THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'OLOCK Resurrexi. SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1880.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3552, 15 May 1880, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'OLOCK Resurrexi. SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1880.

New Zealand is a young colony—in fact is only just in her infancy.^lt is therefore our duty, as inhabitants, to .use the utmost care in preparing her for maturity. We do ndt, however, have the framing of her constitution directly, hut through our representatives chosen from the wisest among us. It is, therefore, clear that we should he very careful in our choice of representative men, should he thoroughly acquainted with their Parliamentary principles, and should be assured tbat the men we select to forward our interests, have the mental ability to serve us. Our representatives should be all business men, as -they would then be able to con« duct the affairs of the colony in a businesslike manner. One of the representatives (and we fear, more) is accustomed to say .that "he knows nothing about figures.". But we want men who. are acquainted with figures, who have something more than oratorical abilities, and who can grasp the intricate system of receipts and expenditure which obtains in this colony. Our representatives should be men who would not allow sinecures" billets to exist. The amount of money hitherto spent on these parasites—these loafers who do no work, and who receive good pay—is so large, that the Government have at last been aroused to action, and have appointed a Commission composed of men of business habits to enquire »» to these ",fat" 'appointments, with a view of totally wiping them out. This step, which should have been taken before, is certainly the best the Government could have taken. There have been up to -the present time men who have been in receipt of enormous salaries, and whose only qualifications were dissipation and utter incapacity for business. Not only have there been ministerial appointments of that nature, but the evil has crept in to the provinces, and there is scarcely** Borough or County in the colony that does not spend money in unnecessarily highly paid officials—who do not do two pennyworth of work for their money. The Conunis-

sion will no doubt take these matters in hand, and will show a way of conducting public business without employing hundreds of " loafers" to eat away the colonial profits. The motto of the Commission should be " t No work, no pay." It it? all very well in a place like England, where the wealth of the world is ppetty well amassed, to allow these sinecures' billets to exist. There the Government can afford it, but here, where we are struggling to keop our expenditure down, and to carry a balance on the right side, it is simple madne.ss to pay for what we do not get. Nay ! it is not that, for it is worse. In some instances we have paid officials whose duty it was to forward our interests, and who hare not only neglected them, but have been the cause of endless trouble. For us to pay such men out of the Colonial Exchequer is indeed a shameful waste. The Commission are now making the necessary enquiries, end we heartily accord them our good wishes. The fate of the colony may be said to rest in their hands. If they prosecute their labours with diligence, and a desire to serve the colony, the sinecure evil will soon be wrapped in the sombre shadows of oblivion. If they do not, however, it is difficult to see how things will end. After inaugurating and perpetuating these good-for-nothing officials, the evil will increase, and we shall have no alternative but to sit down quietly and see our hard earned money go to support. a crowd of ignorant and good-for-nothing public servants. The time has come when we must act, and without we show our determination to stamp out idleness by decisive measures, we may expect to suffer for pur negligence in future.