Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE FRIDAY, AUGUST 7th., 1936. PUBLIC SERVICE

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 August 1936, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE FRIDAY, AUGUST 7th., 1936. PUBLIC SERVICE

action lias been taken by 3lr. Baldwin in the case of a prominent civil servant who. in llie course of his public duties, sought private advancement. The announcement will be received with regret that an honourable career hits thus been cheeked, but there will be also gladness that the standards of the British civil service are being maintained, without respect to persons, following Ihe Budget leakage disclosures, the latest instance of

error in judgment may cause mis-

givings as Io undue prevalence of self-seeking in British public administration. Really, there should be gratificat ion that such

cases are so rare, anil lliat penalty is sharp and severe. Sir Christopher Bullock has a record of which lie had cause for pride. The son of a clerc’yinan, he won honours athlelic and scholastic, at Rugby and Cambridge. lie took first place in an open competitive competition for the Home and Indian civil services, and wont to India. Tie served in the Groat War, first with the infantry, and later in the R.A.F. lie served as principal private secretary io various Air Ministers for several years, and was appointed Permanent Secretary to the Air Ministry and a. member of the Air Council in 1931. He is in his 45th year, and thus in his prime. He has paid dearly for his mistake. Sir Eric Geddes, the other principal concerned in the negotiations, was a prominent railways official, and came into prominence during the War, for his work in connection with transportation and munitions supply. He was appointed ( to the War Council and the Cab- ;

inet, and has served as chairman

on important national commis-

sions. Apparently, he would "be prepared to aeeept a peerage, and it is somewhat surprising, in view of his services, that such honour lias not been previously conferred. The question is by no means now as to how far a public man, or civil servant, should bo permitted to prepare for private engagement. The danger is obvious that public interests might suffer, if a free-for-all were allowed. An offer of a later lucrative post might influence the opinions of a public servant conducting negotiations for contracts, or similar commercial undertakings, on behalf of a Government Department. Against, that, unless the public service offers sufficient salaries to retain Hie best men. these can scarcely be blamed for seeking appropriate openings elsewhere. The Overseas, as well as the Homeland, are concerned, as it is not unknown for High Commissioners and others to have well-paid jobs awaiting for them when their terms of office have expired. Moreover, are public servants inspired to be lily-while, when ex-Ministers scenic thousands of pounds by revealing to the world, in the Press and books, secrets of past Cabinets? Tin* position is difficult, and it seems impossible to avoid anomalies. With the aim of the Governments to keep the public service as free as possible from graft and corruption, there will be general approval.