SIR CHARLES LUCAS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 473, 3 April 1909, Page 11

SIR CHARLES LUCAS.

INTERCHANGE OF OFFICIALS. It was- cabled, yesterday that Sir Charles Lucas had arrived at Perth. Of his visit to this part of the world the "London. Standard" says:— ■ The coming. mission of Sir Charles Lucas, head' of the Dominion Department of the Colonial Office, to Australia and New Zealand, is regarded as another step in the development of tho ■ idea, emphasised by Mr. Deakin., at the last Colonial Conference, and revived by Lord Northcote at the recent dinner in his honour, in favour of the interchange of officials. Perhaps it is not exactly an interchange, but at least it 'is a step in the right direction. ..... The attitude of the Colonial Office, as indicated by Lord Crewe, is that the advantages of interchange were great and obvious; but that the'difficulties of carrying it out in practice were very real. Probably what goes on at the present tiine is rather intercommunication than interchange, for, from time to time, Colonial Office officials are sent on sjjecial missions to- the colonies, and the mission ' of Sir Charles Lucas is ■ a case 'in point. '

Sir-Clement Lloyd Hill, M.P., who has seen service in connection with the Foreign Office in Zanzibar, Munich, and Haiti, and who. .previous to his retirement, was superintendent , of- African Protectorates, from his experience realises the importance of the interchange of officiaJs. "I think," he said, 'it would .be in the highest degree advantageous if the men who work at home in the Colonial Office' could have some intimate knowledge of the officials in tho oolonics with whom they have to deal. Great good would necessarily be derived from famfliarismg our officials with the surroundings of the colonies,, with colonial geography, and so •forth, and from giving official colonials an insight into our home methods and habit of thought, so to speak. But when you talk of an t interchange' of _ officials, I foresee great inconveniences arising. "I take it that the men who would be exchanged-would be amongst the higher officials. In this way we should have coming to us as high authorities men who were not conversant with the methods of the Department. This would tend very much to throw, things out of, gear. The officials are coo busy m our Departments to be able to devote time and care to the training 0 | advanced officials in routine work. ... u. .could train juniors quickly and easily enough, for they would be placed where only routine work is done, but that is not the case with seniors, and yet, if things are to work smoothly, it is necessary that they : should have a grasp of our methods, ihey must, if I may so express myself, bo familiar, with the slang of the office. I am speaking ot tho difficulty which would bo expenenced by the Homo authorities, and, of course, though, perhaps, in a lessor degree, the same difficulty would fuk jn thu colonies.'

; "Myiexperience has been altogether in the JL'oreisn Office, and I feel convinced that if gone over from there to the Colonial Olfaw .1 should have upset my Department considerably. In connection with for-eign-affairs,' the system Lord Northcoto ad-, vopates is utilised as far as practicable. I I ! leall tllat there is an interchange of officials-beiween ourselves and another coun--11 our. diplomatists and Foreign Office 'clerksi aro moved about. Whilst I was superlntendent of the African Protectorates we had no Protectorate officials over here, but in the Consular service it is the practioe to require officials to serve in the Foreign Offico • SO iSm. learn the routino before going abroad. ■ There is nothing more valuable than to for yourself the places and the people you have to deal with on paper. The man at ttome who regards 'Mr..John Smith' or 'Mr. Herbert Johnson,' on the East Coast, as a white man is surprised when he goes to the ■rrotectorate to find him a negro, and in the same way it causes a revulsion of feoline when you find the officials you have looked upon as carrying on their business in white ties and burnished boots really 'working in thear shirt sleeves, with slouch hats! ' • It would be a good thing if a sound system of'interchange could bethought out. In ttieory lam entirely in favour of it,'but I cawiot shut my eyes to the Departmental difficulties.. As to what should be dono in the endeavour to initiate a system, I should say that the head of; the Department might °V, r? j? co^on^os and say to each': 1 should;like to put Mr. So-and-so in such-and-such.a Department/ . Will you send me one or iwo oryour men?' -An experiment could then be tried. I do not think the subject is one which would warrant inquiry by a Departmental committer.