@prefix ns0: . @prefix edm: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix dc: . @prefix skos: . ns0:identifierAIP "7f62700f-3b6a-4862-b61c-f1c5e466410f"@en ; edm:dataProvider "CONTENTdm"@en ; dcterms:alternative "DISMISSAL OF A.W. ROGERS."@en ; dcterms:isReferencedBy "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1198198"@en ; dcterms:isPartOf "Sessional Papers of the Province of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:creator "British Columbia. Legislative Assembly"@en ; dcterms:issued "2016-06-24"@en, "[1884]"@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcsessional/items/1.0061843/source.json"@en ; dc:format "application/pdf"@en ; skos:note """ RETURN To a Resolution of the Legislative Assembly, "That the Government be requested " to send down to this House all letters, papers, and correspondence, or copies "thereof, in connection with the dismissal, at the end of August last, of " Assistant Gaoler Rogers, at Victoria." JNO. ROBSO.N", Provincial Secretary's Office, Provincial Secretary. 11th December, 1883. Mr. A. W. Rogers to the Attorney-General. Feedeeick Steeet, Victoria, 3rd September, 1883. Sir,—I have the honour to inform you that, on Tuesday last, the 28th August, Mr. Todd met me in the street and told me that you had directed him to notify me that the Executive Council had decided that I would have to leave the service of the Government at the end of that month, then three days distant. I subsequently learned from Mr. Todd that a successor had been appointed to the position from which I had been removed. No reason has been assigned for my dismissal, and I have not received any written or verbal communication on the subject, other than that stated above. My summary discharge, without any cause assigned, is calculated to injuriously affect my future prospects, and, as I have a large family dependent on me for support, I beg respectfully to submit that, in adopting this course, a serious hardship has unintentionally been inflicted on me by the Executive Council. I am informed, on good authority, that it is not usual to dismiss officials of any rank, either in the local or provincial (sic) Government service, without giving due notice or adequate compensation for the loss and detriment they would otherwise sustain, and I am not aware of any reason why I should be treated with exceptional severity. It has been customary to allow Government officials of all ranks two weeks vacation in each year. I have been in the service of the Government for nearly eight years and, though my duties were extremely monotonous and required my attendance daily, not excepting Sundays, I have had no vacation throughout the whole of that period. Thus I have worked, during the eight years above mentioned, four months longer than I should have done had I taken the customary yearly vacations, and I would respectfully submit that compensation to the extent of that extra time is fairly due to me. Trusting that these representations will receive your favourable consideration. I have, &e, (Signed) A. W. Rogers. Mr. A. W. Rogers to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor. Frederick Street, Victoria, 4th September, 1883. Sir,—I have the honour to inform you that I have been in the service of the Government for nearly eight years, and that I was summarily dismissed from the position of assistant gaoler at the end of last month, without any cause being assigned and without any compensation for loss of place being awarded. 208 Dismissal oe A. "W. Rogers. 1883 My being dismissed without clue notice, and without any cause being stated, is likely to have a prejudicial effect on my future prospects and to interfere with, if not prevent, my obtaining other employment. I would therefore submit that a hardship has been inflicted for which compensation is clue. During the term of my service of the Government I had no vacation whatever. Having worked continuously without having the benefit of the customary recess of a fortnight in each year, I have done four months extra duty, and I submit that compensation to that extent, at least, is now due to me. It is with much reluctance that I appeal to Your Honour in this matter, but having a large family dependent on me for support I am left without any alternative. Trusting that you will recognize the justice of my claim and that it may be favourably considered. I have, (fee, (Signed) A. W. Rogers. Ashcroft, Sept. 23rd, 1883. Referred to the Honourable the Attorney-General, this day, for his report hereon. (Signed) C. F. Cornwall, Lieutenant-Governor. The Provincial Secretary to Mr. A. W. Rogers. Victoeia, B.C., 7th September, 1883. Sie,—Your letter of the 3rd instant, addressed to the Honourable the Attorney-General, asking for compensation for loss of office to the extent of four months' salary, that being the time to which it is claimed you were, according to the custom of the service, entitled as vacation during the eight years you have been in the Government employ, has been referred to me. I have to inform you that the custom of allowing Government officials of any rank two weeks' vacation in each year was peremptorily abolished when the Walkem administration came into power and has never been revived; but even if such a custom had prevailed during the period of your service, I submit that the mere circumstance of not having availed yourself of it could scarcely have been construed into a claim for compensation now. There are not wanting instances, however, where a month's salary has been given in lieu of a month's notice, and the Executive will be invited to consider whether that might not with propriety be done in the present case. I have, &e, (Signed) Jno. Robson, Provincial Secretary. Mr. A. W. Rogers to the Honourable the Provincial Secretary. Feedeeick Steeet, Victoeia, 15th September, 1883. Sie,—I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th instant, informing me that my letter of the 3rd instant to the Honourable the Attorney-General had been referred to you, and stating in reply that the custom of giving to officials of any rank in the service two weeks' vacation in each year, had been peremptorily abolished when the Walkem Government came into power, and that even if such a custom had pervailed without intermission during the whole of my period of eight years' service, that the fact of my not having (periodically) availed myself of it, would annul my claim on that account to compensation for summary dismissal from the service now. In reply to this, I beg respectfully to submit for your consideration the following observations : The institution of a previously unrecognized practice by a former Government need not necessarily be accepted as constituting a precedent to be invariably followed by succeeding Governments, if that practice should be illiberal in its nature and not necessary to the efficiency of the public service. That the custom of granting leave of absence for a limited period, as a matter of right, prevails in every other Government service under British rule is, I believe, so generally understood, that any statement in support of the fact is unnecessary. 