THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2008 witin funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/britishcivilservOOheatrich THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE HOME, COLONIAL, INDIAN, AND DIPLOMATIC BY FRANCIS GEORGE HEATH LATE VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE CIVIL SERVANTS DEFERRED PAY COMMITTEE Author of "British Rural Life and Labour," "Our British Trees," **The English Peasantry," "The Farm World," " Tree Lore," etc. etc. GRAFTON & CO. COPTIC HOUSE, 8 COPTIC STREET LONDON, W.C. :s^f PREFACE A PERSONAL experience of forty-two years inside the British Civil Service, and the practical ''handling*' as a journalistic leader-writer of a considerable number of Civil Service questions arising- from time to time for discussion in the public press, may, perhaps, be deemed sufficient warrant to me for writing- this book. I venture to think I shall be doing a public service by its issue. My aim throughout it has been to show, by stimulating examples afforded of men who have succeeded in reaching high positions and honours, what, by perseverance and indomitable energy, can be accomplished in the finest administrative service in the world employing something like a quarter of a million of persons. What is needed for the greatest success, in addition* to honesty, sobriety and ability, is the " Radium" — so to speak — or, shall it be said, the " X-Rays " of enthusiasm — a penetrating quality that, enormously for the better, influences all our lives. Enthusiasm for good work is the finest possible stimulus ; and if our public servants are infiltrated with this quality, the result will largely redound to the benefit of the public throughout the great British Empire. It is a high ideal that is aimed at ! 331726 vi PREFACE The advice and counsel which I offer — prompted by a long and wide experience inside the great service about which I write — will, I trust, supplement in a valuable manner the rather considerable amount of information which I am able to give. As, besides this information — which will, I trust, be as interesting to the general public as it should prove useful and necessary to intending entrants — I have fearlessly attacked abuses, my book will, I think, be ** wanted" by many who are already ** inside" the British Civil Service. FRANCIS GEORGE HEATH. CONTENTS I. Civil Service as a Profession . PAGE I II. The Old Monopoly . . . . 9 III. An Open Door 13 IV. Nomination Appointments 49 V. Expert Qualifications 53 VI. Age Limits .... . 58 VII. Character Requirements . 61 VIII. Educational Status Needed . . 64 IX. Health Conditions . 69 X. Starting the Service Career . . 71 XI. Punctuality .... . 75 XII. Ability . . . . . 78 XIII. Industry .... 82 XIV. Zeal . 86 XV. Automatic Salary Increase 89 vui CONTENTS XVI. Promotion . . ... '^''92 XVII. Annual Leave . 98 XVIII. Pensions . 103 XIX. Honours . 138 XX. Leisure 141 XXI. "Selling Out" 148 XXII. XXIII. Home Appointments . Civil Service of India 162' 231 XXIV. Colonial Appointments 254 XXV. Foreign Services 263 Index 267 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE CIVIL SERVICE AS A PROFESSION There is no more honourable position in the world than one held, under Government, either in the British Islands, in India, or in any one of the dependencies which acknowledge the sovereignty of our King and Emperor. The remark equally applies to the holders of positions in what are called the British Consular and Diplomatic Services, which involve attendance and work in foreign countries. The opening lines in " The Englishman "— " There's a land that bears a world-known name, Though 'tis but a little spot ; 'Tis the first on the blazing scroll of fame, And who can say 'tis not ? For the deathless ones who live and shine In arms, in arts, in song. The brightest the whole wide world can give, To this little land belong " — may be said to reflect the position held by the English Government and the great host of officials who serve under it. The " httle land," however, i' ' THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE is but the tiny nucleus of what is now a mighty Empire, on which, in very truth, so vast is it, the sun never sets. The abihty, the energy, the industry, and the probity of the British race naturally and obviously have their reflex in the British Civil Service. The really stupendous character of the operations which that Service conducts may be most briefly, yet rapidly, grasped by a reference, in alphabetical order, to the multifarious '* departments " .which deal with the great affairs of our nation, and not only deal with them, but most effectively control them. The Lords of the Admiralty organise everything that relates to that great power — the British Navy. The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries labours to assist, in every possible way, all the agencies con- nected with the production of so much of our food as can be obtained from the soil and from our inland waters. A College of Arms is concerned with all heraldic matters. Charity Commissioners busy themselves with the proper administration of charitable trusts. A Civil Service Commission attends to the proper conduct of examinations of those who present themselves as candidates for employment "under Government." The Colonial Office sees to all important business connected with our great colonial dependencies. Crown Agents for the Colonies have to do with our Crown colonies and protectorates. The Board of Customs and Excise deals with the big revenues obtainable from imported goods and from inland excisable com- modities. Ecclesiastical and Church Estate Com- missioners manage all church properties and the CIVIL SERVICE AS A PROFESSION 3 endowment or augmentation of church benefices. A Board of Education presides over the adminis- tration of all questions and matters educational, and is empowered to make grants of public money for the furtherance of educational objects. The Exchequer and Audit Department, as its name indicates, acts as a State " Auditor " and is bound to see that pubHc money is actually appropriated for the purposes for which it is voted from time to time by ParUament. Our relations with Foreign Powers obviously necessitate the employment of a Foreign Office to regulate the conduct of those relations and to conduct all diplomatic proceedings. Under various Friendly Society and industrial Acts of ParHament there are duties to be performed by an official who is called a Registrar, and he, assisted by a small staff of officers, has to certify the rules of various bodies which may all be said to come within the general designation of Friendly Societies ; and the Government department over which the chief official presides is called The Friendly Societies' Registry. The important duty of keeping a record of births, deaths, and marriages is entrusted also to an official called the Registrar-General, and his particular department is styled the General Register Office. Testings for revenue purposes of wines and spirits are required to be officially conducted, with all the necessary scientific apparatus, in order to ascertain the amounts payable for duties, as these are assessed upon a sliding scale proportioned to their respective alcoholic strengths : and Govern- ment Laboratories is the name for this particular 4 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE office. A department largely controlling every- thing that takes place within the United Kingdom is very properly designated the Home Office ; and its large concerns with the Police, with Prisons and with Reformatory Institutions, are very generally known, and also its conduct of regulations for the proper ordering of mining and manufacturing in- dustries. Our Great Indian Dependency naturally involves the employment of a large staff of officials, an appreciable number at home constituting the governing India Office, and quite an army of officials in the country itself. The numerically huge Inland Revenue Department is — aided also by an army of officials occupied at head-quarters in London and scattered all through the Provinces — concerned with the collection of all Inland duties and taxes, as distinguished from the Cus- toms Department, which only collects duties imposed on imported, and, in rarer cases, on ex- ported ^articles of commerce. Another most im- portant department, wielding, as its name implies, great and wide control over the proceedings of public municipal bodies, such as Boards of Guar- dians and Urban and Rural District Councils, is the Local Government Board, a body that needs for the proper discharge of its onerous work a large body of assistants. A by no means uninteresting department of public work, rendered especially attractive by its " forecasts " of weather and " storm warnings," is the Meteorological Office. It employs only a small number of expert officials, but their labours are of growing value. The Royal Mint performs work, as is well known, of the first CIVIL SERVICE AS A PROFESSION 5 importance, involving highly skilled labour on the part of its employes. The British Museum and the Natural History Museum are, again, departments requiring the services of skilled assistants. The National Debt Office, utilised for the allocation of surpluses (happening over annual expenditure) to the pay- ing off of some of the accumulated arrears of our national indebtedness, fulfils another distinct purpose in State economy. Then the small-staffed, but interesting and necessary, offices required in connection with the National Gallery, the National Gallery of British Art — distinguished as the Tate Gallery — the National Physical Laboratory — foun- ded for, amongst other things, standardising and veri- fying instruments — the National Portrait Gallery, the Nautical Almanac Office, and the Royal Obser- vatory at Greenwich, all help by their requirement of assistance to fill the long roll of Civil Servants. The Patent Office, established, for good and neces- sary reasons, to protect inventors of what may be serviceable to the public from unscrupulous imita- tion, is concerned with the granting of monopohes to the originators of useful discoveries ; and it employs a considerable staff of paid officials. Then there is a Paymaster-General's Department, employing persons skilled in accounts, to see that public pay- ments are properly made. A comparatively new Port of London Authority represents an amalgama- tion of certain undertakings formerly under separate control concerned with the shipping commerce of London. It is not necessary to do more than mention the huge transactions of the Post Office, 6 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE employing the services of not one army, but many armies of officials. The Pubhc Works Loan Board is another office giving employment. It is concerned with the business attaching to the lending of public money, on due security, to municipal authorities for carrjdng out pubhc improvements. The Queen Anne's Bounty Office deals with the distribution of the income derived from " first-fruits " and " tenths,'' and, for this purpose, requires a staff of paid persons, although it is only a small one. A Record Office — provided for the safe keeping of pubhc records — is another small branch of our Civil Service, as is the Stationery Office, for obtaining and supplying the naturally large amount of stationery — a very comprehensive word in the meaning of this department — required for use by the various pubhc offices ; and this Stationery Department employs an appreciably large number of well-paid persons. To the Board of Trade, another of our large depart- ments of State, a considerable number of duties appertain — the control of railways, the administra- tion of labour bureaus, the registration of shipping, the conduct of bankruptcy investigations, etc. ; and for these, and other things coming within the purview of the department, a large staff is required. The Treasury, though not so largely officered a department, is one concerned with very important duties, amongst the latter being to arrange the rates of, as well as to pay, salaries prevailing through the rather considerable number of departments that are " under the Treasury." The great and important work of assessing, so to speak, and collecting the pubhc revenues also appertains to the Treasury. CIVIL SERVICE AS A PROFESSION 7 The Trinity House is a name that represents an office concerned with the erection and management of hghthouses, buoys, and beacons wherever needed upon our coasts for the protection of its shipping, and with the appointment of pilots. The War Office stands in the same position in regard to our Army as the Admiralty does to our Navy, and its duties are practically provided for by a com- paratively new department called the Army Coun- cil. A considerable number of officials enjoying good pay are required for the conduct of our Army business. The mention of two more departments may fittingly conclude our brief summary of our important offices of State. These are the Depart- ment of Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues, concerned with the management of what are called the Estates of the Crown, and the Department of Works and Public Buildings. The two last men- tioned were originally one department under the control of the formerly-described Woods and Forests Department. They are now standing alone each under the nominal control of a Board of Com- missioners. The " Works," etc.. Department is practically under the management of a head who is described as the First Commissioner of Works. This department attends to nothing but the erec- tion, furnishing, and allocating of the various offices — reckoning from the House of Commons onwards — required for the conduct of the business of the entire Civil Service. It will be readily seen, from the sketch we have given, how important and diverse are the duties performed by the huge number of officials 8 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE employed under the British Imperial Govern- ment. As will have been seen from our enumera- tion of those duties, Ahe Servants of the Crown practically control everything of importance that takes place within the country, and a large part of what takes place in the Crown Colonies and other dependencies of the Empire. The position of a Civil Servant is therefore a most honourable one, second in importance to no other occupation Z^^ the three home kingdoms and abroad./ One particular circumstance which taarks the jh character of British Civil Servants is their practically incorruptible honesty and integrity./ It would be unpleasant and ungraceful to make mention of some other countries where the dis- honesty and other irregularities of State officials have given rise to glaring and grave scandals ; but it is notorious that such irregularities have occurred and do occur/ It would be claiming too much to aver that irregularities do not take place in our own Service, but they are of very rare occur- rence, and for this reason alone it may be repeated that to obtain and to hold office under the British Crown is a circumstance of which the holder has reason to be proud. II THE OLD MONOPOLY What used to be called the " governing families " — those immediately connected with the ministry for the time being in office and their immediate clientele or supporters, the last-named being, perhaps, more fittingly described as " place-holders " or " place-mongers," monopolised practically all the paid positions under Government. They formed, in fact, an exclusive aristocracy and a species of close " bureaucracy," and they kept all the good appointments in their own hands, disposing of them only to, or at the request of, favoured friends or in return for promised political support. It thus happened that in those " good old times " the fitness of a candidate for the post, entrance to which was to be ** worked " for him, was quite of secondary importance. As long as the requisite condition of party support, or personal favour, was satisfied, it mattered not one iota how unfit he was for the employment he sought. Thus it also happened that practically " the halt, the lame, and the blind " were appointed to do, or rather to fail to do, the public work. The rotten old system was nevertheless worked for all it was worth, and it was frequently worth less than nothing. One or two verified instances may be given that 10 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE will amusingly, if painfully, illustrate the dis- graceful extent to which the old patronage was exercised. A Church magnate and a high official in the Army each had a son to place. In each case some slight examination was necessary. The dean's son desired to enter the Army, and the general's son wanted to go into the Church. There was no difficulty about the former ; but the general's son was absolutely incompetent. The fathers, however, had, at the beginning, " put their heads together " for mutual advantage. So the dean " squared " the examiner in Scripture history, and the last-named individual told the