The Express.
London, England, 1855-06-16 00:00:00

ought not to be made. Hs saw an iaoeo sk.
other day published by a roving Englishman of a
which he had men over and over again—he mes ehe--`e
some of our consular agents in the Esat selling
tkOD. .A. man went to the consular agent, - '
him • small fee, by which he became what Witalleopor-'"
• British subject, though in fact not Imen,,,
sod thereupon this man would neither pay h•
nee anything else, and the consular agent gavell7,ll
protection as • British subject. Now he should at .1"
that they should have what he might call a career in Co
'
consular service, that no man should enter that s
.7
cept in some of the lower stages, and if he didhis.
des
then let him rise gradually ; and if they did they oenjill
give these officers encouragement. He had pow -0. f
refer to the civil service. They had rather safer aO,AZ
go upon here, because they had evidence befoll4l
osgs
and papers drawn up by some of the most remarkabl
ossi
to this country who had been engaged in the public seroo7.
and instead of giving his own opinion on this branch
public service, be would give the opinion.' of some
of those —:r
gentlemen. It had been said that the civil service of i eeo
entry was confined almost entirely to thus WOO eTA
political and family influence, but chiefly to those who h 3
political influence. The first gentleman whom men ad aae—
would read on this subject was Mr. Romilly. e uld—
u The only motive for such appointments being flied•-e—,
political partisan*, is gratitude for political servicei, dories
exertions in obtaining votes in thy House of Coal
large sums of money spent in elections, a steady Mb —'ee
to one political party at last followed by one advertffeetiin--
first to indicate that the former unanswering devotion al
to be duly appreciated—these and similar could °ajn-goe-
utshteberiskinegptgetsoginethertlca.
actuate the minister of the day in dispensing receieent
secretaryship,. comenissionershipe, and chairmanships,t.—
they fall vacant. . . • . . . In all cases the men
chosen are appointed not because they are peculiarly ha tot
the situations, bat because as political adherents they nog
be provided for ; they look upon their aopointeneata-nne ',-
imposing new duties, net as an important field for frayt
exertion, but as a reward for the past, and an agreeable a
minds ofm
easy retirement from active life for the future. In othei
words the good of the civil service is sacrificed to polities;
cleionpsietemrautisotnber.
raAsedpoinlittihceal
of politicians. Bat in the same proportion as hope,
s
raised in members of the House of Commons by every fresh
political appointmeot to eituatiins in thy strictly civil .
vice, they are lessened and crushed in the civil semi:,
Let them now take the evidence of Sir James Stephen, a
gentleman of very great authority. He said: " The dabs
in the Colonial-office were clearly distinguishable into dins
classes The first, a very small minority ; the sewed boa
more numerous than the first; and the third es el' -cm lag the
number of the other two united ln the
narrow circle of the first of these classes were to he
found, not indeed combined in any one of the members of
it, but variously distributed among them all—qualities of
which I can still never think without the highest admire.
tion and respect—such as large capacity of mind, literary
powers of rare excellence, sound acbolarship, iodomitabls
energy, mature experience in public affairs, and so abiolute
self-devotion to the public service. It comprised some ram
who mast have risen to eminence in any field of open tom.
petition, and who, if born to more ample tonnes, might
reasonably have aspired to h.ld the seals of the office in
which they were serving as subordinates The
members of the third class—that is, the majority of the
members of the Colonial Department in my time, possessed
only in a low degree, and some of them in a degree almost
incredibly low, either the talents or the habits of men of
business or the industry, the zeal, or the knowledge, tr.
quired for the effective performance of their approprirs
functions. In many cases, ample and valid excuses Mat
be made for these defects; but of the existence of them it it
impossible for me to doubt. Neither have 1 sty doubt te
to the cause of these extreme disparities between the per.
sons of whom the establishment of the office was composed.
The members of that which I have designated the first elm
were, nearly all, men who had been sought out and so
pointed on account of their well ascertained fifth's for the
public service. The members of that, which I have tisned
the third class, were, without exception, men who h.d been
appointed to gratify the political, the domestic, tr the per.
sonal feelings of their patr Ds, t. e., of successive Seen.
taries of State. The members of the so-celled ' wad
class ' were chiefly, though not exclusively, indebted to sat
nepotism for their introduction into the department. It
will, of course, be understoco: that this classification ia
wholly distinct from that which prevails there, under
the same names, to indicate the seniority of clerks to
each other I conclude, therefore,
that tbere is in our public offices a nepotism which may
rates many serious abuses in the conduct of them."
He would now take the evidence of Sir C. Trevelyaci—
" It would be natural to expect that so important a pro-
feuion would attract into its ranks the ablest and the mat
ambitious of the youth of the country—that the east
emulation would prevail among those who had . flitted fi—
end that such as were endowed with superior qualifiettiou
would rapidly rise te distinction and public eminent.
