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I am unable to admit that the decision as to the Military Contribution forms any valid ground for postponing the grant of the increased salaries, since those salaries were voted, on the Estimates for the current year, at the same time that the increased Military Contribution was voted, and the position has not since been altered.
*
I see no reason to doubt that the Colony can well afford to meet both of these charges. Mr. RYRIE is reported (in the above-mentioned newspaper) to have stated in Council that all public works had been stopped, and to have argued therefore that the Colony could not afford to pay the increased Military Contribution. It is possible that Mr. RYRIE may have been led to use this argument through a mis- conception as to the intention of my telegram of the 19th of February last, which requested you to "take no steps till further orders as to extraordinary public works not already commenced." You will have since received my despatch No. 39 of 27th February, from which you will have learned that it was not my wish that such works should be indefinitely postponed, but merely that some of them should be postponed pending the completion of such as were more urgent, since the Public Works Department could hardly undertake all of them at the same time. I did not suggest that the Colony could not meet the cost of all of the works, if gradually executed, although, as implied in the third paragraph of my despatch No. 39, a loan might probably be necessary, as was contemplated some years ago, 'to enable some of the larger works to be carried out. The necessity for such a loan was admitted before either the question of increased Military Contribution or of increased Salaries was raised.
I am always ready and willing to give the most attentive consideration to any representations made by the Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council, more especially when dealing with the finances of the Colony, but as there appears to be no change in the financial position and prospects of the Colony since the Estimates for this year were considered by the Council, I see no reason for further postpon- ing the scheme of increased salaries, and I therefore authorize you to bring it into operation as from 1st January last, with the modifications sanctioned in my despatch No. 71 of the 3rd ultimo.
This despatch should be laid before the Council.
I have the honour to be,
Governor Sir G. W. DES Vœux, K. C. M. G.,
&c.,
&C.,
&c.
Sir,
Your most obedient,
humble Servant,
KNUTSFORD.