B.—4a.

42. Separate regulations are in operation governing leave of absence, travelling-expenses, overtime rates, admission to the Service, &c., and there is no statutory provision to secure uniform treatment in such matters throughout the various Departments of the State service. 43. One great difficulty to be faced is that under existing legislation each head is charged with the responsibility of administering his branch of the State service, and unless the proposed committee had some statutory standing and powers its efforts would be purely advisory, and the carrying-out of the decisions would be discretionary. 44. The present system tends to divide the three main branches of the State service into as many watertight Departments, and within the walls of each grows up an entirely separate organization, each serving the State, but each working under separate and differing conditions. 45. We recommend that a committee of officers as referred to previously be set up and given statutory recognition and authority to deal with all matters affecting salaries, wages, grading, working-conditions, and privileges throughout the whole of the State services. 46. We have recommended elsewhere that the teaching service be brought under the control of the Public Service Commissioner, and this, with the foregoing, should ensure uniformity throughout the whole Service. INSPECTORIAL STAFFS. 47. We have been impressed with the extent to which inspectorial staffs employed by the Government have grown. There are now no less than 801 Inspectors employed in the Government service, and the total cost, including salaries, travelling-expenses, &c., amounts to £369,000. The duties carried out by many of these officers are, of course, remunerative in whole or part, in that recoveries are made by the Government, but nevertheless the net cost of the inspectorial staff is £213,000 per annum. 48. We are of opinion that it should be possible to co-ordinate the work of Inspectors to a greater degree than is now done ; in particular, it should be possible to co-ordinate the work of Inspectors in the Department of Agriculture, Valuation Department, and Department of Lands and Survey. They are, for the most part, engaged on work of a cognate nature, and some effort at co-ordination should be made. 49. Similarly the work of Inspectors of Machinery in the Marine Department should be co-ordinated with that of Inspectors of Factories in the Labour Department. 50. These are but two instances where there is a degree of overlapping. Not only should expenditure be reduced in this way, but every effort should be made to reduce the personnel, for there is no doubt that much of the work now undertaken could, in the light of present conditions, be abandoned. MOTOR-VEHICLES. 51. The cost of motor travelling is most difficult to regulate. We have evidence that travel by motor is subject to some abuse in the Government service, and it has undoubtedly added considerably to the annual expenditure in respect of travelling allowances and expenses. 52. Central garages are established in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and these are not used as freely as they should be, probably on the plea that it is more convenient for officers to garage their cars at their own homes. At present many officers garage their Government cars at their own homes and are paid a weekly garage fee by the Department concerned. This practice should cease where Government garages are available. In effect, this would mean that all departmental cars in the centres mentioned would be taken over by the central garages. Cars are used much too freely on journeys that could be accomplished much more cheaply by railway, even by officers who have annual passes for railway travel. The control of motor-cars is essentially a matter for rigid central control, under which the excessive number of cars and the huge expenditure could be very substantially reduced. DEPARTMENTAL LOANS. 53. Loans are made for various objects by different Departments (other than trading Departments, such as the Public Trust Office, Government Life Insurance Office, and State Fire Insurance Office). We recommend that all such advances should be controlled by the Investment Board of the State Advances Office or by the Treasury. APPEAL BOARDS. 54. In our report in regard to the Public Service Commissioner's Office we have recommended that a fee of 10s. 6d. be charged for each appeal, and that the fee be refunded in cases where appellants are successful. 55. There are other Appeal Boards connected with the Public Service, such as the Teachers' Appeal Board, &c., and we recommend that the law be amended in each case to provide for a fee of 10s. 6d. to be charged for each appeal lodged. AMALGAMATION OF DEPARTMENTS. 56. We have recommended the amalgamation of certain Departments, as a means of economy. 57. We have not exhausted the list of possible amalgamations, as it will be recognized that, although the amalgamation of some Departments may be desirable, there are administrative

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