contemplated that the Controller and Auditor-General should receive any emolument whatever outside his substantial salary of £IOOO. Indeed, the Public Revenues Act clearly provides that lie should not. Clause 24 of that Act expressly says that neither the Controller and Auditor-General nor the Assistant Controller and Auditor shall hold "any office of trust or profit in the public or any other service other than the ollice hereby created." The Times goes on to say: ''lf Colonel Collins has received a bonus for his special services on the Pensions Board, it is apparent that this payment is an evasion of the spirit and probably also tin letter of the terms of this clause, under which lie holds his high and responsible office. In any case, it is unquestionably improper that an officer occupying a position of this kind should be subject to the bounty of any Minister or Government outside the statutory salary provided for him. If such a principle were once admitted, what becomes of the value of the check he is supposed to exereiso over the administrative expenditure? If the Controller and AuditorGeneral is prepared to accept bonuses from the Government, what becomes of the independence that he is expected to maintain, and bow then can be possibly expect to keep himself free from Ministerial or Government influenci? He is one official above all others of whom it is expected that he shall not become the servant of the Government. He. is the watchdog established in the pub lie interest to see that no improper payments shall be made from the public purse.'' But the legal objection was got over, it. appears, by the insertion in the Appropriation Act of a mysterious clause providing; for the payment of bonuses for special services to officer* in any department of the Government. We believe the public will agree with Ihe contention of the l'imes that the Auditor-General has no right whatever to accept a gift, bonus or payment from the Government in addition to his salary, nor the Solicitor-General either for that matter. But apart from the proprietary of the payment, we have no hesitation in saying that men enjoying incomes from £IOOO to £1250 a year arc very well paid for their services and that it ill becomes a Government that is constantly exhorting tlie general publie to practise economy to scatter four thousand sovereigns among them for 'special services in connection with the ivar." There is another matter tli« calls for a reply from the Government. It is the appointment of a superannuated officer to the post of Film Censor. The officer was on the point of retiring; he was entitled to superannuation sufficent to keep him in comfort. Yet the Government thrusts him into a position with a big salary that would be filled better by any number of men who have nn superannuation to fall back upon. If we had a party Government in power these happenings would be characterised as "jobs," "spoils to the victors," etc. After all, there is something to be said for party Government and a strong opposition,