The Express.
London, England, 1857-10-24 00:00:00

MR. GLADSTONE ON PUBLIC OFFICES.

The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, Ml'., attended
a Andra held In Liverpool on Thursday, to celebrate the
ormatorth anniversary of the Liverpool Collegiate hal-
ation, of which he wee one of the founders. In the erne of
• speech, be °brewed—l dare say it will happen that many
anmegat you will be looking to the public service ; and
I do rah to re the entrance into that public service
pot upon • footing more favourable to honourable
ednestion and industry than it has been heretofore. (Hear,
beer.) It is not rtisfactory in my red that people should
go a-begging for public oilier —in my mind public office.
should not be considered as favours shown to en individual,
but as °margins foe rendering useful. arduous, and
horrors merrier to the country. And if there be vont,-
Malty for such service., the conferring of them oilier should
not be held an • matter of favour from the mate. That which
is called patronage may be a curse and plague upon the
country; and lam inclined to think that it le. Brit, In the
nature of thing., you cannot get lid of it altogether. There
is, indeed, but one way in which it could be got rid of. Our
system of patronage is mint rigidly employed in the entrance
to the public service. if a man wants to get his son into
the army, or into the navy—into any branch of the civil
service, even to • landing•waitership in the custoir—it
is • matter of political begging—a matter of political
influence. I nay this with greet regret, in prewar
of • member of parliament, who, I ant aura, ham had ss litW
to do with this sort of thing in myself. I may be permitted
to hope that the day is coming when the bask of entrance to
the public service—l do not speak of promotion for merit, for
that could hardly be left open to competitive 'imitation—
ha I trust the day is coming when, as far a• regartrantrassa
into the public service for young men, nearly every aloe
that can be named will be held up in the face of the country
th• prim for the best candidate who offers himself to Oa
it. It will in my opinion, be • gnat and happy daft
amidst all the difficulties that sliced this subject, if we or
ere, as I really begin to believe that we shall we,
these ellen offered solely as the premiums and rewards of
honourable exertios to the boys who, however they may
boa rangeland themalves by their tarts, char-
ter, and ward at school, ha that their atom] carom
lin la tar directioa of rendering servicr to their
eriantry r the holders of public oilier. (Hear, hear.)
Aladin Is the "vulgar notion" which still prevailed in
sane gonnees, that there woe an estrange between cor-
poreal and Imola maven w, Mr. Oladstoo• and be trusted
that sseptend educating would near be forgotten in this
orntry, and that manly sports would always be practised
sad twounged. (Meer, boa) As • proof that " bookish
boys" did not turn out unit for the practical pnrpar of
he solated the radon et "Old Phlos," at the Charters
bear Sober The Carrion, whoa stadia& habits W-
owed Ids ompadices to beam, upon bin that tine—. Irks"
tong se slahrwriaies of the word pkilosoptier—aborwards
diningokend kinnolf fen his see/are, activity and dannthns
tenciatice; and the "Old Irks" of Chandwiuse was
Havelock, the aro of
by Cawspors. (Lend ared.tadmilit.
Waddlied cdaddied 'AWN preogerby