Such, however, is by no means the case. Admission iota
the civil service is, indeed, eagerly sought after; baths
for the unambitious and the indolent and incapable tbst
is chiefly desired. Those whose abilities do not warrant an
expectation that they will succeed in open tuataras,
where they must encounter the competition of their cm
temporaries, and those whom indolence of temperament or
ph, sisal infirmities unfit for active exertions, are plead is
the civil cervice, where they may obtain an honorable
livelihood with little labour and no risk ; wh re their no
ass depends upon their simply avoiding any flagrant air
conduct, and attending with moderate regularity to roma
duties; and in which they are secured against the ode
nary consequences of old age or failing health, by ss
gement which provides them with the means of atir•
porting themselves after they have become incapacitated:
Then there was an Recount from Mr. Anderson, who laid
one man was put to him in the Treasury whom he add
not even teach to keep accounts. He also said that of thou
clerks sent to him from the usual sources (which he sap
posed meant from the Treasury), there was only one of
whom any use whatever could be made. Of the other tent,
one came to the office leading a bulldog by a Deist
(Laughter.) Again it was stated that of 80 clerks supplied
from the Treasury patronage there were only 12 who em
worth their salt. There were two brothers who were dram
imbecile, and there was another young man who could got
be taught to count official papers up to ten. (Laughter.)
He could read other extracts of the same teoour, 11 the
gentlemen, though they might differ as to the remedy,
agreeing es to the fact of the evil misting. Well, he sop.
posed on account of this report the government bad issued
the order in council which had recently appeared in the
public papers partly induced also rerhaps from the notice
which had been: called to the abuses in the civil senior.
But that order in council merely declared that there should
be an examination, and he did not think that that aloes
would remedy the evil. He thought it was Mr. Rsuolly
who said that in those offices where examinations bed beta
requisite no man bad ever been rejected who
bad been nominated by a gentleman who had po•
wail influence ; and other gentlemen bad stated
the same thing, that in those offices where hitherto
examinations had been in force, they had been of tad
• kind, and the pressure on the examiner was such that they
Gould not remember a cue in which a man was rejected;
and ore stated that he took the ' greatest trouble to get s
man to resign to prevent the chief clerk turning him oat
But he mutt say something with regard to the men so
pointed examiners. Mr. Romilly said,
•" 1 am well alms
that that which constitutes true gentleman.like labor
ic
found in every rank of life; but it is less common it thi
lower ranks than in the higher, and a selection, therefore,
from a selected clue would seem to me preferable to gay
choice, however extensive, founded upon competition. Ad.
milting all the evils of patronage, and all the advantage of
sweeping it away, as far as the legislature is coocerned.,
do not think that the civil service should be made the UP
strument of the political regeneration of the coma), WO
it be good for the service itself. Parliament ought to he
able to cure its own diseases, without having recount
to the civil service." And then he went on to say .—"Open
competition must necessarily be in favour of the col
numerous class. The natural abilities of that more son
tons class, i. e of the lower or less rich clasp, are not info
rior to those of the higher or richer class. Inducements to
cultivate those abilities for a special and important Aut,
attainable by such means,will not be wanting. The compels*
tively moderate prizes of the civil service rise in alas •
you descend in the scale of society. 2001. or 300/. a year
a much larger fortune to the son of a tridesman or fuse(
than it is to the son of • nobleman or squire; and I, this.
fore, believe that the great majority of the appoiritionT
will fall to the lot of those wbo are in the lower social polv
tion. (Laughter.) The more the civil service is recuited fro,
the lower deism, the less it will be sought arer by
higher, until at last the aristocracy will be altogetberdt
sociated from the permament civil service of the counsel:
Therefore the evidence of Mr. Ronailly amounted sin
that if they gave the appointments to that class that I,
the largest amount of talent they must introduce a costPsT
live examination and throw open the appointments to I
If
t
and by doing so they would exclude the 'Demmer
he had searched for an argument he could not have foam,'
better one than was to be found in Mr. Romilly's own gor:
He (the hon. gentleman) was happy, however, to ay.
‘.A..1
Mr. Mill, a gentleman et great experience, and listing
not lees aa a philosopher than as a political econotow..
(hear, hear)—hao given a piece of evidence which .r!;
eontp.ete answer to tbe absurdities of Mr. Romilly.
If the HMO of gentlemen cannot be xpected to bate
much much ability and instruction as the sons ot low proPele_l,
world make a strong case for social changes of sel7
extensive character. (Hear, hear.) If the sons of 8. ,u.. 7
men would not, even under the stimulus of compel
maintain themselves oa an equality of intellect and
elow
Rents with youths of a lower mb
ak, how much more
the mark must they be with their present enotopoly,.w.,
to how much greater an extent than the triesdaeif
measure allege must the efficiency of the public sera
o; 7
at present sacrificed to their incompetency. And more;
with advantages and opportunities so vastly superiug.
youth of the higher classes have not honour enomip.4
energy enough, or public spirit enough, to make 4.0
as well qualified as others for the station which to coot boa
Ito maintain, they are not fit for that station, and C(Cbeer')
soon step out of it and give place to better people. „of
I have not this unfavourable opinion of them I be.he ,b
they will fairly earn their full share of distillate!). i
they are no longer able to obtain it unearned, Ch
He (Mr. Layard) perfectly agreed with what Mr.
ull
a. to the probable effect of abolishing all distinctions ofolesa
(Hear, hear.) With regard to the question ofe
st exam!'
liens, a very curious return had just been
t_
stance of the bon. member for Bodmin, shaven hoogfo;
in the awn"'
of the qualifications resuired of candidates
public departments. (The hon. gentleman gavesll,77lpo,
of Clio paper. The acquirements generally tont