unpromising candidate for Holy Orders that he would let him off very lightly, but that he must answer one question. He said, *' Noah had three sons — Shem, Ham, and Japhet. Now who," he demanded, " was Japhet's father ? " The candidate, being unable to answer, was told he might come up again the next day, when the same question would be put, and in the meantime it was suggested that he might like to consult his mother. When, however, he returned to her, he had forgotten what the question was, so that his fond parent could not answer it for him ; but being a shrewd woman of the world, she placed an appreci- able sum in gold in a silk purse, and suggested that when the question, whatever it was, was again put to her darhng boy, he should hand in the purse as his answer. On returning the next day to the examiner, the latter remarking that he hoped the candidate might now be able to answer his one question, as to " who was Japhet's father ? " the aspirant THE OLD MONOPOLY il for Holy Orders handed over the purse and said, " If you please, mother says that is Japhet's father ! *' The answer, it seems, completely satisfied the examiner and the candidate passed ! Lest the reader should be inclined to smile incredulously at this incident, we can tell him — from our own knowledge — of cases just as extravagant, showing the most crass stupidity of persons who had been appointed (and paid for years) to Civil Service posts. One of these had been employed for fifteen years in the Long Room of the Customs Department, and all the time had the handhng of printed wine papers, on each of which the word " wine " was plainly and correctly spelt. It was, it is true, a very subordinate position which he held, and he applied for a better post. The only " test " for the better position was correct speUing of a few sentences dictated. He failed, however, to pass because it was found he had spelt the one especial word *' wine," that had been daily before his eyes for fifteen years, by adding an " h " and making it whine ! Another, occupying for many years a clerkship in the Civil Service, sent in what was called a ** sick note," explanatory of inabihty to attend to his duties because he had, the previous day, been assaulted and injured ; but, as he put it, he had been " striped and robed," meaning stripped and robbed. A sometime chief '* of my own " in the Customs Service, drawing the hberal pay of eight hundred a year as '* Controller of Accounts," used to rely on his clerk — a competition man — (as he himself had been nominated *' by influence " before the 12 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE era of examinations) to draft his reports to the Board for him. But one day the clerk, on whom he leaned for assistance in his speUing and grammar, was absent on leave. So the " Controller " had to act for himself ; and an item of duty he could not postpone was to report on an appHcation by a " writer " to be allowed to deduct five days of " sick leave*' — for which no allowance of pay was then made — from a small period of unappropriated ordinary leave. It was optional to deduct sick from ordinary leave without suffering loss of pay ; but the sanction of the Board must first be got, and this sanction had to be obtained through the Con- troller of Accounts. The following is a copy of the latter's memoran- dum : — " Honourable Sirs, " Mr. . . . has been absent for five days with a bad leg which he wishes deducted from his annual leave " ! Another instance within our recollection is that of a Customs appointment to the post of boatman. To this post a man was actually ap- pointed who had both arms paralysed ; and the examining officer on river duty had to accept this impossible " boatman," put him in the stern, and do all the rowing himself ! Ill AN OPEN DOOR It is really strange that so monstrous a system as the old " patronage " one should so long have remained in vogue. Jt must not be assumed that everyone appointed to a post under the Crown was incom- petQnt. No doubt some of the appointees turned out to be very able officials, and had there not been some conscience in the patrons the rottenness of the public service would have been far greater than it actually was. The system, however, obviously provided no sufficient safeguard against the worst forms of incompetence ; but it was a long time before the absolute necessity for some kind of educational test forced itself upon the attention of the patrons. The "patronage" system, however, pure and simple, was still maintained ; but a sort of condition attached to it that the appointees must pass what was called a qualifying examination. At first this quahfying examination was not very rigorously enforced, and no doubt many a friendly hint was given to the examiners not to press a candidate too hard. These pass examinations were conducted under the auspices of the heads of the departments to which the candidates were nomi- nated, and it was not difficult to bring a httle pressure in the shape of " influence " to bear 13 14 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE upon the former to let named individuals down lightly. The only way to stop the exercise of undue influence, absolutely, was to hand over the examina- tions to an independent authority that had no sort of connection either with the nominating ministers or with the heads of the departments (when the latter were not the nominating authority, who required the new recruits for the fiUing of vacancies on their respective staffs) — the independent author- ity being responsible only to Parhament. This step was taken more than half a century ago by the creation of the Civil Service Commission, which had its origin in an Order in Council dated the 2ist May, 1855. The appointment of this Com- mission marks quite an era in the history of the British Civil Service ; and it is not saying too much, at this distance of time, to assert that the pro- ceedings of the Commissioners have been in all ways beyond reproach and beyond the faintest suspicion of undue influence, judging by the only criticism — the admirable results which have en- sued. Although the notable event does not mark the actual commencement of open competition for Crown appointments, it does practically indicate the opening of the door for abihty as distinguished from undue influence and intrigue ; and it was very properly regarded as the " first step " in the right direction. Candidates for civil employment were made to know that something more was required than mere political or other " influence.'* This, at first, was AN OPEN DOOR 15 necessary, as it still is in certain cases, to obtain nomination ; but it was useless without those qualifications for a post, the due possession of which must be determined by an impartial " Board,'* assisted by a staff of able examiners. The road, therefore, was thus prepared for the eminently popular step which was taken fifteen years afterwards, namely, in 1870. An Order in Council was again the medium by which the great change was effected, and this order was dated the 4th June, 1870. From its operation, however, were exempted : (i) appointments, such as Commissioner- ships, made directly by the Crown ; (2) any ap- pointments made by the Treasury under the terms of Section 4 of the Superannuation Act of 1859 ; and (3) new appointments as they might be tenned (although they are not fresh appointments from outside) by promotion within the department. As to the exemption marked (i), it still holds and for reasons that will be fully explained in Chapter V. The exemptions under (2) also still apply, and these will be more fully dealt with in Chapter V ; but here it may be briefly stated that they relate chiefly to persons holding such expert or professional qualifications as could not easily and readily be determined by the Civil Service Commissioners. As to exemption (3), obviously it would not be fair to bring promotion which a man has earned within a department to which he had already obtained access, under the operation of an open outside competition, for his '* quahfications " would have been shown inside and not outside the Service. It will be well to state at once that the instituting i6 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Order in Council of June 4th, 1870, just referred to, was cancelled by a subsequent replacing Order in Council dated loth January, 1910 ; but before coming to deal with that, it will be interesting to trace the progress of the movement for what may be called the popularisation of the Civil Service in the forty years from 1870 to 1910. The resulting sketch will make this chapter rather a long one ; but apology will not be needed for this, considering that the reader may probably regard it as the most interesting chapter in the volume. For the purposes of open competition a distinc- tion was made by the division of the clerical estab- lishments of the Civil Service into two classes, called respectively Class I and Class II. The bulk of the departments were grouped under Class II, and some, considered more important, were placed under Class I. Rates of salary and promotions differed widely in the two classes. In certain departments, too, a subordinate and still lower-paid grade of assistants, called sometimes Extra Clerks and some- times Temporary Clerks, Copyists, and Writers, were engaged. But the system generally was productive of many anomahes, and was rectified by the adop- tion of one introduced by a Commission of Enquiry, presided over by Dr. Lyon Play fair, m.p., and usually known and referred to as the " Play fair Commis- sion." Its recommendations led to the separation of the Service into a " Higher " and a " Lower " Division, entrance to which was obtained by open- competitive success in separate examinations : the Higher Division examination being much " stiff er " than the Lower Division one ; and the commencing I AN OPEN DOOR 17 and subsequent salaries being also appreciably higher. Under the same system a sort of floating body of Men Clerks and of Boy Clerks was established and maintained, and they were required to do the less important work, and to work wherever their services might be required. It was laid down, too, that in the case of any increase in the personnel of an office the same system should be continued and perpetuated — distinction being made between the amount of superior and inferior work. Thus it came about that the work previously done by Writers or Tem- porary Copyists should thereafter be done by Lower Division Clerks unless the work performed was really copying only — a species of labour re- quiring practically Uttle skill or intelligence. The '* Copyist " system was found, however, to be unsatisfactory as first instituted, and bare of any advantage — or stimulus to excellence. Certain privileges were therefore added, such as the pay- ment of an annual bonus, after eight years' service, and a gratuity in the case of retirement. The chance was also given of occasional access to the ranks of the Lower Division. LUnder the Play fair system, however, there was practically an impassable barrier set up between the Upper Division and the Lower Division ; and for that and other reasons it was not found that the scheme worked satisfactorily. Subsequent enquiries were made by a Commission appointed in 1886, under the chairmanship of Sir Matthew White Ridley. This Commission is commonly re- ferred to, under the name of its president, as the c i8 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE '' Ridley Commission," and taking certain depart- ments seriatim, it issued several reports and made recommendations, some of which were adopted by the Government. A clean sweep was nevertheless made of all pre- ceding minutes, orders, and regulations by the Order in Council of January the loth, 1910, some verbatim extracts from which will, with such interlineary comments as may be necessary, give the reader a good grasp of the present regulations for the ad- mission of future entrants to the honourable posi- tion of Civil servants of the Crown. It will be under- stood that this order relates only to what is called the Home Civil Service, and not to any Colonial Services or to the India Civil Service. The preamble of the Order in Council of the loth January, 1910, runs : — " Whereas by several Orders in Council, . . . provision has been made for testing according to fixed rules the qualifications of persons who may seek, or be proposed, for appointment, either per- manently or temporarily, to situations or employ- ment in any of His Majesty's Civil Estabhshments, and for regulating the conduct of His Majesty's said Civil Establishments and the conditions of Service therein. , " And whereas it is expedient that so much of the aforesaid orders as is now in force should be consohdated, with certain amendments, into one Order in Council. " I. Now therefore His Majesty, by and with the advice of His Privy Council, doth order, and it is hereby ordered that, as from the date of this AN OPEN DOOR 19 order, so much of the aforesaid orders as is now in force shall be repealed, and that the provisions following " (extracts from which we make) " shall have effect in substitution for them : — *' Provided that such repeal or substitution shall not affect the validity of anything done under or by virtue of such orders or any of them. ** Provided also that nothing in this order shall affect any right, privilege, or exemption enjoyed by any person in His Majesty's Civil Establishments under Regulations in force at the date of the passing of this order." These last two " provisions " are only in keeping with precedent so far at least as the Civil Service is concerned. The new Pension Act, for instance, of 1909, to which reference will be made later on, does not affect compulsorily anyone in the service prior to its passing, although old entrants had the option of voluntarily enrolling themselves under its provisions. Government, in fact, is more scrupulous perhaps than private employers generally in strictly and honourably carrying out its undertakings. What may be called a little *' pressure " may some- times be employed by the high administering de- partments, such as the Treasury, in order to induce the rapid adoption of changes ; but a Civil Servant has only to *' insist " firmly upon his " rights," be- stowed by Act of Parliament, Order in Council, Treasury Minute, or other authoritative pronounce- ment, to secure absolute attention to them. In this respect Civil Servants are in a much more independent position than those in employ outside the charmed circle of His Majesty's Service ; and 20 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE this is a general factor of importance to be con- sidered by would-be entrants. We will now proceed with the Order in Council of the loth January, 1910 : — " 2. Such persons as His Majesty in Council shall have approved shall be His Majesty's Civil Service Commissioners (hereinafter called the Commis- sioners) for testing the quahfications of the persons proposed to be appointed to any situation or em- ployment in His Majesty's Civil Estabhshments, and for testing, in conformity with regulations to be from time to time issued by the Army Council, the literary quahfications of candidates for admission by means of competitive examinations to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and to the Royal MiHtary Academy at Woolwich, and shall hold their offices during the pleasure of His Majesty ; and shall have power, subject to the approval of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury (hereinafter called the Treasury) to appoint from time to time such assistant examiners and others as may be required to assist them in the performance of the duties herein assigned to them. " Provided that any Commissioner appointed for the purposes aforesaid may, subject to the approval of the Treasury previously obtained, by writing under his hand authorise the Secretary for the time being to the Civil Service Commission to act as Commissioner at any time during the absence of any of the Commissioners or during any vacancy among the Commissioners or for such period during such absence or vacancy as may be fixed by such authorisation. AN OPEN DOOR 21 '* The Secretary, when acting in pursuance of such authorisation, shall have all powers, duties, and authorities assigned by this or any future Order in Council to the Commissioners for the time being appointed for the purposes aforesaid." This is a very salutary and necessary arrange- ment in the case of a body like the Civil Service Commissioners ; because otherwise, owing to the sudden illness or death of a Commissioner there might be a serious delay, involving very consider- able pubUc inconvenience, in filling vacancies in the departments. The wheel of State must roll on and should not be, even temporarily, stopped by the ill- ness or death of a Commissioner. The order continues : — "3. Subject to the provisions of Clause 7 of this order and to the exemptions specified in the schedule marked B, appended hereto, the quahfications of all such persons as