CO129-264 - Governor Sir Robinson & Public Offices - 1894 [9-12] — Page 188

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I assume it would be admitted by the learned Chairman that the main work, the work which is of the greatest difficulty and occupies most time, lies in the drafting of the Ordinances passed in these two years I am prepared to say that more than half of them were not drafted by the learned Chairman; in 1886, 20 or 21 ordinances and in 1887 eight ordinances were not drafted by the Attorney General but most of them were sent set up cut and dry for introduction into the Legislative Council and had been drafted by the Law Revision Commission which was then sitting and of which I was Secretary.

7. From close observation I think I may fairly say that the work of the Attorney General's Office has considerably increased during the last five years; generally speaking there is ample work to occupy an able and conscientious worker at least six hours a day, at other times when there is any particular pressure at least eight hours a day, and in a crisis such as that in which the Colony entered in May last, all the time (apart from necessary relaxation) that the Attorney General could afford, and I conscientiously believe that if allowed private practice the Attorney General assuming him to be a really good and capable man in which case he would be sure to command a large private practice, would have to subordinate Government work to private work or vice versa and with such a small salary as suggested by the Committee it is very probable that Government work would suffer.

8. I believe I am correct in saying that this question was thoroughly gone into in Sir Wm. De Voeux's time but the Committee seem to be ignorant of the fact.

9.