THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1912. CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15069, 12 August 1912, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1912. CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.

Now that Civil Service Reform is within sight, thanks to the expulsion from office of the Continuous Government and its replacement by a Reform Administration, it should not be forgotten that the method proposed by Mr. Masscy is neither novel noT experimental, but has long been recognised as essential to the i proper conducting of the public busi- j ness and to the freeing of political life from the most pronounced cor- : ruption. The appointment of a Civil Service Commissioner, responsible to Parliament and governed in his doings by definite and unmistakable regulation, will not remove every difficulty in the great public services or remedy every grievance of which Civil Servants may complain, but it j will secure the due recognition of ; merit and industry and will eliminate the political patronage which degrades and demoralises everything j it touches. We do not hesitate to ! say that for tho past twenty years there is no statesman in' the civilised world, worthy of being called progressive and democratic, who has not regarded the thrusting of political patronage out of the.public service as absolutely necessary for tho purity of political life and for the effective working of the public departments. In New Zealand, unhappily, those who professed democracy and posed as the redeemers of the country from many vague and mysterious evils openly and unblushirigly "opposed Civil Service ileform. The reason for this opposition was obvious; but wo believe that the respect for straight and honest government is so great in the community at large that Mr. Masscy j will gain more friends and sup- , porters by his statesmanlike and patriotic determination than he would have gained by all the patronage . which he might at his will have. taken to himself and his party. Now that we are to have a Civil Sendee Commission, after the manner.of all the progressive world, we may hope that the public will ! accord the reform such steadily per- ; manent support that it will become a national institution. In the United States, where the reform movement was greatly assisted I through the assassination of President Garfield by a disappointed • office-seeker, a long-delayed Civil i Service Act became law in 1883. The absence of any effective public opinion and the pressure of officeseekers upon both parties enabled the practice of excepting many positions from competition upon merit for entering the American service. ' These exceptions have become so {numerous, and the power of the President to act as ho chooses in the J matter has become so well estab- | lished, that the purpose of the Act | has been largely v defcated and polij tical patronage remains one of the I most dangerous and most corrupting j factors in American politics. The United Kingdom, always fore- ! most in administrative reforms, commenced the reform of her Civil Service system in 1855 and pursued it so steadily that by 1870 open competition was the general rule. Only in the foreign office and certain special departments is the principle of open competition ignored, every other Civil Service position in the United Kingdom being allotted for merit and in accordance with definite rule and procedure. The outcome has been a visible improvement in the working of the service, a notable cleanliness in public life and the opening of every grade to merit and ability. While in New Zealand Ministers and members of Parliament affected the livelihood and the prospects of thousands of public servants, with results often scandalous and always depressing, in the United Kingdom neither the favour of a King nor the frown of an earl could advance or injure the humblest servant of the State. The Civil servant who was competent and did his duty was above fear, and the applicant who was incompetent was below favour. In Canada and .in Australia similar reforms have been instituted, and wherever instituted Civil Service reform has been successful and satisfactory. As we have said it is not a panacea for all service ills ; but it is a panacea for l the corruption and abuses which invariably accompany the . unreformed system such as we

have practically had it in New Zealand. • When the reform has boon effected no New Zealand lad will need the favour of party politicians in order to have as good an opportunity as any other lad to enter any department of the State service ; and when he is in the service he will be paid and promoted according to a definite and intelligent system, and will not be passed by any less competent favourite of the political powers. This is sound public policy which may be expected to react advantageously upon political life, to assist in a better balancing of parties and to lead to a more wholesome and generous public spirit.