may seek or be proposed for appointment, either permanently or temporarily, to any situation or employment in any of His Majesty's Civil Estabhshments shall, before they are so appointed, be tested by, or under the direc- tions of the said Commissioners ; and no person (save as excepted in the said Schedule B) shall be appointed to any such establishment until a certifi- cate of his quahfication shall have been issued by the Civil Service Commissioners declaring that he has satisfied them : ist, that he is within the hmits of the age prescribed for the situation or employ- ment to which he desires to be admitted ; 2nd, that he is free from any physical defect or disease which would be likely to interfere with the proper dis- 22 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE charge of his duties ; 3rd, that his character is such as to quahfy him for such situation or employ- ment ; and 4th, that he possesses the requisite knowledge and abihty to enter on the discharge of his duties." The text of Schedule B which sets out the ex- / emptions from the operation of the open-competition system is as follows : (i) All situations to which the holder is appointed directly by the Crown; (2) All situations included in any order or warrant made by the Treasury under Section 4 of the Super- annuation Act, 1859 > (3) AH situations which are filled, in the customary course of promotion, by per- sons previously serving in the same department ; and (4) AU situations which have already been added to the Schedule B, attached to the Order in Council of 4th June, 1870, and have not since been withdrawn therefrom." Section 4, just alluded to, of the Superannuation Act of 1859, is as follows : "It shall be lawful for the Commissioners of the Treasury from time to time, by any order or warrant, to declare that for the due and efficient discharge of the duties of any office or class of offices to be specified in such order or warrant, professional, or other peculiar qualifica- tions, not ordinarily to be acquired in the pubHc service, are required, and that it is for the interest of the pubhc that persons should be appointed there- to at an age exceeding that at which public service ordinarily begins ; and by the same or any other order or warrant to direct that when any person now holding or who may hereafter be appointed to such office or any of such class of offices, shall retire AN OPEN DOOR 23 from the public service a number of years, not exceeding twenty, to be specified in the said order or warrant, shall, in computing the amount of super- annuation allowance which may be granted to him under the foregoing section of this act, be added to the number of years during which he may have actually served, and also to direct that in respect of such office, or class of offices, the period of service required to entitle the holders to superannuation may be a period less than ten years to be specified in the order or warrant ; and also to direct that in respect of such office, or class of offices, the holder may be entitled to superannuation, though he may not hold his office directly from the Crown, and may not have entered the service with a certificate from the Civil Service Commissioners ; provided always that every order or warrant made under this enact- ment shall be laid before Parliament." Briefly explained, the preceding paragraph ex- empts professional people — such, for instance, as duly-registered medical men or lawyers whose quali- fications will have been certified to in their diplomas, warrants, or other documents (issued to them by their own accredited authorities on the strength of their departmental examiners) — from examination by the Civil Service Commissioners ; and it gives them privileges which their special, and often su- perior, quahfications may warrant, not accorded to ordinary candidates for employment in the Civil Service. It is easy to see that whilst the selection of such professional persons may possibly be in- fluenced by political considerations and not neces- sarily be in accordance with the superior merit of 24 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE the appointees, a selection by open competition might be somewhat invidious. The order goes on : — *' 4. The rules appHcable to each establishment (hereinafter called department) under each of the above heads, shall be settled, subject to the ap- proval of the Treasury, by the Commissioners and the Head of the Department." What '* rules '* are referred to is not very obvious from the wording of this clause 4, but they refer, no doubt, more particularly to the " conditions " i and 4, namely, to the age limits and to the subjects of examination necessary to ascertain whether a candidate possesses ** the requisite knowledge and ability " to enable him to enter properly *' on the discharge of his duties " ; but now comes the im- portant clause : — "5. Save as hereinafter excepted, all appoint- ments which it may be necessary to make to any of the situations in the Departments included in Schedule A appended hereto, or any other situations included or to be included in that Schedule, shall be made by means of competi- tive examinations, according to regulations framed or to be from time to time framed by the Com- missioners, and approved by the Treasury, open to all persons (of the requisite age, health, character, and other qualifications prescribed in the said regulations) who may be desirous of attending the same, subject to the payment of such fees as may be prescribed under this order, or may already have been prescribed under the orders of 4th June, 1870, and of 22nd March, 1879, ^^w repealed." AN OPEN DOOR 25 The institution of fees is a, no doubt, very necessary arrangement, designed, probably, to prevent persons entering their names without a serious intention of undergoing an examination. The clause proceeds : ** Such examinations shall be held at such periods, and for such situations, or groups of situations, as the Commissioners, with the approval of the Trea- sury, shall have from time to time determined, and shall have reference, as the Commissioners, after consultation with the Head of the Departments concerned and with the approval of the Treasury, may deem expedient, either to the vacancies exist- ing at the time of the examination, or to the number of vacancies which may be estimated as hkely to occur within any period not exceeding six months after the commencement of the examination, or to such vacancies occurring within any period not exceeding six months from the date of the announce- ment of the result of the examination, as the Head of the Department may desire to have so filled." Candidates, it may be assumed, will, under this arrangement, which is a species of " taking time by the forelock," have to wait for appointments should the number of " winners " prove at any time to have run beyond the number of actual vacancies. "6. After the candidate has passed his examina- tion and his certificate of qualification has been issued by the Commissioners, he shall enter upon a period of probation of one year, or such extended period, not exceeding two years in all, as may be prescribed by the Head of his Department. During this time his conduct and capacity shall be sub- jected to such tests as may be determined by the 26 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Head of his Department, and he shall not be finally appointed to the PubHc Service unless and until his probation shall have furnished to the Head of his Department satisfactory proof of his fitness." In our own time the probationary period was generally fixed at six months, on the expiration of which, the test of fitness having been applied, there was a process of " swearing in " — that is to say, the imposition of an oath of allegiance to the Sovereign. Probably there has been good reason for extending the probationary period ; and the " condition " itself is necessary, because it is quite possible that, although a candidate might fulfil all the require- ments of the Civil Service Commissioners, he might prove quite unfit for the particular work of the department to which he has been appointed. It is obvious, also, that the Heads of the Department alone, and not the Civil Service Commissioners, are the only ones who can properly judge of a candi- date's capacity or incapacity for performing work with which they are especially familiar. " 7. In case the Head of a Department to which a situation belongs and the Treasury shall consider that the qualifications in respect of knowledge and ability deemed requisite for such situations are wholly or in part professional, or otherwise peculiar, and not ordinarily to be acquired in the Civil Service, and the Head of the Department shall propose to appoint a person who has acquired such qualifica- tions in other pursuits, or in case the Head of the Department and the Treasury shall consider that it would be for the pubhc interest that the prescribed examination and the rules in regard to age should AN OPEN DOOR 27 be wholly or partially dispensed with, the Commis- sioners may, if they think fit, dispense with such examination, wholly or partially, and with such rules in regard to age, and may grant their certificate of quahfication upon evidence satisfactory to them that the said person is fully quahfied in respect of age, health, character, and knowledge and ability/* This regulation, number 7, marks a shrewd and wise departure from the previously hard-and- fast rule, especially as it was made to operate in the matter of age. Previous to its introduction the Treasury were wont to insist upon the strict observance of the sixty-five hmit ; and many instances have occurred in which valuable pubhc servants, in possession of the full vigour of bodily health, full of energy and with undiminished mental powers, have been forced to retire — to the great inconvenience and loss of the pubhc — just because the sixty-five age-limit had been reached. Some- times the Head of a Department, unable immediately to fill the post of an officer who had the most complex and important regulations at his fingers' ends, has been compelled to make an urgent appeal to the Treasury for permission to retain the in- dispensable official, when he has been wilhng to remain, or to appeal urgently to the particular official to remain as a favour when the latter has desired to retire. We understand that the Treasury has exercised the discretion of allowing an official to remain until seventy years of age have been reached, and the House of Commons, on appeal, are, of course, empowered to extend the superior hmit. But 28 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE it is, we think, far more sensible and salutary to leave the discretion of deciding the point to the Head of the Department concerned. "8. When a person has been selected for appoint- ment to an office in any department, and the state of business in that department makes it necessary that he should enter upon his duties before the issue in his favour of a certificate by the Com- missioners, the Treasury may, if they think proper, direct that his salary shall be payable from the date on which he commences the discharge of his duties, provided that they are satisfied that the delay in the issue of the certificate is owing wholly to causes beyond his control. If such person is on a scale of salary, the first incremented period of such scale shall be reckoned from the date on which his salary became payable, provided that a certificate shall in the meantime have been issued by the Commissioners." Clause 9 provides for the payment of fees for examination and for exemption from fees in certain cases ; but as these arrangements may be varied from time to time, it will be best for candidates to obtain them fresh from the Commissioners before entering their names for competition. Clause 10 provides that all the Commissioners' proceedings shall be pubhshed in The London Gazette. " II. The situations included in the Schedule B, hereto appended, shall be wholly exempted from this part of the order. Provided that the Head of any Department, with the approval of the Treasury, may from time to time, by notice in The London AN OPEN DOOR 29 Gazette, add situations to either of the said schedules, marked A and B respectively, or withdraw situations therefrom." The subjoined list of the departments, the bulk of the posts in which are now thrown open to pubhc competition — many of the departments, as is well known, being very large ones — will show the big field available for all who can comply with the reasonable " conditions " of entrance, un- hindered by any necessity to obtain *' influence " of any kind whatever. The " open " departments are the Admiralty, Agriculture and Fisheries, Charity Commission, Chief Secretary's office (Ireland), Civil Service Commission, ^^l^^njol Offirf Customs and Excise, Deeds Registry (Ireland), Ecclesiastical Commission, Education Office, Exchequer and Audit Depart- ment, Home Office (and subordinate departments), IndiaOffice, Inland Revenue, Local Government fibard ^England) , Local Government Board (Scot- land), Mint, National Debt Office, Paymaster- General's Office, Police Office (Dubhn), Public Works Office (Ireland), Record Office (England), Register House Department (Edinburgh) , Registrar- General's Office (England), Registrar-General's Office (Ireland), Secretary for Scotland's Office, Stationery Office, Board of Trade, Treasury (and subordinate departments), Valuation and Boundary Survey (Ireland), War Office, Office of Woods, Office of Works, and, throughout the Civil Estabhsh- ments, all clerkships of Class I and all clerkships of the Second Division, and assistant clerkships of the " Abstractor " class. 30 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE The rules applicable to all permanent officials in His Majesty's Civil Establishments are contained, in the Order in Council of the loth January, 1910, under the heading of Part II. "12. It shall be competent for the Treasury to direct, should they see cause, that enquiry be made at intervals of not less than five years into the pay and numbers of officers employed by any Department of State." "13. Attendance books shall be kept in every department for the purpose of recording the times of arrival and departure of persons employed therein." " 14. Officers are required to attend not less than seven hours a day, but they shall be allowed a half-holiday on alternate Saturdays, provided that the Head of their Department is satisfied that the progress of public business will not be pre- judiced thereby." For many years there had been an understanding, first intimated, we beheve, so long ago as the time when Lord Palmerston was Prime Minister, that Civil servants in all departments should have a fortnightly half-holiday, subject to the convenience of public business, and to provision being made, each Saturday, for half the staff to leave and for the work to be done by the half remaining on duty : and this arrangement has been very generally carried out ; but it is a distinct advantage to have the privilege *' stereotyped," so to speak, by an Order in Council. "15. It shall be competent for the Head of any Department to call upon any officer of such depart- AN OPEN DOOR 31 ment to retire at any time after reaching the age of sixty on such pension as by the length of his service he is quahfied to receive. Retirement shall be compulsory for any officer on attaining sixty- five years of age. But, in special cases, the Treasury may, at the instance of the Head of a Department, extend an officer's employment for a further period not exceeding five years, on being satisfied that such officer's retirement at sixty-five would be detrimental to the interest of the Public Service." "16. Any officer seeking a seat in the House of Commons shall resign his office so soon as he issues his address to the electors, or, in any other manner, pubhcly announces himself as a candidate." "17. No officer shall be allowed to accept any part in the management of any society, or any trading, commercial, industrial, or financial firm or company which would require the attendance of such officer at any time between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m." This regulation has practically been in force for a good many years. At one time, especially when Civil Servants began to occupy their leisure hours and eke out their incomes by taking part in trade that ultimately led to the institution of the Civil Service Co-operative Societies, strong attempts were made by outside competing traders to suppress them. But Crown employes stoutly maintained that, so long as they performed their official duties efficiently, they were entitled to occupy their leisure hours, or their own time, in any manner they pleased. The jealousy of the professional trader was excited against Civil 32 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Service trading by the obvious advantages offered by the latter to purchasers ; but it was a long time before the professional trader came to recognise that