47 Vic. Dismissal of A. W. Rogers. 209 The Victoria City Police are allowed ten days' leave in each year, which each constable is entitled to, no matter how recently he may have joined the force. That the practice observed in other British dependencies, where the magnitude of the service has rendered well defined regulations necessary, might well be followed in this Province, where the number of officials is extremely limited, but the maintenance of the principle involved is to each individual of substantial importance. In the Government service in India, and in the Australian Colonies, it is not considered that the privilege lapses and becomes extinct by not being timely availed of, but on the contrary, instances are quite frequent in which officials have allowed their leave to accumulate and then take a vacation for the whole period then accrued at one time. But should the Executive decline to entertain my claim to compensation on the ground of accumulated leave, which I still am of opinion is a reasonable and valid plea, and should of right be regarded as the chief factor in determining the amount of indemnity to be awarded, I respectfully submit to your notice the following facts, which have a close relation to the case at issue. When Mr. Page was discharged from the position of constable at Omineca, in consequence of the abolition of the office, he was awarded three months' pay. When Mr. Todd was discharged from the office of Superintendent of Provincial Police, under the Elliott administration, he was awarded three months' pay and also received a courteous letter of explanation. When Mr. James Robson resigned his position of Gaoler, he was, I am informed, awarded three months' pay. These instances come within my own knowledge, but research would probably extend the list. I am fully warranted in stating that the summary dismissal of officials without stated reason, has been avoided, if possible, by former Governments, and that in every instance it was considered expedient, when such dismissal was inevitable, to award three months' pay as compensation. Two instances occurred during the administration of a former Government, in which the then Lieutenant-Governor, in the exercise of the authority vested in him, refused to sanction the summary dismissal of officials at the instance of the Executive, and the contemplated action of that body was, in those cases, abandoned. I could not furnish you with the particulars of those cases as such matters are not to be disclosed, but I could cause the Lieutenant-Governor to be assured that such is the fact, if confirmation of my statement should be required. I should, however, in that case, have to correspond with an absent gentleman, which would cause delay. I merely state the circumstance to show that a former Government was restrained on two occasions when the dismissal, without due reason, of officials was contemplated. I believe that the three instances I have cited above, show that abundant precedent exists for the indemnifying of officials, when summarily discharged, to the extent of at least three months' pay. I am reluctant to trouble you with prolonged correspondence, and trust that the Executive will consider my claim to three months' pay is reasonable and just and sustained by instances above cited, and that a further continuance of the subject will be therefore unnecessary. I have, &e, (Signed) A. W. Rogees. Mr. A. W. Rogers to the Honourable the Provincial Secretary. Feedeeick Street, Victoria, 2nd October, 1882. Sie,—I have the honour to respectfully call to your notice a letter which I addressed to you on the 15th September last, and to which I have received no reply. As it is not my present intention to stay in Victoria longer than I am obliged to do, I respectfully beg that I may be favoured with a reply to the letter mentioned above at your earliest convenience. I. have, (fee, (Signed) A. W. Rogers, 210 Dismissal of A. W. Rogers. 1883 The Honourable the Provincial Secretary to Mr. A. W. Rogers. Victoeia, B.C., 8th October, 1883. Sie,—I have . the honour to acknowledge receipt of yours of the 15th ultimo and 2nd instant, and to say, in reply, that the matter to which they refer has been duly considered by the Executive, and the conclusion arrived at that your application cannot be entertained. I have, (fee, (Signed) , Jno. Robson, Provincial Secretary. The Attorney-General to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor. Victoria, 10th October, 1883. May it please Your Honour,—I beg respectfully to report for the information of Your Honour, and in obedience to your request for a report, that Mr. Rogers, late Assistant Gaoler in the Victoria Gaol, was discharged in the interests of the public service, after deliberation by members of the Executive Council, who do not propose to recommend to Your Honour to authorize the payment to Mr. Rogers of any moneys in lieu of notice. I have, &e, (Signed) A. E. B. Davie, A ttorney-General."""@en ; edm:hasType "Legislative proceedings"@en ; dcterms:identifier "J110.L5 S7"@en, "1884_15_207_210"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0061843"@en ; dcterms:language "English"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "Victoria, BC : Government Printer"@en ; dcterms:rights "Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy or otherwise distribute these images please contact the Legislative Library of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:source "Original Format: Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Library. Sessional Papers of the Province of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:title "RETURN To a Resolution of the Legislative Assembly, \"That the Government be requested to send down to this House all letter, papers, and correspondence, or copies thereof, in connection with the dismissal, at the end of August last, of Assistant Gaoler Rogers at Victoria."@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; dcterms:description ""@en .