The Express.
London, England, 1861-08-15 00:00:00

8 PORTINO DITELLIGENC E.

A !ate edition of the Espros is published every
evening during the racing season, containing the
results of the day's races.

THE list of successful candidates for the Indian
Civil Service, a hich has lately been published, is
of considerable interest. Some years ago it re-
quired no common influence to obtain an Indian
appointment ; and the distribution of such patron-
age was one of the most valuable possessions of an
East India Director. If even ten years ago any
enthusiast had predicted the day when eighty
Indian writerships should be bestowed upon the
most meritorious British subjects who chose to
submit themselves to be examined, such prediction
would have ranked with the vaticinations of Mca-
PRY and the weather prophets. Nor, indeed, is
it probable that so great a revolution would ever
have taken place unless its introduction had coin-
cided with a permanent change in the system
of government. If the East Indian Directors
were too weak to retain the civil patronage in their
own hands, the Ministers of the day were not
strong enough to secure it for themselves.

As matters stand at present, any British subject
between the ages of 18 and 22 may propose himself
as a candidate for an Indian appointment, and will
obtain it by proving his superior merit in the exa-
mination. At first it seemed doubtful whether a
sufficient number of eligible candidates would
present themselves. Thus in 1858 it was
necessary to select 20 gentlemen out of 67, in
1860 it was necessary to select 80 out of
134 ; and indeed the Civil Service Commissioners,
who are the examiners, found it advisable to set
forth in detail the advantages attached to these
appointments in order to attract candidates. In
the contest which is just closed the number of
candidates amounted to 171, from whom 80 have
been chosen. The numbers have certainly some-
what increased, but still it is difficult to under-
stand why there should be little more than
two candidates for each appointment. The emolu-
ments are certainly ample. No sooner does a young
man arrive at his destination than he finds him-
self in the receipt of about 4001. a year, and this
rapidly increases, until, in a considerable number
of cases, the annual salary reaches 5,0001. It
should be observed, however, that the retiring
pensions are upon the most liberal scale—that the
advancement is steady and reasonably rapid—that
the position of a civil servant is not only one of
great public utility but of considerable dig-
nity. At first sight it seems strange that the
candidates should appear to be so few in number.
But upon a little reflection the fact is not difficult
of explanation. Although the subjects of ex-
amination are such as form the staple of the ordi•
nary school education of the country, it is not long'
before both maaters and pupils are able to form a
tolerably accurate opinion as to whether success is
reasonably probable. No one willingly submits
himself to an examiner unless be is moderately
certain that he will meet with success. At the
University, unless a man believes that he will ob-
tain honours he does not enter the arena
and so in the Indian contest a man does not be-
come a candidate without a reasonable chance of
success. Hence it is highly improbable that the
number of candidates will increase, although it is
tolerably certain that the standard of knowledge
reached by those who are successful will be raised;
and in point of fact this is precisely what has hap-
pened, for although the number of candidates has
not much increased, the marks obtained by those
who have proved suocewdul are much higher than
when t►e system was begun.
The really important point is to ascertain the
history of those who have succeeded, and the
din of institutions at which they have been edu-
cated. It is to be observed that the examination
is conducted upon the most liberal principles.
There is no particular subject to which the
examiner is specially restricted. It is true that
more regard is paid to a knowledge of English
Literature and Mathematics than to the other
subjects, but it is also true that emi-
nence in almost any of the subjects
which form part of the usual course of an English
education will enable the candidate to succeed
in the contest. This system is not only liberal
but wise, and is somewhat remarkable when con-
trasted with the system which has hitherto pre-
vailed. The results are equally satisfactory ; for
it appears that out of the 80 successful can-
didates no fewer than 23 were members of
the University of Oxford, 23 of that of Dublin,
and 14 of that of Cambridge. Nor let it
be supposed that these are inferior men who could
not obtain distinction at home. There is no rea-
son to suppose that in the present year the cha-
racter of the University candidates materially
differs from those of former years, and according
to the published accounts most of those who
have hitherto obtained appointments have already
distinguished themselves in the Academical ex-
aminations.

Probably the most remarkable fact elicited by
the list just published is that out of the 80 who
have succeeded, all but 9 have been educated
exclusively at some public school, college, or uni-
versity. The middle class examinations have con-
clusively proved that the teaching at the private
academies is of the moat imperfect and inaccurate
character, and the result of these Indian examina-
tions seems to lead to the same conclusion. This
important not only to parents and guardians, but
to the masters of private schools. If it be the desire
of those who have the care of youths that they
should receive the largest benefit from the money
spent upon their education, it behoves them to
send boys to public schools. If it be the desire
of private schoolmasters to maintain their position,
it equally behoves them to apply as far as pos-

Bible the same methods of tcaehing which seem to
be applied with so much success at the public
institutions.

in conclusion, it is hardly necessary to point
out that there is not the slightest ground for the
fear lest the class from which the Indian civilian is
drawn will prove at all inferior to what it was in
the age of pure patronage. It is idle to pretend that
any one of the lads who now obtain appoint-
ments by their bwn merit would, by reason
of their rank in life, have been refused ap-
pointments by any East Indian Director. The ma-
jority of those who now go out to India consists
of those who might hold scholarships or fellow-
ships at Oxford, Cambridge, or Dublin. At all
events, they are lads who under the old system
would have found their way to the bar of one of
the three kingdoms, or to the pulpit. From the
time when the system of open competition was
inaugurated, no single case has occurred in which
a successful candidate has proved unfit. Cer-
tainly, both in tho Ordnance Corps and in
the Indian Civil Service, it has been found
by those who are thoroughly competent to judge
that those who have obtained appointment&
are always equal, and in many cases superior, to
those who obtained them under the old regime.
Even if the emoluments attached to the Indian
vrriterships should attract some to the service who
have no special aptitude for it, these exceptional
cases cannot outweigh the certain benefit of pe-
remptorily excluding all who are grossly ignorant
and manifestly incompetent.