the wiser course was to imitate and not oppose store-keeping, and so soon as the success of great outside store combinations proved to be a success opposition to Civil Service trading ceased. In claiming, as the trading classes did, that it was not fair to them as tax-payers and payers of Civil Service salaries to be rivalled in trade, they claimed too much. Civil Servants are also tax-payers, and income-tax is not voluntarily paid, so to speak, after they receive their incomes, but compulsorily deducted by the State before the incomes are paid to them. Moreover, the Crown pays its servants for a specified daily service represented by a definite number of hours, and it would be inequitable to deprive them of the use, for their further profit, of their own after- time. This view is practically recognised by the Order in Council of the loth January, 1910, as it had been previously recognised by Treasury minutes — the day hours during which any outside business must be excluded being fixed as from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. "18. An annual increment of salary shall not be allowed to any officer at the date at which it would, in ordinary course, become due without a certificate from his immediate superior, counter- signed by the Head of the Department, or such person as he may designate for the purpose, to the effect that the service of such officer, during the year preceding the date of such certificate. AN OPEN DOOR 33 has been approved. Provided that if, at the date when the increment would, in ordinary course, become due, the certificate cannot be given, the Head of the Department may specify a period from the expiration of which, if the officer's service in the meanwhile has been approved, the increment may be allowed, and may from time to time extend the period so fixed. If the officer's service after the grant of the deferred increment shall continue satisfactory, the Head of the Department may, if and when he thinks fit, increase the salary to an amount not exceeding that at which it would have stood if no increment had been withheld or deferred. Every such increase shall be reported to the Comptroller and Auditor-General." The next clause brings us to the important regulation concerning sick-leave, as to which Civil servants are far better circumstanced than most persons in private employ. ''19. Sick-leave may be granted to any officer by the Head of his Department subject to the following conditions, namely: (i) After two days' continuous absence, a certificate by a duly qualified medical practitioner shall be furnished stating the cause of such absence. (2) If the number of days during which any officer is absent in any year without such medical certificate shall exceed seven in the aggregate, the number of days of absence in excess of seven shall be deducted from the amount of ordinary annual hoHdays which may be allowed under this order. (3) Continuous sick- leave on full pay shall not be granted for any period longer than six months, but at the expiration of 34 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE such six months the Head of the Department may, at his discretion, grant further leave, on half- pay, for any period not exceeding six months. After twelve months' continuous sick-leave, no officer shall receive any salary except with the consent of the Treasury, who may, in special circumstances, allow payment of salary to an officer during any further period of sick-leave at a rate not exceeding the amount of pension (if any) for which, at the expiration of twelve months' sick leave the officer would have been qualified. (4) When the sick-leave granted to any officer shall have amounted in the aggregate to twelve months dmring any period of four years or less, and it is desired to grant to him any further sick-leave during such period, the case shall be reported to the Treasury, who shall decide what payment (if any) shall be made to him in respect of salary during such further sick-leave." These regulations indicate, undoubtedly, a liberal pohcy not commonly extended to employes of any kind outside His Majesty's Civil Service. The rules appHcable to permanent officers in His Majesty's Civil Service drawing salaries or placed on scales of salary in excess of those of the Second Division are contained in the Order in Council of the loth of January, 1910, as Part III. " 20. Promotion of officers, to whom Part III of this order applies, from one class to another shall be strictly according to merit, and shall take place sub- ject to the following conditions : (i) That there is a vacancy in the higher class which, under the arrangements sanctioned for the time being by the AN OPEN DOOR 35 Treasury, it is competent for the Head of the Depart- ment to fill ; (2) that the work of the department requires such vacancy to be filled ; and (3) that the officer proposed for promotion has been reported by the Head of his Department or Branch as fit to discharge the duties of the higher office." These " conditions " under which promotions should take place have been ordinarily considered to be assumed, if not always acted upon in some in- stances where promotions have been prompted by feelings of favouritism. It has certainly happened, to the writer's knowledge, that the bhnd and sub- servient obedience on the part of a junior officer to a principal's directions have weighed in favour of that junior's promotion when abler men have been passed over. The formulation, therefore, of a hard-and-fast rule by the Order in Council may have some influence in determining a more strict adherence to absolute impartiahty in the matter of selection. The point we raise is a very important one, and will have more attention in our subsequent chapters on " Abihty " and *' Promotion." We now come to the interesting question of hohdays, dealt with in clause "21. The ordinary annual holidays allowed to officers to whom Part HI of this order applies shall not exceed thirty-six weekdays during each of their first ten years of service, and forty-eight weekdays thereafter, exclusive in all cases of Christmas Day, Good Friday, the King's Birthday, and (subject to the requirements of the Public Service) Bank Holidays : provided that nothing 36 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE in this clause shall affect the rights of existing officers who, under the regulations in force before the 15th day of August, 1890, in the respective departments in which they were then serving, are entitled to hohdays in excess of those herein prescribed." Here again is evidence of the strict observance of rights and privileges once conceded. The rules as to leave formerly varied very considerably in different departments. What were called in London " the West End Offices," such as the Admiralty, the Treasury, and the War Office, were more favoured in respect of leave than the East End offices — the Customs, the Inland Revenue, and the Post Office. The latter and less-favoured departments complained for years that, although they were harder worked, they had less " pay " and less " leave." The equahsation, therefore, of the leave rules as indicated by the new Order in Council is a step in the right direction. Let us look at this leave system as now " regu- larised." It is certainly a Hberal one. Take the " allowance " for the first ten years. Thirty-six clear weekdays, plus four " Bank Holidays," Christmas Day, Good Friday, and the King's Birthday (the last a hohday enjoyed by few persons not in the King's service), and we have forty- three clear weekdays. Add to these twenty-six fort- nightly half-holidays, making thirteen more clear weekdays, and we reach the total of fifty-six annual days — nearly two months and nearly one-sixth of the year. The addition, after the first ten years, of twelve more days, making the annual total of AN OPEN DOOR 37 sixty-eight days' leave, brings it nearly to one-fifth of the year ; whilst, if we add fifty-two Sundays, the grand total of 120 days annually is reached, and that is about four months and within a fraction of one-third of the year. Certainly this cessation from labour in the Civil Service makes a very good " rest." We now come to the rules applicable to the " Second Division " of " His Majesty's Civil Ser- vice," and these come under Chapter I of Part IV of the Order. "22. The Second Division of the Civil Service, as hitherto constituted, shall continue, and shall consist of clerks engaged to serve in any depart- ment of the Civil Service to which they may, from time to time, be appointed or transferred." "23. No department of the Civil Service shaU be permanently increased or regulated afresh without provision being made that such of its duties as are of a suitable character shall be per- formed by clerks of the Second Division or other officers of a rank below that division." "24. No vacancies shall be filled nor any new appointments made in any department, except by appointing clerks of the Second Division, or other officers of a rank below that division, until the Treasury have been satisfied that the number of officers serving in such department with salaries higher than those of the Second Division will not be excessive." From this clause it will be seen that the Second or Lower Division of the Civil Service is to consist of a floating body of Assistants available wherever 38 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE their services may be required. Practically it may happen that they are not always, or often, transferred, but the condition of their appoint- ment, as phrased by clause 22, clearly leaves them no option to object to transfer. The system of transfer is practically a reversion to a plan started many years ago in the Civil Service, and especially adopted in the Customs Department, for making every officer an " all- round man." The idea is probably a little too ambitious, and in some instances official life would be " too short " to complete the all-round man ; and there is always the danger that, after the long interval during which he will have reached the last round of multifarious duties and learnt them by heart, he will have forgotten the first round. Not a few experienced people deem it better — and more productive of really efficient service — to con- centrate an officiars attention upon a smaller number of duties. For the transferee, the position is a very uncomfortable one, and although the man ambitious of " learning a lot " may Hke it, it is doubtful if it produces, in the end, the best results for the pubHc. We now come to that portion of Part IV which is called Chapter II, and this relates to the rules applicable only to clerks of the Second Division who have not been placed on the scale of salary prescribed by clause 28 of the order. What that salary is will be seen presently, when we come to deal with clause 28. Meanwhile we have now reached clause 25, under Chapter II of Part IV of the Order. AN OPEN DOOR 39 "25. The salaries of clerks of the Second Division to whom this chapter applies shall cgmmence at £70 per annum, and shall rise, by annual incre- ments, as follows : — " From ;f7o to £100 by annual increments of £5. " From £100 to £190 by annual increments of £7 los. " From £190 to £250 by annual increments of £10. " The Higher Grade of the Second Division, with salaries commencing at ;£25o per annum and rising by annual increments of £10 to £350, shaD continue only for clerks to whom this chapter apphes." " 26. When the salary of any clerk to whom this chapter apphes reaches £100, a special report, to be officially recorded in writing, on his com- petence, character, and dihgence, shall be required from the Head of the Room and from the Head of the Branch in which the clerk is serving or has served ; and until this report is received and counter- signed by the Head of the Department as satisfactory the clerk shall not receive any further advance in salary. When the salary of any clerk to whom this chapter appHes reaches £190, he shall not receive any further increment, unless he obtains a report, to be officially recorded in writing, from his immediate superior, confirmed by the Head of the Department, that he is thoroughly competent to perform efficiently work of a superior character/' " 27. Promotion to the Higher Grade mentioned in clause 25 of this order shall be made according to merit, and not according to seniority. A pro- motion to the said Higher Grade shall be'made whenever any clerk who remains on the scale of V 40 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE salary prescribed by clause 25 shall reach a salary of £250, if there be a clerk qualified for and deserving of such promotion ; but the Head of a Department may, at any time, recommend, and the Treasury may sanction, as a very exceptional case, the pro- motion to the Higher Grade of a specially meri- torious clerk remaining on the scale of salary pre- scribed by clause 25 who is in receipt of a salary less than £250. When a promotion has been made to the Higher Grade of a clerk other than the clerk who reached the salary of £250, the latter may nevertheless, at the discretion of the Head of his Department, receive promotion to the Higher Grade at or after the date when the clerk who was actually promoted would, in ordinary course, have reached a salary of £250." We will reserve some comments on the very important subjects of " promotion by merit " and promotion by seniority, suggested by this clause 27, until we come to our chapters on " Ability " and " Promotion " respectively. Adverting again, and seriatim, to the Order in Council of January loth, 1910, we come, continuing under Part IV, to rules apphcable to all Second Division Clerks other than those referred to in the preceding chapter. These rules are in Chapter III, which says : — " 28. The Scale of Salary of Second Division Clerks (except as provided in Chapter II of this part of this order) shall commence at £70 per annum, and shall rise by annual increments as follows, viz. — From £yo to £130 by annual incre- ments of £y los. From £130 to £200 by annual AN OPEN DOOR 41 increments of £10, From £200 to £300 by annual increments of £10." *' 29. When the salary of any clerk of the Second Division shall reach the sum of £130, a report in writing on the competence, character, and dihgence of such clerk shall be required from the immediate superior under whom the clerk is serving, and until this report has been countersigned as satisfactory by the Head of the Department, or such officer as he may designate for the purpose, the clerk shall not receive any further increment of salary." "30. No increment of salary beyond £200 per annum shall be allowed to a clerk of the Second Division without a report in writing from his imme- diate superior, countersigned by the Head of the Department, or such officer as he may designate for the purpose, to the effect that such clerk is competent to perform efficiently the highest duties ordinarily assigned to clerks of the Second Division in the department in which he is serving." "31. If, on the first day of April of any year, the salary of any clerk certificated before the first day of April, 1908, but placed on the scale prescribed by clause 28 of this order, shall amount to a sum intermediate between £122 los. and £130, the annual increment of salary accruing next thereafter shall be calculated as the sum of (a) the portion of an increment at the rate of £7 los. per annum proportionate to the period between such first day of April and the date next thereafter upon which (but after his having been placed on the said scale) an increment would have accrued, and [h) the portion of an increment at the rate of 42 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE £10 per annum proportionate to the period between the last-mentioned date and the first day of April next following." This somewhat remarkable " clause 31 " is not brimming over with lucidity, and is almost reminis- cent of the high-salaried official, already alluded to, who propounded the conundrum of " deducting a bad leg from annual leave " ; and the repeated mention of ** April ist " rather suggests a puzzle that might fittingly be put to a candidate upon the First of April. But the matter contained in clause 31 is not of very great importance, and its solution could easily wait until the new entrant is approaching 'the maximum of ;f 130 per annum ; and before he flings himself into the throes of its solution he could devote some portion of his hberal holiday to the task. We now come to " Rules applicable to the whole of the Second Division," and these come into Chapter IV of Part IV. "32. The ordinary annual holidays allowed to Second Division Clerks shall not exceed 14 week- days during each of their first 5 years of service, 21 weekdays during each of their next 10 years of service, and 24 weekdays thereafter, exclusive, in aU cases, of Christmas Day, Good Friday, and the King's Birthday, and (subject to the requirements of the public service) Bank HoHdays. Provided that nothing in this clause shall affect the rights of existing clerks, who, under the regulations in force before the 21st day of March, 1890, in the respective departments in which they were then serving, are entitled to hoHdays in excess of those herein pre- scribed." AN OPEN DOOR 43 "33. Notwithstanding anything contained in clause 28 of this Order the Treasury may, upon the recommendation of the Head of a Department, advance by such amount, not exceeding four annual increments, as they may deem expedient, the salary of any clerk who, having served for not less than 6 years in the Second Division, is reported to be exceptionally meritorious.'