New-York tribune., 1877-08-04
ENGLAND'S CIVIL SERVICE.
A STRICT KEEPING OF TIE RULES.

|
RCLrs
| lFRoN TIM REGULAR CORRESPONDENT or TIE TRmUVE.l
| LONDON, July 21.-lf man is TO be accounted
happy who has fame and fortune thrust upon him,
| then ought Mr.. DigbY PirOtt 10 be rcckoncd
| among the most lucky Of mankind. lie has been
| the towns talk for week he has been publicly
euloeized in the House of Commons and the House
of Lords by great people of both parties; he has
! been the occasion of three debates, perhaps four;
and he comes ont of it all not merely with flying
colors but with apparently the secure possession of
an office worth $1,000 year for lifc and the prob
ability of further promotion. Yet twas his appoint
lrent to this very Office which exposed Lord Bea-
consiield who gave it him. 20 a sharp attack and at
one moment threatened TO fastcn on him "A grave
| scandal.
! American patriots who don't believe that Civil
| Service Reform in England has Amounted to much,
are requested 10 consider the vote Of the House of
! Commons on MOndsy night. Lord Beaconshclds
| government commands on ordinary occasions M
| orty IN that House OF from sixty 20 one hundred
| Bat on Monday night majority of four ccnsuicd
Lord Beaconstold for making an appointment
whIc! was believed to be in violation Of the Civil
Service rules and the recon nendluol Of select
| Committee OF the House nominated to inquire INTO
public departments. The office in question is that of
| Controller of the Stationery Office and superyises
| the spending oi two millions and Il half OF public
| money. Nj. w. K. Grey formerly held It--a man of
a certain eminence IA literature, under whom great
extravaganza went on without check lie bad to
resign The Committee which oyerhaulcd the
cern advised that his place should be i.,d by
one possessing "A practical knowledge Of station
cry and printing But the place is In 'ho gift Of the
Prime Minister, and II pleased Lord Beaconsfed to
disregard the opinion Oi The Committee. and put IN
Nh + gott. 1t lsagrced on all hands that Mr. Pgott
Is of good abilities, but nobody pretonds that
he knows anything about printing or stationery.
When promoted to this comfortable place. ne
junior clerk IN the War Office, with salary of some
~ 900 year, and Sky weight clerk, IN his own lie
parnent above hm. Bat he was accused of pos
.esslng the advautage-an advantage which in other
days even greater than OF being the aoH OF
h, father, and his father Vicar OF IIaehcnden,
and Iughenden is LORI Beacols as residence ;ano
for many long years rs Vicar, said his accuscr-,
"a very useful man to Mr. Disrel, who represented ia
Parliament the County of Backs, in which ilugien-
deu lies Mr. Dlsracl, having become PRIME Minis
ter and Earl of Beaconseld, was supposed to have
found II convenient to pay ms deb 10 his Vicar al
the public expense. he House Thought II iHcon-
yenicnt hc should do so. SO strong wa, the feeling
that only Tory be "A man of no political con
scquence-save two OF Lord Bca,ou>iields col
leagues. had % word to say ia defence of what was
roundly denounced on the other side rs "a job Mn
llolms who brought forward the resolution Of cen
sur, is a Radical aud an Army Rrfoner, ana uu-
popular for those reasons, though personally liked.
The House seldom follows his lead. but tus o.
casiou the of public interest was stronger than
everything cise-strougcr than the regard for IFS old
leader ard pride in him, winch the House still
tees most strongly. Nhen Sir kainad kmghtly a
q q
come down 10 the House without ANY prejudice c her
way, but that neither Sir Stafford Nortncote nor
Alr. Hardy had satisfied hIm tnat this appointment
could be defended. the game mp. Eight or ten
Tories voted with the majority for cenouring
tneir chief great man, more walked out of tine
House and did not vote at all and by one hundred
and hfty-,ix to one hundred aud fty-two the House
pronounced its condemnation OF Mr.. Pig0tts ap-
poutment. This was direct personal ceusure upon
Lord iieaconsleid.
Nobody supposed Lord Beaconsed would sit
quietly down under such vote a. that. When il
VA, announced that he would make statement to
the Lords on Thursday, curiosity ran high. The
House of Commons deserted, its members flock
u,, in to hear what their former colleague and chief
voud saw for himself in case which his lieutenant
and mouhpece III the other House mad left practi-
c,Uv uudefended doubt if it had occurred to
ANYBODY that Lord Beaconsfed had omitted to
inform Sir Stafford NOrthcote of the main fact IN his
defence Perhaps he relied too much on the discl-
Mime of hi, majority. Possibly he reserved tine
truth for the immense dramatic effect he obtainedby
revealing it with his own lips to the Lords, and so
couyicting the Commons Of passing hasty
cenSurc.
BE that as il may, Lord Beaconsfclds defence was
to all appearances complete. He had To admit, OF
1 Al. 10 +f.,r, r,,,fp
select Committee. but he gave good reasons for do
ingit. The real charge against him was that for
pcrsoual reasons, he put a man into a good office
,vbo had no claims to it, This charge he dispelled,
He expained the process by which the election WAS
made: that Mr. Pigott one of SIX chosen by
bih Civil Service officials possessing special quail
fcations and fbat on careful inquiry, he seemed
the best of the six. He had not asked for the
most. He did not know that he was thought
Of for it, No friend Of his mterfered in his be-
half. and as for his owing his appointment to
his b.inc. tbe son of the Vicar of llughenden,
that said Lord Bcaconsleld, emphaticay, was
= romonce. There was, thirty years ago,
vicar of Uughenden named Plgott, ana tins man Is
his son. but the father gave up ms hNihS shortN
after Mr. Disraeli succeeded To the property NO
relations have existed between then ana rs 10 the
electioneering part of the story said Lord Beacons-
field. "all know Of his interference IN the County
elections IS that before he departed for the County OF
buckingham, he registered his vote against me-"
The son Lord Beaconsfeld does not know, even by
sight. He offered his resignation Immediately on
the vote of the House Of Commons, but Lord Bea-
consfeld has refused to accept 1t; decision III
which his colleagues concur and III whlch hepuDhc
and the House of Commons arc expected to ac-
ouiesce Sir Stafford NOrthcote made a fresh refer
pce In tbe matter last night, and motion TO With
IT,, ,I, ,o,s,rc is IN be brought forward on Mon