H.—l4.

Trading Departments. The trading Departments, which may be grouped in the following table, also show a considerable expansion of staff, but, in common with other staff increases in the Public Service, these have been fully justified by the expansion of business. The growth of staff in these Departments tends to inflate the total number of persons employed in the Public Service, and tends to convey a wrong impression when comparisons are made, but it should be noted that, as the salary bills of these trading Departments are met from profits earned, they do not constitute a direct charge on the taxpayer, as the salaries do not form a charge on Consolidated Fund. Ist April, 1914. Ist April, 1931. Department. Number. Number. State Fire Insurance .. .. .. .. 56 137 Government Life .. .. .. .. 138 103 Public Trust .. .. .. .. .. 204 640 State Advances .. .. .. .. .. 53 96 When the foregoing Departments have been eliminated there are left the purely administrative Departments, under which head may be grouped the revenue and finance Departments, and those under Internal Affairs. These Departments show only an expansion of staff in keeping with the increased functions of State and the growth of the activities of the various Departments concerned therewith. Administrative . Department. Ist April, 1914. Ist April, 1931. Revenue— Number. Number. Customs .. .. .. .. .. 238 302 Land and Income Tax .. .. .. 72 160 Stamp Duties .. .. .. .. 32 73 Finance— Treasury .. .. .. .. .. 55 84 Audit .. .. .. .. .. 60 156 Miscellaneous — Internal Affairs .. .. .. .. 287 364 Land and Deeds .. .. .. .. 97 128 Native and Native Trust .. .. .. 54 103 Where, as is clearly shown from the foregoing review, the expansion of staff is primarily due to the ever-increasing burden of additional services rendered necessary by fresh legislation passed from year to year in furtherance of the progressive development of the country, it is unreasonable and quite erroneous to ascribe the increase to extravagant administration. As already stated, any curtailment of expenditure is not wholly a matter of organization—the Public Service of the Dominion is efficiently run —but is entirely a question of Government policy. A careful review has been made, and, as already stated, retrenchment and curtailment have been effected wherever practicable. It is for Government to determine whether services which time and experience have shown to be desirable and essential for the development of the Dominion on a broad national basis are to be discontinued. Legislation affecting the Public Service. Finance Act, 1930 (No. 2). Section 31 of the Finance Act, 1924, made provision for the appointment of a Commissioner for New Zealand in Canada and the United States of America, and provided also that the Public Service Act, 1912, should not apply to the Commissioner or any memebr of his staff, and that the Commissioner should not be a public servant or a Civil servant within the meaning of any Act. This section was repealed by section 29 of the Finance Act, 1930 (No. 2), as from the date of the passing of the 1924 Act, and the appointment is now subject to the provisions of the Public Service Act, 1912. Section 30 provided for the amalgamation of the Department of Industries and Commerce, the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, and the Publicity Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs, under the title of the Industries and Commerce, Tourist, and Publicity Department. Section 34 provided for the appointment of an Under-Secretary of Defence as an officer of the Public Service under the Public Service Act, 1912. Section 39 made special provision as regards the granting of retiring-allowances from the Public Service Superannuation Fund to certain members of the Defence Forces and clerical officers of the Defence Department compulsorily retired through no fault of their own.

5