* " 34. Any clerk^who is or who has been a Second Division Clerk may be appointed, without a further certificate of qualification, to any clerkship in the Department in which he is serving, provided that (a) such clerkship is not one which is ordinarily filled by open competition under the scheme known as " Class I" or under special regulations; (6) the maximum salary of such clerkship does not exceed ;f5oo per annum; and (c) such clerkship does not lead, in the ordinary course of promotion, to a clerk- ship of which the maximum salary exceeds £500 per annum." ** 35. Any clerk of the Second Division appointed to a minor staff clerkship, the maximum salary of which does not exceed £350 per annum, shall he, in all respects other than that of salary, subject to the regulations governing the Second Division ; and if the maximum of the minor staff clerkship is less than £350 may, at such time after he has attained the said maximum as the Treasury may decide, be placed upon the scale of the Second Division at the point represented by such maximum, and may proceed by the usual annual increments to a maximum of £350, if appointed to the minor staff clerkship before 21st December, 1907, or of 44 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE £300 if appointed to such clerkship after that date." ^ "36. A clerk shall i&fl^e promoted from the Second Division to any«Bpilarrying a maximum salary exceeding £500 s^ear, or leading in the or- dinary course of promotion to posts of which the maximum salary exceeds £500 a year, without a special certificate from the Commissioners, to be granted exceptionally, after not less than 8 years' service, upon a special recommendation from the Head of the Department, and with the approval of the Treasury ; and every such promotion shall be published in The London Gazette, with a note of such recommendation, certificate, and approval, and shall have effect from the date of such pubhcation." " 37. (i) Redundant Second Division Clerks may be transferred from one department to another without reference to their age or the amount of salary of which they are in receipt, (ii) Except in the case of redundancy, no clerk of the Second Division shall be so transferred without the consent of the Commissioners, (iii) The consent of the Commis- sioners and the approval of the Treasury shaU be required to the making redundant of any Second Division Clerk who has been appointed to that division on the ground that his retention in a par- ticular department was necessary." The question of Examination of Candidates for the Second Division and assignment of Second Division Clerks forms the subject of Chapter V of Part IV. " 38. The Commissioners shall, at fixed intervals, or whenever they may, with the approval of the AN OPEN DOOR 45 Treasury, decide it to be necessary, hold competitive examinations for clerkshkps of the Second Division in such subjects, and jfcder such regulations as they, with the approji^B^he Treasury, may from time to time prescribe." ^ "39. Lists of the successful competitors shall be made out, in the order of merit, up to the number required, if so many are found by the Commissioners to be quahfied for appointment to the Second Division. In ascertaining the order of merit, such allowance may be made as the Commissioners, with the approval of the Treasury, may from time to time prescribe in respect of previous service as registered Boy Clerk." "40. From hsts made out as aforesaid, the Com- missioners, in the appHcation of departments, may assign clerks for permanent or temporary service. Assignment shall, as a general rule, be made by the Commissioners according to the order of the names on the list, an older hst taking precedence over a more recent Hst. Provided that : (i) They may assign to any department any unassigned successful competitor who has shown special quali- fications in any particular subject included in the scheme of examination, if special apphcation for a clerk so qualified be made by that department ; (ii) If a successful competitor has at the date of the commencement of the competition served as a Boy Clerk or Assistant Clerk ('* Abstractor ") for not less than 6 full months in a department, he may, on the apphcation of the Head of that Department, be specially assigned thereto." " 41. Under conditions to be settled by the 46 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Commissioners, with the approval of the Treasury, successful competitors will be allowed, subject to the requirements of the Pubhc Service, to select the departments in which they may prefer to serve ; but any successful competitor refusing to serve in the department to which he is assigned may be removed from the hst/' *' 42. On a successful competitor being assigned to a department his name shall be removed from the list. If the assignment has been for temporary service, the clerk's name shall be restored to the list on the termination of such service, if approved ; but the Commissioners may assign any clerk, who is serving temporarily in a department, to a per- manent clerkship therein." "43. A Second Division Clerk shall be regarded as accepted by a department to which he has been assigned for permanent service when he has com- pleted 12 months' continuous service in that depart- ment, unless the Commissioners are informed by the Head of his Department that he has not afforded satisfactory proof of his fitness in accordance with the provisions of clause 6 of this order. A Second Division Clerk shall not, except for grave misconduct, be rejected on probation till he has served format least 3 months in the department to which he has been assigned. If a Second Division Clerk is rejected on probation by the department to which he has been assigned, the Head of the Department shall report to the Commissioners the reasons for his rejection, and the Commissioners shall decide whether the rejected clerk shall be finally discharged, or shall be reassigned for service in another depart- AN OPEN DOOR 47 ment. In the event of the rejected Second Division clerk being reassigned as aforesaid, the Com- missioners shall decide whether his previous service should be reckoned, with or without con- ditions, towards increment of salary. If they decide that his service should not be so reckoned, the fact and the conditions, if any, shall be notified by the Commissioners to the Comptroller and Auditor- General." We now arrive at the rules apphcable to situations or employments below the Second Division, and these in the Order in Council of the loth of January, 1910, constitute those explained and referred to by Part V. " 44. Below the Second Division persons may be employed for copjdng, routine work under direct supervision, or other work inferior to that of clerks of the Second Division, in accordance with regula- tions framed from time to time by the Commis- sioners with the approval of the Treasury and at rates of pay from time to time prescribed by the Treasury." "45. An established Civil Servant of a rank below the Second Division may be appointed to that division on the ground of special merit with a certificate from the Commissioners under clause 7 of this Order. But such certificate shall only be granted exceptionally after not less than 6 years' estabhshed service (towards which not less than one year's and not more than 2 years' approved service as registered Boy Clerk may be allowed to reckon) upon a recommendation from the Head of the De- partment and with the approval of the Treasury. 48 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Whenever such an appointment is made, the Treasury may allow the person appointed to enter the scale of the division at such salary as they shall think fit, not being higher than that he was receiving at the date of his said appointment ; and he shall be entitled to the same amount of annual hohday as if his previous estabhshed service had been in the Second Division/' "46. A clerk of the class known as ' Assistant Clerks ' or ' Abstractors ' may, with the consent of the Commissioners, be transferred from one depart- ment to a similar situation in another, without a further certificate of quaUfication." Upon a general review of the forty-six clauses of the comprehensive Order in Council of the loth January, 1910, it will be seen what enormous advantages are now open to any who may desire to enter a Government service second to none in the whole of the Home Country. There is no more honourable career attainable, and the best posts are practically within the reach of all candidates with the requisite health and character and possessed of adequate abihty. IV NOMINATION APPOINTMENTS As we have intimated, and as the open-competition Order in Council — fully quoted in the preceding chapter — will have shown, there are still some "Crown Preserves," as they may be described; but although they are spoken of as appointments made directly by the Crown, the Sovereign has, in reality, very httle to do with them. Royal Com- missionerships are, it is true, made by Royal Warrant signed by the King, who is made, in the form of appointment, personally to address the appointees ; but they are really made on the advice of one of His Majesty's Ministers. The appointing Minister is practically, of course, understood to exercise a just discretion in making the recom- mendations ; and never before — so much as in the present day — have the capabilities of candidates been more scrupulously and more severely criticised. The House of Commons, for instance, is ever ready to scent a " job " in connection with the appointments to Government posts ; and either the responsible appointing Minister, or the First Lord of the Treasury, who is generally, but not always, the Prime Minister for the time being in office, is pretty sure to be " riddled " in *' the House " at question-time, if there is the sHghtest apparent irregularity, or E 49 50 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE anything possibly savouring of favouritism, in the filling of purely ** nomination " vacancies in the Public Service. Those who, like the present writer, have been " behind the scenes " know perfectly well that personal influence and political support are large factors in determining selections, and smiles have often suffused the faces of those " who know " at the, frequently, specious and plausible *' explana- tions " that serve to " quiet " enquiring members if they do not satisfy them. When a particular appointment is made to a specified post, it is, of course, always alleged by the appointing Minister that, to the best of his abihty, he had selected the best candidate. It is, however, obvious that a good many persons who do not secure selection are equally hkely to be as competent as the one chosen. Indeed, as a matter of fact, a lot of candidates equally meritorious go in for the same appointment. It may therefore be assumed that, ceteris paribus, the one with the most " in- fluence " is hkely to win. The author, in this connection, recalls a per- sonal experience. A new appointment had been created that seemed hkely to develop into a depart- ment of its own and to offer a very good chance in the way of future prospects. Chancing to know the appointing Minister, he applied direct to him for the post, in the first instance, alleging " claims " and qualifications that he thought the Minister would recognise. As a matter of fact, he did recog- nise them, and readily and promptly wrote to say that he had " much pleasure " in placing the present NOMINATION APPOINTMENTS 51 writer's name " on the list " — that is to say, the nomination hst. It is something to get there. Also the Minister promised '' the best consideration.'* But this applicant, knowing how such things are managed or *' worked," was not content with the suave assurance referred to. The Minister's most powerful constituent was under some obhga- tion to the writer and readily wrote a strong letter of support to the application. One other individual, however, carried "a few more guns," presumably, than the writer ; and that individual got the post. The present writer got only the following perhaps flattering letter, written by the Cabinet Minister himself : — "... Department. " My dear Sir, " Your name was one of two that I selected for consideration from a large number of candidates for the . . . appointment ; but on carefully going into the matter I felt obliged to come to the con- clusion that I must give the appointment to . . . because I found that he had had some experience of the kind of work required in the new post." This, of course, was merely the official " excuse " for giving the appointment to a man who had been able to bring a httle more " influence " to bear upon the Cabinet Minister. The work only required a reasonable amount of abihty, discretion, and what may be termed '* intelligence," and as the same Cabinet Minister had previously told the writer, in reference to another matter — brought before the Prime Minister — that should the latter refer to him 52 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE he should have much pleasure in saying what he knew of the writer's abihties, as to which, he volun- teered, he " had a very high opinion," it was clear that he was not disqualified for the post within the gift of the then appointing Minister, who had " felt obliged," finally, to select " the other man." It has ever been the same, and it will always continue to be the same. Ceteris paribus, as we have said, the man selected for a post that is not within the category of those thrown open — to all of His Majesty's subjects who comply with the necessary age, character, health, and competitive ability — is pretty sure to be the one who can bring the greatest amount of " influence '* to bear. Not always, we admit, is this the case. There are strictly conscientious Ministers who will make their selection wholly regardless of pressure brought to bear upon them by pohticians who demand and insist upon reward for pohtical services. A Lord Chancellor, in fact, recently gave great offence to the political wire-pullers of his party because he insisted that his selections for the magistracy should be made quite independently of party considera- tions ; but such extreme rectitude is, we are very much afraid, a somewhat rare commodity, although it is a commodity that should be highly commended. V EXPERT QUALIFICATIONS There is no doubt that a large discretion is vested in the hands of the Treasury in making it " lawful " for that somewhat unique body, as already men- tioned, to grant to any persons specially selected on account of exceptional qualifications, exemption from examination by the Civil Service Commis- sioners. According to the wording of that part of the Order in Council of the loth January, 19 lo, the discretion appears to be jointly left to the decision of the Head of the Department, in which the candi- date with exceptional qualifications is to be em- ployed, the Treasury, and the Civil Service Com- missioners ; but, no doubt, the Treasury, in such cases, exercises the controlling power, even in in- stances where the Head of the Department controls the patronage, such, for instance, as the President of the Local Government Board in nominating medical men for appointments on its medical staff. As must be gathered from the wording of the clause of the Order in Council dealing with the matter, although the Head of the Department concerned may nominate a candidate, the sufficiency of that candidate's qualifications for the post must be settled to the satisfaction of the Treasury and the Civil Service Commissioners. 53 54 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE As the clause in question is very interesting and important we may as well quote it again. It says (clause 7 of the order) : " In case the Head of a Department, to which a situation belongs, and the Treasury shall consider that the qualifications in respect of knowledge and ability deemed requisite for such situations are wholly or in part professional, or otherwise peculiar, and not ordinarily to be acquired in the Civil Service, and the Head of the Department shall propose to appoint thereto a person who has acquired such qualifications in other pursuits, or in case the Head of the Department and the Treasury shall consider that it would be for the public interest that the prescribed examina- tion and the rules in regard to age should be wholly or partially dispensed with, the Commissioners may, if they think fit, dispense with such examinations, wholly or partially, and with such rules in regard to age, and may grant their certificate of qualifica- tion upon evidence satisfactory to them that the said person is fully qualified in respect of age, health, character, and knowledge and ability.'