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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 77
The "Liberal Ministry."
The "Liberal Ministry."
The present Administration pride themselves on many things. To listen to Mr. Seddon one might imagine that he and his Ministers are responsible for the abundant sunshine and the plenteous rainfall, the prosperous seasons, the demand for New Zealand frozen mutton in London, the increase in the birthrate, and all the other factors in the Colony's progress. But most of all they pride themselves on being "Liberal." There are all sorts of Liberalism—from the Whig Liberalism of English politics to that of the "New Liberals," which is a spurious kind of socialism. The Seddonian brand of Liberalism should be spelled "liberality," and is apparently closely akin to the charity which begins at home, for if ever a Ministry believed in "doing themselves well" at the expense of the taxpayer it is the present Government. For salaries alone they are costing the Colony £4500 a year more than their predecessors, and when one adds to this the increased travelling expenses they receive, the salaries and expenses of the thirteen private secretaries they employ, the cost of the special trains and steamers of which they make use, and the hundreds of "memo" telegrams they dispatch in the course of the year, one is well within the mark in reckoning that Mr. Seddon's Ministry costs New Zealand quite £6000 or £7000 a year more than Mr. Ballance's did.
A comparative table of the salaries of the two Ministries is instructive. It will be noted, by the way, that we have now eight Ministers, though Mr. Ballance managed to get along very well with seven.
| House Allowance. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| J. Ballance (Premier and Colonial Treasurer) | £1,000 | ||
| J. McKenzie (Lands) | £1,000, i.e., | £800 | £200 |
| W. P. Reeves (Education and Justice) | £1.000, i.e., | £800 | £200 |
| R. J. Seddon (Mines and Defence, etc.) | £1.ooo, i.e., | £800 | £200 |
| A. J. Cadman (Native Affairs) | £1,000, i.e., | £800 | £200 |
| P. A. Buckley (Attorney-General, Colonial Secretary) | £1.000, i.e., | £800 | £200 |
| J. G. Ward (Post and Telegraphs) | Without Salary | ||
| Total | £6,000 |
| House Allowance. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| R. J. Seddon (Premier, Colonial Treasurer, Education, Labour, and Defence) | £1,800, i.e., | £1,600 | £200 |
| J. G. Ward (Colonial Secretary, Railways, Post and Telegraphs) | £1,500, i.e., | £1,300 | £200 |
| W. Hall-Jones (Public Works and Marine) | £1,200, i.e., | £1,000 | £200 |
| J. Carroll (Native Minister) | £1,200, i.e., | £1,000 | £200 |
| J. McGowan (Justice and Mines) | £1,200, i.e., | £1,000 | £200 |
| C. H. Mills (Customs) | £1,200, i.e., | £1,000 | £200 |
| T. Y. Duncan (Lands) | £1,200 i.e., | £1,000 | £200 |
| A. Pitt (Attorney-General) | £1,200, i.e., | £1,000 | £200 |
| Total | £10,500 |
There is no need for comments on these figures, they speak for themselves, but the comparison between the two Ministries is accentuated when one thinks of their quality. The Cabinet over which Mr. Ballance presided had ideals, and the enterprise and courage to carry out their policy. Mr Seddon has none of these today—their place is taken by a resolute determination to hang on to office even at the cost of his dearest principles—or what have hitherto passed for principles.