The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE. Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Saturday, August 30, 1890. VOGEL’S CLAIM.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 500, 30 August 1890, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE. Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning.

Saturday , August 30, 1890. VOGEL’S CLAIM.

Pa inflf and fearnnt. fLat bll the ends than afm'st at bo thy country’*, Thy God’s, and truth's.!!

It is a puzzle to ordinary mortals to know what the Government mean by the facility theyaregoing togive toSir J. Vogel tobring on his action against the colony, for services alleged to have been performed by him over nine years ago. The Government say that they are fully convinced that Sir Julius Vogel has no legitimate claim, and they would be quite justified in pleading the Statute of Limitations, but as the case is too good for the legal element to lose, pressure appears to have been brought to bear to get the Government to meekly climb down from the first position they took up, and make no plea under the Statute. If Ministers were dealing with their own private affairs we would hear none of this nonsense, but because they have not got to bear the brunt of the thing they will give every facility to Vogel to drag the colony into litigation. If the claimant is not legally entitled to bring this action after such a lapse of time, the Colonial Exchequer, which is poor enough now, should be protected from the costs that must be heaped upon it by such an action, even though a victory should ensue. Why, because a man happens to be a politician, should he be permitted—assuming the law denies him the privilege— to bring an action after nine years ? The ordinary rules that govern commercial transactions shouldnot be departed from in this case just because it happens that the State is the defendant. It would be a strange condition of things if in connection with some private business a servant took it into his head nine or ten years afterwards that he had some claim against his former employer, and after so many years had intervened instituted legal proceedings. A dozen or more servants might fancy they had a similar grievance, and by a series of shot actions it is possible that a strong firm would be completely crippled. In the Government service, if such a precedent were established, the very telegraph messengers would have as good a right as the persevering and audacious Vogel to bring actions after the colony had forgotten that the individuals even existed. If

Vogel’s claim is really considered to be a fair one, it would, even after nine years, be only right that he should,be wijji trusted with the judging of such matters say, as they have said, that they consider Vogel has neither legal nor moral claim against the colony, they should give no special facility for running the colony into law expenses, and the Government that does so is guilty of the misuse of the taxpayers’ money.