* " If they think fit," is a phrase that might seem to leave the power of assenting, or refusing, wholly with the Civil Service Commissioners ; but it is practically understood that the decision lies with the three authorities — the initiating Department concerned, the Treasury, and the Commissioners. Taking, for example, the case of a medical man, only a registered practitioner would be selected for an important Government medical post, and such an individual would, of course, be furnished with his diplomas, only granted after the most EXPERT QUALIFICATIONS 55 severe *' examination " by the Examiners of the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Physicians. It is therefore perfectly right that these certificates of competence and ability should be accepted by the Civil Service Commissioners, who, in fact, are not legally empowered to grant medical certificates. Then again, a doctor, or a lawyer (certificated in the same exclusive manner), or other professional man may have acquired, in the exercise of his profession, a distinguished reputation for expert skill. Should such especial ability be required for the service of the Crown in any department, it would be absurd to submit him to an examination by such a " lay " body as the Civil Service Com- missioners. Whether the very best choice is always made under the system of independent selection is a matter for question. As professional posts are very much sought after for their special pay, impor- tance, and retirement allowances, their acquisition is sure to be made a matter of *' influence," and in such a contest the best men do not necessarily win. Section 9 of the Superannuation Act of 1859 gives to the Treasury a discretion which may be very beneficial for those Civil servants who enter as experts in the manner already explained. It will be interesting to quote this section of the very important Act referred to. " It shall be lawful," section 9 runs, " for the Commissioners of the Treasury to grant to any person any superannuation, compensation, gratuity, or other allowance of greater amount than the 56 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE amount which might be awarded to him under the foregoing provisions, when special services ren- dered by such person, and requiring special re- ward, shall appear to them to justify such increase ; but so that such allowance shall in no case exceed the salary and emoluments enjoyed by the grantee at the time of the retirement, and the grounds of every such increase shall be stated in a minute to the Treasury, which shall be laid before Parlia- ment ; and it shall be lawful for the said Com- missioners " (of the Treasury) " to grant to any person any such allowance of less amount than otherwise would have been awarded to him when his faults or demerit in relation to the public service appear to them to justify such diminution." The section we have just quoted from is therefore double-edged. It enables the Head of a Department to reward — specially — real or alleged *' superior merit," or to punish real or alleged demerit. As to the latter, we recall at least one instance in which the Head of a Department vindictively punished a Civil servant on the presumed ground of demerit — the real reason for the punishment being that the Civil servant in question had successfully appealed against unjust treatment to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who had ordered the Head to promote him. At the time of this unusual compulsion the vindictive chief was the junior of three "Heads" of the Department ; but he nursed his vengeance until such time as the Chancellor of the Exchequer referred to had retired, and the Third Commissioner had become chairman. Then it was that he seized the opportunity of prematurely forcing the unjustly- EXPERT QUALIFICATIONS 57 treated official out of the service upon a reduced pension. The present writer is quite prepared to give " chapter and verse " for his statement. Personal dislikes and animosities as well as personal favouritism are unfortunately a part of human nature, and they are as much associated with the Government Service as with other occupa- tions. There is, and always has been, a supreme danger in the operation of the system of what is called *' promotion by merit." It is certain that the really meritorious are not always selected for promotion ; and the exercise of the discretion of a Chief ought to be surrounded by greater safeguards than it is. We shall have more to say upon this point in our chapter on " Promotion." Meanwhile there is a good deal of truth in the old saying about " giving a dog a bad name and hanging him." It is just as easy — and the plan to our knowledge is too often adopted — as giving a dog a good name and — promoting him. The right thing is very often done, but the wrong thing is by no means un- frequently " perpetrated." VI AGE LIMITS There is a very rigid and proper observance of the rules as to the ages of candidates who desire admission to the Civil Service, and the limits laid down are strictly insisted on by the responsible authority, the Civil Service Commissioners. The age of a candidate is not taken from his statement, but must be evidenced by a proper and official certificate of birth. Before the era of the Registrar- General, baptismal records and other — more or less authentic — data were relied upon for the required *' proof," such as entry in a family Bible ; and there were a not inconsiderable number of evasions and misrepresentations as to age. It did not much matter perhaps, in those days, when influence was everything and qualification of minor importance. If people, educationally unfit for appointment, were selected for posts, their age was not of much consequence ; but now with an official register in every case the production of a certified copy of the registration is a sine qua non. There have been, in recent years, some attempts made to equalise the age limits for different depart- ments where the age requirements were the same ; but even now a good deal of quite unnecessary difference is maintained. For clerkships Class I, 58 AGE LIMITS 59 open to competition without nomination, the mini- mum age for new entrants is twenty-two and the maximum twenty-four ; but the age-limits for clerkships of the Second Division are seventeen and twenty — in both instances, however, extend- able under certain conditions. Boy-clerks, of course, come in earlier, being admitted at fifteen, but not after the sixteenth year is reached, except under certain conditions. Assistant clerks, or " Abstrac- tors " as they are officially called, can come in when seventeen, but not after eighteen. What were for- merly called '* Assistants " of Customs and Excise, but are now described as " Officers of Customs and Excise," are admitted at nineteen, and are too old after twenty-one, except under certain conditions. In the Post Office the ages for male sorters are eighteen to thirty, and for female sorters fifteen and eighteen are the limits. One would naturally think that for so simple a duty as sorting letters the same age might be fixed for both sexes, and that the difference of three years for one limit and twelve for the other is not necessary. In the Admiralty again, whilst seventeen and twenty-five are fixed for Cartographers in the Hydrographic Department, eighteen and twenty-five are the limits in the Nautical Almanack Office. Then again, whilst assistants in the Royal Observatory at Greenwich can come in at twenty-one and on from that age to thirty, an assistant at the Royal Observatory at Edinburgh can enter at the same age, but the superior limit is fixed at twenty-five instead of thirty. In the Office of Woods the limits of age are nineteen and twenty-three for second-class clerk- 6o THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE ships ; and yet no clerk is admitted unless he has had three years' experience in a solicitor's office. In other cases, where preliminary outside experience is required, both the minimum and the maximum ages are extended, and very properly so, for it is probable that a youth does not often get three years of valuable business experience before the age of nineteen, and the perfunctory copying of docu- ments in a solicitor's office of one who is little more than a boy-clerk cannot be of much solid value in a Government department. Where those ap- pointed to Government posts are expected to possess expert professional knowledge, acquired before their entrance, it is quite right to fix both the minimum and the maximum age at higher figures ; yet in these there seems quite unnecessary variation, as the following examples will show, of the ages fixed in the case of professional or semi- professional positions. Twenty-one and thirty, twenty-two and thirty, twenty-three and twenty- eight, twenty-four and fifty, twenty-five and thirty-five, twenty-five and forty, twenty-five and forty-five, twenty-five and fifty, twenty-eight and forty, thirty and forty-five, and so on. We may remark that greater similarity would be a distinct advantage, and a saving of great disappointment to candidates who may lose the chance of appoint- ments from inability to remember the differences. VII CHARACTER REQUIREMENTS The Civil Service of His Majesty would not have the high reputation it bears but for the strict investigation made into the character of all who desire to serve under Government ; and this is a point to which the Civil Service Commissioners direct their particular attention. This chapter will be a very short, but a very important one. It is formally referred to in the already-quoted Order in Council of the loth January, 1910, and is dealt with in Part I, clause 3, amongst the " conditions " under which " the qualifications of all such persons as may seek or be proposed for appointment, either permanently or temporarily, to any situation or employment in any of His Majesty's Civil Establish- ments shall, before they are so appointed, be tested by or under the directions of the said Commis- sioners." Before the Commissioners will issue their own certificate, without which no appointment can be made, they must themselves be "satisfied." Whilst the Civil Service Commissioners may, as already shown, under the provisions of clause 7 of the Order in Council of the loth January, 1910, dispense, in certain circumstances, with the qualifi- cations in respect of knowledge and ability where the qualifications in those respects are wholly or in 61 62 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE part professional, or otherwise peculiar, and not ordinarily to be acquired in the Civil Service, and consider that it would be for the public interest that the prescribed examination and the rules in regard to age should be wholly or in part dispensed with, they cannot and will not dispense with the strict condition as to character. Even where, as in some instances is no doubt the case, the satisfactoriness of character is ascertained, as it frequently would be, by enquiry beforehand by the Head of the Depart- ment who nominates for appointments not subject to open competition, the Commissioners would have to be " satisfied " — for clause 7, in its last sentence, says that they " may grant " their certificate of qualification in the cases covered by clause 7 *' upon evidence satisfactory to them that the said person " (coming in with the special professional or other exemptions) " is fully qualified in respect of age, health, character, and knowledge and ability.'^ What the Civil Service Commissioners require in regard to character is that the candidate shall first state whether and for how long he may have been employed elsewhere, and he must name as one of his " references " his previous employer. In other cases — where there has been no previous employment — ^reference to a schoolmaster is per- mitted, and the counter-signature of a magistrate or of a clergyman of the Established or Roman Catholic Church may be required, unless the referee is himself a magistrate or clergyman. Free- dom from debt must also be proved, and offence against the Revenue Laws would make a candidate inadmissible. CHARACTER REQUIREMENTS 63 The proof that these enquiries and certificates as to character have attained their end is best shown by the fact that, with rare exceptions, members of the British Civil Service have seldom been proved dishonest, and that they bear honourable reputations second to none in any profession in the world. VIII EDUCATIONAL STATUS NEEDED The real " rocks ahead " for the would-be entrant to His Majesty's Civil Service are the examination papers. They do not look like rocks, as the small printed " leaflets," as they may be called, lie on the examination table. It is when they come to be discussed that the rockiness of them emerges : then it is easily seen where " brains " (the modem qualification) versus *' patronage " (the old require- ment) tell. Abihty to pass a particular examination does not necessarily imply the best capacity for the actual work to be done in the Service, and it has, not perhaps very infrequently, happened that the *' scorers " in the most difficult examinations have not turned out to be the best possible Civil servants. Still, a test of some sort must be applied — the " subjects " of examination have ordinarily been selected as the best likely to give a criterion of capability for the work of the particular depart- ment for which the *' list " of subjects is set, and on the whole it must be admitted that great success has attended the efforts of the Civil Service Com- mission since its establishment in 1855. For what are called " specimen *' examination papers — the plans of which may from time to time 64 EDUCATIONAL STATUS NEEDED 65 vary — the best course for a candidate is to obtain, at a not very large cost, the latest Annual Report of the Civil Service Commissioners, as in that Report is printed a considerable number of papers quite up-to-date in the matter of the method of putting questions. We must not forget the " Crammer," as he is rather disrespectfully called, or "the Coach" — the Agent, in short, who opens a school for forcing the necessary quantity of intellectual food into the mind — or shall it be more fittingly said the intellec- tual stomach ? — of the aspirant for employment under Government and then carrying him "through" — hence, perhaps, the nicknames of " Crammer " and " Coach." The candidate, however, must not forget that there is really no " Royal Road " to success, although the " Coaches " may tell him there is if he suffers himself to be led by them. We by no means desire to disparage the services of the clever gentlemen who undertake — and frequently with a great deal of success — to bring a candidate " through." They are undoubtedly adepts at their work. They know well what are called " the ropes " likely to lead a candidate along the right track. They prevent him, no doubt, from wasting time — by setting him to learn only what may be most required, and they make this road as easy as possible. It must, however, be frankly said that the Civil Service *' Coach " really does largely defeat the purpose of the examinations. They are obviously intended to gauge a man's general educational fitness, not to put particular questions, on indicated 66 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE subjects that a candidate may be able to anticipate, or the '' Coach '* niay be able to anticipate for him. In so far as the " Coach " knows and communicates to his client, the candidate, the best textbooks for enabling any subject to be quickly acquired — and that is where his value comes in — ^he fulfils a very useful purpose ; but if it be his object to make an art of dodging questions, then his action is mischievous. There is undoubtedly an element of chance in these examinations. A candidate may have set to him questions on parts of the subject that he has particularly well got up. Then he is decidedly lucky. On the other hand, he may have exhaustively studied one phase of, say, EngHsh History, English Geography, or Arithmetic, and the particular ques- tions set may take other branches — that the candi- date had not considered so important — of the subjects named. Then he might be ** floored.'' The present writer determined to avoid any help from '* Coaching." He took some advice as to the best textbooks to give him the clearest general knowledge of the required " subjects," and then set resolutely to work to get these well up. Someone advised, for instance, a book that one does not hear much of in these days — Bishop Colenso's Arith- metic. He laboured right through it, and " did " all the hard " miscellaneous questions " at the end of the book. This proved of enormous help as a general mental exercise, and brought him out well in " marks " for Arithmetic. Then the paper set for the subject