COLONIAL SERVICES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20554, 3 May 1930, Page 11

COLONIAL SERVICES.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE.

CHANGE IN ORGANISATION. ELECTION OF GOVERNORS. By Telrgrnph—Prees Association— Copyright. British Wireless. KUGBY, May 1. The creation of a single colonial service . is recommended in the report of the committee which has been considering appointments in the Colonial Office and the Colonial Service. The committee was appointed last year by Mr. L. S. Amery, Colonial Secretary in the Conservative Government, with Sir Warren Fisher as chairman.

For some time past it has been considered that certain changes were necessary, owing to the growth of the British dependencies toward the new status of Dominions as established at the last Imperial Conference. It was found that under the growing system of independence there wero now many anomalies.

The Colonial Office itself, for example, has become a dual department, that is, the Colonial Office proper, and the Dominions Office. The report deals with territories handled by the Colonial Office. These comprise 50 different territories covering more than 2,000,000 square miles, with a total population of 50,000,000 people of varied nationalities and religions. The expenditure on colonial government alone has risen from £19,000,000 in 1908, to £68,000,000 in 1929. The governmental staff has increased from 93,208 t0'220,770.

The committee recommends the creation of a single colonial service, and urges that special services, such as agriculture, medicine and education, should bo organised within this single service. Willi regard to appointments now made through the machinery of the Private Secretary to the Secretary of State, it is recommended that the final selection of candidates should bo made by a Colonial Services Appointments Board, which should be set up, consisting of a chairman and two members nominated by the Civil Service Commission. With reference to elections of Governors, the committee recommends that prior consideration should be given to the suitability of officers holding high offices in the colonial services. The committee produces figures which serve to show that there is not ariv real ground for suggestions that the older universities have anything like a monopoly of colonial appointments.