THE PUBLIC SERVICE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1180, 15 July 1911, Page 6

THE PUBLIC SERVICE.

REFORM PARTY'S PROPOSALS. &IE; HERDMAN AT PALMERSTON. SOUTH. -' .In tho courso of his speech before an audienco which tilled tho Town llall at Palmerston South, Mr. A. L. Herdmaii, member for Wellington North, discussed amongst other things the portion of tho iteforni.', party's, platform '.relating' to tho public service.-! He'said:' PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD. The Acting-Prime Minister, in. the courso of his address in Otago, made a statement .to which ho (Mr. Hcrdinan) , took exception. Sir James Carroll was a man of great ability, and possessed considerable oratorical gifts, and ho (Mr. llerdman) knew of no member of the present Administration who could sing the praises of tho Government so ably as tho silver-tongued Native Minister. There was nobody who could carol so sweetly as •Sir 'James Carroll. (Laughter.) 'Iho Act-ing-Primo Minister, however, in referring to the public service proposals in Mr. Massey's programme, said that any public service board appointed under tho Opposition's proposals would not responsible to Parliament. Why, tho whole point in tho Opposition's sohemo was that the public service board should be responsible to Parliament, And not to a Minister of the Crown. That, was tho essence of the proposal of tho Opposition. He had taken fi keen interest in l this matter, and he wished to make it clear that the Opposition's proposal involved tho creation of a board or a commissioner with six assistants, who would take complete control of tho service, who would make • appointments, regulate all promotions, fix salaries, and generally manage tho whole conditions of the service. What they aimed ■at was that the patronage exerciscd' -in'■the past by Ministers to tho detrimentof the service and civil servants shall be absolutely destroyed and stamped out. (Applause.) no must not bo understood to refer in any manner derogatory to the personnel of tho public s&rvico in general, but he did desire to say that, through tho wretched system of patroriago that obtained at present, promotion was not conducted on a just basis, with tho result that men who should get on by the exertion of their own talents and ability found ' themselves in tho position of being passed over to give place to someono else "more favoured. of. tho King..'':-. (Applause.) He ndvicatcd civil service.-reform for the following Teasons:—(l) 'l'lio people, as of right, are entitled to the best public service . humanly possible. (2) Tho public servants are entitled to better masters and more scrupulous masters than our Ministers of the Crown. (3) 'Hie able and conscientious civil servant— and there aro thousands of them- —is entitled to just treatment, and ho does not get it from Ministers of tho Crown. (4) The time-sorver, the sycophant, the public servant who owes to influence his billet and lopks to influenco for promotion, the obsequious flatterer of the all-powerful Minister, the' incompetent protego of an incompetent patron, is (he creature who should _bo culled from the public service. (5) Political influenco or patronage should be destroyed, and in making promotions '.more Tegard should be paid to merit. Ho proposed that ono .of two , things should bo .done: either that a board consisting of [two or three individuals, not members of ! tho civil- scrvico, should be appointed to .•take over tho control of the public service; [or, in the alternative, as had been adopted in tho Commonwealth of Australia rwhen Federation took place, a commissioner, witli a certain number of inspectors, ..should be appointed. After the creation of such a board, no Minister of the Crown :could mako any appointment or cause any promotion. The board or the commisjßioner and his assistants would rule and i govern the whole concern. Then, also, the commissioner and his inspectors were responsible to • Parliament. That was tho ,case in the Commonwealth, and it was .what tkejr advocated in connection.with a Jcivil scrvico board for New. Zealand. In [Australia—and it was what thev desired Governor-General could suspend the commissioner, but that act, before bo- , coming final, had to bo ratified by Parliament. Tho Civil Service Board, therefore, as they would see, was subject to the ron•trol of Parliament in tho truest and highest meaning of tho term. Tho system he advocated was in vogue not only in the Commonwealth Administration, but also in the States of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and had received the full approval of Sir Charles Lucas, of tho Colonial Office, who, after his recent visit to Australia and New Zealand, reported •that there was nothing move admirable in Australia than the effort to keep the ' public service outside tho scope of political influence. (Applause.)

IN CONCLUSION. In coming to a conclusion. Mr. Herdivmn said that tile aim of tho people of N-ew Zealand'and of any country should be to Jiavo a Government in power which would give tho wisest legislation humanly possible and tho best administration humanly possible. A Voice: Truth and honesty. Mr. Herdnmn: That is a synonym, of course. (Applause.) They must have that, but in addition tliov must liavo a Government in power which had courage and was prepared to go before the people and say: "Hero is our plan; it. is tho. best we can devise. We believe it to'lm wise, and we are going, to stick to it." (Applause.) Tlvey did not want a Government to back and turn and shilly-shally and hum and haw .and have-no mind c.f its'own. . Tlio present. Government in New Zealand gave tho people no policy at all. (Loud applause.) On ths moiion of Mr. J.' Crisp, •seconded by Councillor D. M. Philip HVaihenio County Council), a vote of thanks to Mr. Hcrtlman for his address was carried by, acclamation.

A vote of thanks to the Mayor for prefliding. carried oil the motion of Mr. Ilerd■rnan, brought tho meeting to a close.