The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-17 00:00:00

Mr. Mims, in moving for the production of cor-
respondence between the India-office and the Civil
Service Commission that had not yet been laid be-
fore Parliament, did good service to the cause,
although he subsequently withdrew the motion,
because it afforded an opportunity, for discussing
the subject and bringing to light some of the defi-
ciencies and irregularities that do it discredit and
mar its efficacy. Lord STANLEY made some obser-
vations which were well worthy of attention, as the
noble lord's intimate acquaintance with Indian
affairs renders him a competent judge. He said
that Mr. Mims was entitled to thanks for bringing
the subject before the attention of the House.
Every one now coincides in the advantages that
accrue from the plan of competitive examina-
tions in the Civil Service in India, but,
as Lord STANLEY said, care should be taken
that the plan should have a fair working. The noble'
lord explained that there was no reason to think as
many did that there was a falling off in the compe-
titors in consequence of the Civil Service in India
being rated less highly, but that many other causes
conduce to create this change. The competitors from
Oxford and Cambridge are sensibly diminished, but
then it must be borne in mind that many tutorships
and scholarships are now open to the great mass of
students, which were not so ten years ago, and this
has naturally drawn off a great number from enter-
ing the ranks as competitors for Indian appoint-
ments. The noble lord mentioned a fact,
which was a case in point, to prove that
greater reluctance is now felt to go out to
India than previously existed, because of the
distressing scenes that have taken place there. A
gentleman refused an appointment out there which
was worth five or six thousand a year, and after-
wards took a County Court Judgeship. It cer-
lainly seems right that we should take all these
circumstances into account when we comment upon
the number of competitors, and not attach blame to
a system when the drawbacks that exist would be
the same in any case through the chances and
changes that time has wrought.
The noble lord showed his usual discernment
in his remarks on the proper mode to be practised
in reference to those young men who have passed
their examination successfully. Many have objected
to the probation period, as it may be called ; but it
is a necessary epoch, because after the preliminary
examination many things are requisite which can
only be acquired by study, and thus an interval
must elapse during which the study of special Indian
subjects is pursued. An allowance is made of £lOO
a-year, in order that the young men may not be
dependent upon their families during the time.
Lord STANLEY said very truly that the Government
ought to deal liberally with young men in this posi-
tion, " because one of the greatest inducements to
young men in a certain class of life to compete for
these appointments is the knowledge that from the
hour they succeed in their competition they cease to
be a source of expense to their families." A short-
sighted economy in such cases is certain to
defeat its own purpose in the long run,
and to cause serious detriment to the ser-
vice by deterring many well-qualified individuals
from coming forward at all. The chances of
those who are competitors being possessed of com-
paratively independent private means should not be
taken into consideration for a moment, and it is the
bounden duty of the State to make due provision for
the requirements of the case, so that there may
exist no let or hindrance to impede those young men
who are willing from coming forward to enter in
the Indian service. Lord STANLEY argued that, per-
haps, too many subjects were introduced into exa-
minations, but he suggested a mode by which some
of the difficulties complained of might be removed.
This was to require a " rudimentary knowledge" of
any subject in which a candidate desires to pass, but
not to allow such rudimentary acquirements to
pass for marks. If this be done there would be a
distinction drawn between those who really studied
to obtain high marks, and those who merely began
half-a-dozen different subjects, only for the purpose
of passing examination. However, the noble lord
briefly summed up the difficulties of the case, when
he said that " nothing was more easy in British
eyes than to constitute a special examination, and
nothing was more difficult than to settle it." Sir
C. WOOD explained that to agree to the proposition
of Mr. MILLS would be an unnecessary expense,
because when the Report of the Civi. Service Com-
miesionere Was laid upon the table,-Ni hich it would