of English Geography was an outline map of Great Britain with absolutely nothing on EDUCATIONAL STATUS NEEDED 67 it but the coast outline. The candidate was requested on this blank outline figure to mark in the position of the principal towns, to trace the course of the principal rivers, and to indicate the bays and headlands. Having all through '' endeavoured,** by unflagging industry, to master everything he could in all the subjects, he was prepared for this one, and came through the particular paper set with a good array of marks. Another subject that might not seem to be very important was what was called " Separate Addition," a perfectly simple paper being given ; but merit was to be marked by rapidity and accuracy. Twelve huge addition sums were set — most of the lines ending with 19s. iifd. for the shillings and pence. On the paper was printed : *' You are requested to do as many of these sums as you can in the time allowed — half an hour " — the inference being that one was not expected to do them all in that time. Now this happened to be a subject to our liking, and we started upon it with a sort of sporting instinct. To have attempted to check the work over after once putting down the totals would have been fatal to mark-getting for time. So we deter- mined not to attempt to check, but to go once only over the sums and " chance " their being correct. The mental strain of such an effort is greater than might be supposed. We, however, got and inserted our twelve totals in fifteen minutes. We noticed, with some amusement and satisfaction, the surprise of the other candidates in the room as we turned to hand the paper to the examiner, who made at once a note upon it of the time taken. Others handed in 68 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE the completed paper appreciably later, and some had not finished the " summing " at the end of the half- hour. Our paper chanced to be abso- lutely correct, and we were accorded the maximum number (fifty) of marks for it. We merely give these examples to show the intending candidate that the only thing likely to secure certain success is indefatigable hard work. Those who desire to succeed in getting into the Civil Service in an open examination may use a " Coach " as much as they like as a sort of extraneous aid ; but it will be fatal to put their full trust in anyone but themselves. Sheer hard work, we repeat, perseverance, dogged persistence, and deter- mination to succeed are the only reliable factors of success. They must in this, as in other things, remember that *' God helps those who help them- selves.'* IX HEALTH CONDITIONS The question of health, it will readily be understood, is a most important one. Clause 3 of Part I of the Order in Council of the loth January, 19 10, phrases it in its second *' condition " upon which a candidate must satisfy the Civil Service Commissioners, to enable them to certify as to his bodily as well as his intellectual fitness for employment under Government. This condition is : ** That he is free from any physical defect or disease which would be likely to interfere with the proper discharge of his duties." In the first place, a candidate must himself pro- duce a certificate, signed by a properly qualified Medical Man, certifying as to his health ; but this is not sufficient, and the Medical Officer of the department to which he is appointed must also be satisfied, by examination, as to the candidate's physical soundness. The most complete satisfaction, however, as to health is not, of course, a permanent safeguard. All sorts of things may happen to break down the health of a Civil Servant. Possibly the very nature of his employment may lead to bad health, and strenuous work may easily cause a collapse. There is this comfort for the entrant : the regulations as 69 70 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE to sick-leave are very liberal, and full pay is given for six months even when the illness is continuous. In this respect the Service of the Crown contrasts very favourably with many other occupations. Some private employers are very liberal in allowing pay during sickness ; but a very large number of them give no payment whatever except for active work. Liberal, however, as are the " Sick Regulations " in the Government Service, there is no doubt that liberality in this respect pays the Crown. It induces good service when the conditions are generous ; and so it works out for the public advantage. STARTING THE SERVICE CAREER The gratification of " passing " — especially after a long and severe examination, where the proportion of candidates to vacancies is seldom less than three to one, and for some subordinate positions in the Post Office thirty or forty to one — is very con- siderable. In the case of open competition a natural feeling of pride may be entertained at having obtained what is solely due to one's own ability and effort. With a sound mind in a sound body, at the start, there should then be a fine prospect in front of the new entrant, and to reach the goal of greatest success will depend entirely upon himself. Should any rules and regulations for the conduct of its employes be issued by any department, these should be carefully studied and carried out with scrupulous exactness. Where the public have access to an office — that is to say in offices which are open for public enquiry — it has sometimes been made a cause of complaint that brusqueness, or other discourtesy, has marked the conduct of the officials. Some years ago it was made the cause of special complaint, shortly after the commencement of the experiment of employing female assistants in post offices, that these " young 71 72 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE ladies/' as they could not, however, with strict truthfulness, in every case be styled, were very indifferent in their demeanour towards the public. It is related that one day an elderly gentleman walked into a Post Office and tried to attract the attention — in order to make an enquiry — of one of the female assistants behind the office counter. The girl, however, was engaged in particular, but quite unofficial, conversation with a young man outside the counter ; and she paid no attention to the elderly gentleman. The latter at length remon- strated, but the girl retorted : " Who are you then ? " He replied, " I happen to be Lord , Post- master-General, and you will hear more about this matter.'* The result was dismissal from her post ! Not very long after this incident a subsequent Postmaster-General felt compelled to issue a very politely worded but significant " Circular " especially addressed to the " young lady " assistants in the Post Office : and the result, ever since, has been a marked change in the demeanour of these assis- tants. There is no excuse for discourtesy of any kind, and we believe that under the new regime it is very much less shown than it used to be in some offices under the old patronage system. As education was then largely dispensed with, it was perhaps thought that manners, as a part of education, could be equally dispensed with. Our own observation has shown us that, as a general rule, where polite- ness was adopted by the public, in asking for infor- STARTING THE SERVICE CAREER 73 mation, similar politeness was shown in giving that information. The public are by no means non-offenders in this respect, and an amusing instance is related in connection with a well-known public man who began his career in the Diplomatic Service. Sitting one day in the office of the English Ambassador at Washington, a Yankee came in, and, walking up to the clerk, shouted loudly and rudely : " I want to see the ' Boss,' young man ! " (mean- ing the Minister). The clerk replied : " I am sorry to say he is not in. Will you see me? " " Oh ! " exclaimed the stranger angrily, " you won't do. I must see the 'Boss.' I'll wait till he does come in ! " " Very well. Please take a seat ! " and one was shown him at the side of the room close to a window looking out upon the gravelled " drive " leading up to the ambassadorial office. The day's newspaper was also politely handed to the stranger, who was assured that he could not fail to see the Ambas-. sador when he came in, as he would enter at the gate seen from the window and come straight on to the office door. The visitor took little interest in the paper, but kept glancing out impatiently towards the gate. After doing this for about an hour and a half, he bounced to his feet again and, for the first time asking a question, cried : " Look here, young man, when do you think the ' Boss ' will be in ? " 74 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE " Well," answered the clerk, " let me see— he went to Canada yesterday, and I expect him back in about three weeks ! " Good speech and good manners are most essential, if selection for promotion is desired, and in very many instances clever and, in all ways, sufficient knowledge of the actual work of a department do not alone suffice for advancement. The aspirating of vowels and the dropping of the unfortunate h (unfortunate to be so often dropped) may prove absolute bars to selection for promotion. It is the same practically in many services. The porters who are selected for Stationmasters, and the policemen who get chosen for Inspectors, the common soldiers who rise from the ranks to Com- missions, are often rather the well-spoken, well- mannered men than the best porters, policemen, and soldiers. The " Admirable Crichtons " are, no doubt, those most likely to succeed, but " man- ners " nevertheless count for a great deal. XI PUNCTUALITY In most Government Offices punctuality in attend- ance is strictly enforced, and what are called " appearance sheets " are kept to attest the times of arrival and departure. The clerk or other officer on arriving in the morning is required to " sign on/' placing the hour of arriving, either on a ruled and headed sheet or in a book, against his name in full in the first or a.m. column, and recording the hour of departure and his initials in the second or p.m. column of the book. A few minutes of " grace " are allowed after the exact arrival time, but not exceeding ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, and then the sheets or books are taken into the room of the Principal and late-arriving " defaulters " have to satisfy that functionary that the unpunctu-- ality has been unavoidably occasioned. The late- comer may be required to append the exact time of his arrival, and that forms a record against him which, if repeatedly made, may seriously affect his promotion. If he signs within the, say, ten minutes* period of " grace," he does not sign the exact time. For 10.9, for instance, he would sign 10. Many more or less flimsy excuses are made for lateness, but the principal of the branch of the department is soon able to " diagnose " these. 75 76 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Some men are very regular in their irregularity. They are the " always - late " ones, and as un- punctuality is a distinct evidence of business weakness or inaptitude, repeated offences are sure to tell against promotion. An amusing instance is recorded of the famous Charles Lamb, who at one time was a clerk in the Customs. Called in for reprimand by his principal for his continual lateness, he said : " I know that I do sometimes come late, sir, but you must please remember that I always go early ! " Comical scenes may, not unfrequently, be seen outside Principals' rooms in Government Offices where the appearance-sheet, or book, is rigorously insisted on. Frantic and habitual " late-comers " are seen dashing at the messengers taking in the accusing paper, to intercept it and put the names down before the austere eye of the " head " is brought to bear upon it. We have known cases of forgery, where friendly colleagues, to save " wiggings," have put in names and the proper hour for absent ones. But these are dangerous devices, as it may happen that the absent one is sick and will not turn up at all, so that the friendly fraud is discovered. A reputation for the most rigorous punctuality is one that will " pay " the new entrant to the ranks of His Majesty's Civil Service. It will very soon stick to him. Some men are so marvellously regular that watches are compared and set by the times when they are passing certain points. Our late King Edward VII, of genial memory, set a PUNCTUALITY 77 good example always in the matter of punctuality, walking into any place where he had arranged to appear in pubHc to the fraction of a minute of the exact time. Let us commend his example to young entrants to the service. XII ,«^. ABILITY It was Mr. Micawber, we believe, who came to the conclusion that ability was not required in the Customs Department, and hence the reason for his not obtaining employment in it. He did not, we think, express any opinion as to other depart- ments. Civil Service " heads " seem to prefer the word merit to ability, and the expression " pro- motion by merit " is one that is honoured by a good deal of use. We are afraid that the act indi- cated by the expression is subject to a not in- appreciable amount of abuse, for when once it comes into play, controlled by no safeguard, the door is opened for any amount of personal favouritism that can shelter itself under the pro- fession that selections made for the advancement of particular individuals are made solely in the public interests. There is no doubt whatever that during, say, the past half-century a very considerable number of promotions have been made that, upon careful investigation, would be open to a great deal of question. The old seniority plan, though it may sometimes have worked badly, was on the whole, we think, much fairer than the " promotion by merit " 78 ABILITY 79 system as it has actually been carried out. Seniority, of course, was determined, not by the age of the entrant, but by the date of his entrance into an office. There might be five years of difference between two men entering an office at the same date. One of the two might have come in at the minimum age, say nineteen, and the other at the maximum age, say twenty-four. Seniority in such a case would, at the start, be determined by the position on the examination list, and that position would be regulated by the total marks received in the examination. Sup- posing A, nineteen years of age, had received for the various subjects of examination looo marks, and B, twenty-four years of age, 950 marks or any number short of 1000, both totals of coiurse being within the *' winning numbers," then the younger A would take precedence of B in whatever depart- ment they chanced to enter together ; but only if they did enter the same department. Assuming the office they entered had a rising scale of salaries — under systems that used to be in force — arranged in, say, six classes as follows : sixth class, £75 P^r annum and £^ per annum automatically to a maximum of £100 per annum ; fifth class, £105 minimum and £5 per annum to £120 ; fourth class, £130 per annum minimum by annual rises of £10 to £150 maximum ; third class, £160 by £10 per annum to £180 ; second class, £190 and £10 per annimi to £220 ; and first class, ^^230 and £10, £12 los., or £15 per annum to £300, £320, or £350 maximum. As vacancies occurred by retirement, by resigna- tion, superannuation, or death, all below the 8o THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE position vacated would move up a step. If the vacancy, for instance, occurred in the first class, there would be five promotions — one from the second to the first class, one from the third to the second class, one from the fourth to the third class, one from the fifth to the fourth, and one from the sixth to the fifth. According to the seniority rule, the one on the top of each class would be the one for promotion, provided his conduct had been good enough to entitle him to his regular automatic annual rises. Sometimes it might be found that whilst he had shown such an average amount of aptitude as not to disqualify him for his annual rises, each one of which would be subject to good conduct, he had not shown sufficient " zeal " to qualify him for promotion to the next class. Then the man next to him, if considered more " zealous," would pass over his head, as the fa^on de parley expressed it. Ordinarily, however, — unless an officer is no- toriously bad, subject to drinking habits — a rather rare vice in the Civil Service — or persistently un- punctual or indolent — ^he may come within the annual reputation of being " capable and atten- tive," and get his annual rises and also his pro- motion from class to class ; and the great merit of this system, which on the whole, where adopted, worked very well, has been its production of con- tentment. Some principals, however, will not allow seniority to count at all, but insist upon making a selection from all the members of a class to the class above. Then ensue endless heart-burnings ABILITY 8i and discontent, along with an uneasy general feeling that justice will not