9

H.—l4

Amendments to General Regulations. 48. During the year the principal amendments made were as follows : — Regulations 101 to 108 (procedure on appeal) were amended in the direction of providing that all appeals, whether a ground of appeal was set out or not, would be forwarded to the Board of Appeal. Regulation 141 (dealing with temporary employment) was amended in the direction of fixing definite dates from which the Register of Applicants is compiled. Regulations 110 and 110 a (dealing with travelling-allowances) were amended principally in the direction of providing that in cases where an officer was absent from headquarters for less than twenty-four hours actual expenses only would be allowed. Regulation 209 was amended in the direction of granting an allowance to an officer acting in a higher classified position for a longer period than three months. The regulation was made mandatory in cases where the officer was acting with the approval of the Commir'sioner. Regulation 205 was amended in the direction of providing that a double increment should not be granted to an officer in a class higher than Class VI in the Clerical Division for passing certain examinations. 49. Special regulations were made dealing with leave of absence for officers of the Tourist and Health Resorts Department, and also in connection with the examination of Draughtsmen in the Lands and Survey Department. Examinations. . 50. Attention has been given during the year to the question of examinations necessary for officers of the Public Service. Fleretofore the main examination qualifying for promotion has' been the Public Service Senior Examination, which has some good points, and which is probably more or less- suitable for some Departments. The objection to it is the large number of optional subjects which from time to time have been added to meet the requirements of individual Departments, and which to a large extent result in unnecessary specialization at the wrong period of an officer's career. The objection has become more marked owing to the principle of promotion from one Department to another, which is one of the features of the Public Service Act. It is obviously useless for a young officer to specialize in hygiene, for example, if soon afterwards he is promoted to a Department which demands specialization in legal subjects. The proper time for the special subjects required by a Department is when promotion to a fairly high class demands the exhibition of knowledge to the extent required by the Department, rather than a certificate of having passed in a more elementary stage a number of years before. 51. It has therefore been decided to abandon the Public Service Senior Examination as soon as all existing entrants have passed, or otherwise, on the 31st March, 1918, no new entries being accepted. For the Public Service Senior Examination the Matriculation Examination of the New Zealand University will be substituted, and it will be left to Departments to suggest special examinations for promotion at a later stage of an officer's career. For the majority of Departments the special examinations will probably extend no further than a practical test in the duties of the officer and in his knowledge of the Acts and regulations concerning his Department. 52. As much misapprehension appears to exist about the scope of employment in the Public Service, it may be desirable to state that for the great majority of clerical positions a lad who is able to pass the Public Service Entrance Examination, and later on the Matriculation Examination of the New Zealand University, is fairly well equipped, but it is becoming daily more evident that an officer who hopes to obtain a position in the Professional Division of the Service must devote his attention to studies which are likely to be

2—H. 14.