OUR IMPERIAL CIVIL SERVICE.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11014, 11 July 1901, Page 4

OUR IMPERIAL CIVIL SERVICE.

Since Aye Avrote urging that colonial youths should be allowed to Avork for the Empire by facilities being given to them to compete for entrance intn the army, navy, ;md the Indian and Home Civil SerA-ice. our attention has be?n drawn to a paper in -the "Nineteenth Century," by Professor Mortis, of Melbourne University, dealing Avith the latter branch of the subject. From this it appears that a

petition has gori? Home from the governing bodies and the professors of Australasian Universities, asking that opportunity might "be offered to candidates in Australasia to compete for appointments in the Higher Imperial Service, including the Civil Service of India. At present such candidates can compete at the examinations held in London, but first they must, at their own charges, visit England. As Professor Morris points out: —"A young man must feel " very confident of himself, and of his own " intellectual powers, if he lifts his anchor "in Australia, or New Zealand, to trust

" himself upon such an uncertain sea. He " must also have at command a supply of " ready money which our ablest men not " infrequently lack." It appears that some few years ago the famous and difficult examination for the Indian Civil Service was utilised for sundry of the other departments. According to the report of the Civil Service Commissioner-, there is "now an examina- "" tion, held conjointly for Class I. clerkships •" in the Home CiA-il Sen "ice, for the Indian

" Civil Service, and for Eastern cadetship..." Professor Morris asks that the papers for this examination should be sent out under seal to responsible persons in the colonies, Avhere they would be answered by the colonial candidates under precisely similar conditions as in London. The papers would be sent Home to the examiners, and considered in conjunction with the answers Avrkten in London, and the candidates Avould be arranged in their order of merit,

' It will be seen that Professor Morris does not ask, aa we did, that a certain number of appointments in the Indian Civil Service, or the higher Home Service, should be set apart for the use of Australasian candidates. To do so, he says, Avould be to break doAvn the sacred principle of perfectly open competition. Avhich has long been the glory of the Indian Civil Service, and is now of the offices in England that range themselves in line with it in the matter of competition. Nevertheless, we believe, there is a good deal to be -aid even in favour of breaking through this "'sacred principle" to the extent that Aye propised. There are some qualities, highly I useful in the public service, that cannot be I found out by a purely literary examination, ! and we believe that some such qualities are i possessed by many young colonials in a j marked degree. Tint it would be an ad- ; vantage to have a certain percentage of colo- : niaUv'-educated young men in the Colonial I Office there can be no question whatever. I and their local knowledge might be allowed jto count against some of the book know. j ledge instilled into the English candidates Iby means of crammers. However, we have ! , 10 desire to insist on this point, We shall :be quite satis6ed if our colonial young men I are allowed an "equality of opportunity," satisfied that if they are permitted to com- ! pete at the examinations they Avill be able Ito hold their OAvn. We trust that the I.n- ---| perial Government Avill accede to the request i that tbe examinations referred to may be i conducted simultaneously in the colonies as AA-ell as in London.