SINGLE COLONIAL SERVICE

Taranaki Daily News, 3 May 1930, Page 9

SINGLE COLONIAL SERVICE

GROWTH OF DEPENDENCIES

RECOMMENDATION IN BRITAIN MANY ANOMALIES FOUND British Wireless. Rugby, 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 colonial service. Die committee was appointed last year by Mr. L. C. M. S. Amery, Colonial Secretary ii\ the Conservative Government, with Sir Warren Fisher as chairman. For some time it had been considered that certain changes were necessary owing to the growth of the British dependencies towards the new status of Dominions, as established at last Imperial Conference. It was found that under the growing system ref independence there were now many anomalies. The Colonial Office itself, for example, had become a dual department —the Colonial Office proper and the Dominions’ Office.

The report deals with the territories handled by the Colonial Office. These comprise 50 different territories, covering more than 2,000,000 square miles, with a total population of 50,000,009 people of varied nationalities and religions. The. expenditure of colonial Governments alone had arisen from £19,000,000 in 1909 to £68,000,000 in 1929. The Governmental staff had increased from 93,208 to 220,770.

In recommending the creation of a single colonial service, the committee urges that -special Services, such as agriculture, medicine and education, should be organised within this single service. With 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 be 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 the selection 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 no real ground for the suggestions that the older universities have anything like a monopoly of colonial appointments.