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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 74

Corruption

Corruption.

The following are the chief of the Ministry's offences in this direction :—
1.The appointment of Colonel Fraser as Sergeant-at-Arms in violation of the Disqualification Act, the confirmation of which dirty job was actually forced upon the House by its being made a Party question.
2.Interference with the administration of justice shown in :—
a.The notorious Lawliss case, where a policeman, who had been discharged from the Force for immorality, secured a publican's licence through a direct appeal from the Commissioner of Police to the Licensing Committee.
b.The appointment of Justices of the Peace of the "right colour."
c.The refusal to remove Justices of the Peace who had participated in breaches of the liquor laws in the Clutha District.
d.The denunciation of Mr. Justice Williams as a "Tory" judge for delivering an honest judgment against a member of the Ministry.
3.The systematic appointment to positions in the Civil Service of the friends of Ministers, and especially of the officers of Liberal Leagues and other hangers-on of the Premier; and the institution of a system of espionage and terrorism throughout the service.page break
4.And in particular the evasion of the Civil Service Act by the appointment of a number of temporary clerks, who can be appointed without regard to the conditions of merit prescribed by the Act. Over one-third of the Government clerks in Wellington are temporary only.
5.The corrupt use of patronage in the matter of Government advertisements for the reward of Party services. Thus the Nelson Colonist (Ministerial) gets £60 of Government advertising, the Nelson Evening Star (Ministerial) £51, but the Nelson Evening which has a larger circulation than the other two put together, but has the misfortune to be an Opposition paper, gets £17. In Wellington the New Zealand Times, which few read, gets £483 against £380 given to the Evening Post, which is read by everybody.
6.The extension of the direct personal control of Ministers through all branches of the Service, including the charwomen at the General Assembly and the gardeners at Government House.
7.The degradation of Parliament through
a.The coercion of the Speaker.
b.The coercion of the Ministerial following,
c.The garbling of Hansard,
d.The refusal of information to Parliament, in violation of constitutional precedent and fair play, to suit the purposes of Ministers.
8.The acceptance by Mr. Seddon of a seat on the Anglo-German Syndicate, so that he practically holds the simultaneous positions of trustee for the Government and trustee for a company seeking valuable concessions from that Government In view of Mr. Seddon's direct personal interest in the goldfields of the southern West Coast, and of the Auckland province, it is significant to note that, whereas during the last twelve-years £53,452 has been expended by Government or goldfields development or an average of £4,454 per annum: during the current year £200,000 will be so spent out of monies newly borrowed.