be done, and that serious loss of promotion may occur through the whim or prejudice of a chief. There is, unfortunately, no Civil Service Court of Appeal, and until there is and the sole discretion as to what is or what is not " abihty " or " merit " rests with principals of departments, the door will always be open either to favouritism or to unjust prejudice against those whom a chief may chance personally to dislike. XIII INDUSTRY There is no doubt that the greatest factor conducing to success in the Civil Service, as in most other occu- pations, is unflagging industry. We do not, of course, mean a merely active or energetic disposi- tion to work, unmixed with any sort of capacity ; but assuming, say, a reasonable amount of capacity — ^good sense, discretion, and tact being included in what we call capacity — the industry will " tell." A man's knowledge — which, after all, is very largely a mere matter of memory — a good memory auto- matically retaining what a good book or oral instruc- tion has once taught — a man's knowledge, we say, tested on subjects calculated to be useful in his service career, will have given him sufficient in- formation to prevent a display of lamentable ignorance in carrying on the work that may be entrusted to him. Assuming then the requisite knowledge, probably the finest qualification a Civil servant can have is a dogged, determined inclina- tion for hard work. It is a qualification that every employer of labour — whether it be the Crown or any other — esteems most highly. Energy and industry — we distinguish the two expressions by defining the former as physical activity in the abstract, and the latter as useful 82 INDUSTRY 83 energy directed to the accomplishment of some useful purpose in life — are inherent in some natures. The qualities are shown from the birth frequently and continue on through the whole of a career. In such cases the individual finds it easy to be energetic. In other cases there is an inherent lethargy, an indisposition to any exertion. People who come within the amusing definition of those who are *' born tired " are in the second category. We con- sider, however, that a lethargic indisposition for work may be overcome by a little or by a larger amount, as the case may chance, of determination. Energy, we mean, is a quality that, to some extent, may be acquired. In any case, its possession is most essential for one who desires to " get on " in the Civil Service ; and it must — to ensure complete success — ^be accompanied by a very obliging dis- position. Above all things, what a chief likes is the hard- working, good-natured man who will readily and smilingly undertake at a ** pinch," so to speak, any extra work without grumbling. It often happens that the Head of a Department is sorely pressed to. get some special work done in a hurry. If there are " overtime " arrangements in the department, by which we mean extra pay for any attendance re- quired beyond what are called the *' official hours," there is seldom any difficulty in getting the entire staff to stop most willingly — if necessary — to do the extra labour. And then a chief is under no obligation to ask favours of any of the staff. If all will not agree to work overtime, there is sure to be some who will work longer to make up for the 84 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE " shortage " of assistance for the sake of the addi- tional overtime pay. But in some departments overtime pay is not given, and when extra work, beyond the stipulated daily hours of attendance, comes, the staff are " expected " to do it. Occasion- ally, however, the retention of one or two may suffice. Then comes in the test of the " willing ones." Some when asked will either openly object or sullenly acquiesce. These soon become marked men ; but the " willing ones," whenever the chief can select for promotion, are sure to get their reward. The present writer recalls an incident of a some- what " impossible " young Irishman who was under his survey. This junior official was always objecting to make the least effort during pressures of work caused by sick or ordinary leave absentees. As a distinct report against him would have at least caused a severe reprimand and the suspension of his next annual increment, the present writer took the apparently milder course of asking the Chief Inspector of the Department, quietly, to oblige by removing the young assistant to another station. The Chief Inspector, however, " took fire " over the case, and brought the delinquent's objection to exert himself to the notice of " the Board." Unfortunately for the former, the present writer had acquired a sort of reputation for indisposition to get officers into trouble of any sort. He had, in fact, it must be confessed, a predilection for spending time in endeavouring to gQ:t officers out of trouble. So when the Board learnt who it was who had found it " impossible " to get on with an officer they came to the conclusion that the officer must be INDUSTRY 85 a very bad official indeed. So they summoned the present writer before them, and in spite of his en- deavour to make as hght as possible the accusation against the " youngster," the latter received a severe reprimand and " caution." There is, we feel sure — and the mere common sense of it must be obvious — ^no more valuable rule to be impressed on the minds of all Civil servants — of both those who have been " in " f or many years and of those who have just entered — than this, that persistent, determined, never-flagging industry and care, combined with a genial, really willing and graceful acquiescence in any request made to meet the demands on the department for extra work, will be the sure and certain precursors of subsequent consideration in the matter of promotion. XIV ZEAL In spite of Talleyrand's advice as to the undesir- ability of " zeal," the word is officially employed and the quality is recognised in the British Civil Service ; but as thus recognised it is understood that it should be tempered by discretion, and that is very probably what Talleyrand meant. In fact, what he inveighed against was *' too much zeal " ; and there are, no doubt, many occasions in all departments of life when unnecessarily excessive zeal is manifested in the performance of work. A good illustration is furnished of the exhibition of unnecessary zeal, untempered by the smallest fraction of good sense, in a case that was brought forward in the House of Lords when the late Lord Salisbury was Prime Minister. A certain noble lord complained that a passenger who had arrived from abroad at Plymouth had had a small package containing undeveloped photographic negatives (taken abroad) ruthlessly opened by a young Customs officer for the discovery of possible " con- traband." The admission of white light, in conse- quence of the careless opening, had ruined beyond possible remedy a number of negatives, the taking of which had involved an immense amount of time, skill, trouble, and expense. 86 ZEAL 87 It is, of course, the duty of a Customs officer to be " satisfied " that imported closed packages do not contain any dutiable articles ; and in cases of doubt as to the bona fides of statements made to him by the owners of the packages, or upon any well-grounded suspicion of irregularity, carefully to examine the contents. There was no ** dark room " at the Plymouth Customs Station for the examination in light shed through red glass — the transmitted red rays producing no actinic " influ- ence " upon undeveloped photographic negatives — of the alleged photographic plates ; and so the young officer took the drastic course of opening the package in broad daylight : the result being the damage already mentioned. Lord Salisbury said he had investigated the circumstances, and although he admitted that it was the duty of a Customs officer to be satisfied by personal examination that a package imported did not contain anything liable to duty, he had come to the conclusion that, under all the circumstances of the case, the young Customs officer in question was a very stupid Customs officer indeed — a dictum not likely to lead to the rapid promotion of the officer in question. This case affords a very good illustration of misplaced " zeal." The smallness of the package might have suggested to the officer that, in any case, even if crammed with tobacco, the duty represented would not be a great deal. Moreover, the most cursory enquiry would have shown him that there were many " dark rooms " at Plymouth — chiefly at chemists' — available for the proper 88 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE examination; and it should also have occurred to him, that in face of the grave statement that the work was of so much value, involving time and considerable expense to complete, it should not be ruthlessly spoilt without a reasonable opportunity being afforded to the owner to prove the statement he had made with reference to it. It is not always possible for the most carefully framed regulations in any department to cover points of difficulty that may sometimes arise ; and it is very frequently necessary, by using common sense, to " read between the lines " in construing them. A " zealous discharge of duties " is a common expression, and to act up to it in a moderate and sensible way is a course very conducive to advance- ment in any career ; but the desire to be zealous may easily degenerate into a pettifogging, irritating fussiness that is most objectionable. A man in a good position in the Civil Service is expected to have and to exercise discretion and to take upon himself at least minor responsibilities ; and it is both bad form and bad policy to be continually worrying the Heads of Departments by unnecessarily coming to them for decisions upon matters that can be settled without them. XV AUTOMATIC SALARY INCREASE The regular and steady advance of salaries in most positions in the Civil Service distinguishes it from many other establishments. So far as we know, most employers give fixed salaries for par- ticular positions, the salary first fixed for a post generally lasting for some time before an advance is made ; and in a good many instances very long periods ensue before a " rise " is given. No doubt in large establishments, where a considerable number of persons are employed, promotion takes place more or less rapidly from one position to another. In the Government Service there are a number of fixed positions to which fixed salaries are attached. Some technical or professional posts have fixed pay. But for the great majority of situations, and for nearly all clerkships, which constitute the bulk of the positions, there are automatic movements by annual increases from a minimum to a maximum in each class. This is a very great advantage and a strong encouragement. The system furnishes, too, a distinct incentive to continuous good conduct, as a report comes in to decide the qualification in this respect. Reports on conduct, disciplinary reports as they are termed, precede the granting of the increase. 89 90 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Formerly there were many more classes of clerks and other employes than there are now. Six classes of clerks were a by no means unusual number. This means that there were six separate stages, each commenced by a minimum and ended by a maxi- mum salary, and the two extremes bridged by an annual rise. The sixth or lowest class, for instance, as in the example previously referred to, might begin at £75 a year and have an annual rise of £5 up to £100 per annum. Then at £100 there might be " stagnation " in promotion, caused by people refusing either to resign or die in order to create vacancies, and a clerk would then have to wait a long time at £100 a year before he got into the fifth class at £105 or £110, with a £5 or a £10 annual rise. The progress therefore was often very slow, and so many cases of real hardship occurred in this way that agitations commenced to obtain a reduction in the number of classes and a consequent " longer run " from minimum to maximum. Even in the low grade of Assistant Clerks, or " Abstractors " as they are called, who begin at the modest salary of £45 per annum, there is a run by annual incre- ments up to £150. Second Division clerks in the Foreign Office commencing at £70 run right up to £300. In the War Office some Second Division clerks go uninterruptedly from £70 to £350. Assis- tant Accountants in the " Accounts Branch " of the War Office commence at £100 a year and go on to £350 without a break. Then, above them, is an " upper grade " of Assistant Accountants that begin at £350 and rise uninterruptedly to £500. AUTOMATIC SALARY INCREASE 91 Above these are " Accountants," promoted from the " Assistants," who have a jump, above the maximum of the assistant class, to £550, and rise from that amount by annual increments to £700. Then in another branch, the Staff and Local Audit Office, there are four Acting Chief Accountants at a fixed salary of £850, and in the same branch five Chief Accountants who begin at ^^850 and rise to £1000 per annum. Higher Division clerkships in the Treasury run to high amounts. There are twelve Second Class Clerks beginning at £200 and rising to £500. Above these eight First Class Clerks with incomes rising from £700 to £900, and six Principal Clerks commencing at £1000 and rising to £1200. Above these, and accessible from their ranks, are one Assistant Secretary at £1500, one Permanent Secretary rising from £2000 to £2500, and two other Secretaries at £2000 each. So it will be seen how very pleasant is the Civil Service prospect of " Automatic Salary Increase." XVI PROMOTION The practice of what used to be called " pitch- forking " is by no means a lost art in the British Civil Service. As the present writer has found that this expression has not always been understood by outsiders, he may explain that it is the likening of the putting of a Civil Servant low down in a classification — from near the bottom to the top of his class or over several classes — to the lifting of hay or corn to the top of a rick. It has, of course, always been done on the real or assumed ground of " merit " ; but we regret to say that, not unfre- quently, this explanation of the act has proceeded on assumption only, and that prejudice or open intrigue have been the motive " influences " at work. Yet whilst improper influence has, too frequently, been exerted in favour of particular persons, the very people, the " Heads " who make the pro- motions in such an improper and irregular manner, are the loudest in objecting when others make unwise attempts to bring about the advancement of persons they are, for one reason or another, interested in ; and they bitterly resent open requests to favour particular officials. The " open letter," in fact, if not guarded in 92 PROMOTION 93 some way, is a very dangerous move, especially when it is written without tact. An amusing illustration, if painful (to the person chiefly con- cerned), of our meaning may be afforded by the following incident : — A certain clerk in a Government department, finding that promotion was very slow and conscious that some of those around him owed their advance- ment, in all probability, to outside influence, wrote to a noble lord with whom he was personally acquainted, asking if His Lordship could induce " the Board," his Chiefs, to promote him. The Peer, although busy, was ready to oblige, and thinking probably that the mere fact of his inter- position would be sufficient, turned up the corner of the applicant's letter and wrote upon it that he would be glad if the Board could *' do something " for the clerk. They proceeded at once to " do something," and in the promptest possible manner. They signed a minute ordering that the clerk should be reduced ten places on his class ! Of course the seeker of this improper influence and the noble lord in question both acted in the most foolish possible way. Their method was not the one best calculated to secure their object. There is always danger, as we have said, in the " open letter," even if written and headed in the most ** private and confidential " way. In a case in which a certain individual, through prejudice, had been most unjustly treated in a public department, he one day asked a very astute official if it would be any good to bring outside influence to bear upon his behalf, 94 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE as he had friends in high positions who would help him, he was sure, if he asked them. The official replied at once : " Yes, but don't write anything, as letters, however confidentially addressed, are very likely to be shown ! " It must not for a moment be supposed that we are making wholesale accusations against head officials ; but those who carefully read history are well aware of what has happened, and although things are very different in the present day from what they were in " the good old times," there is still far more improper influence used than there ought to be. '* Nepotism " is the word that expresses what we mean, and it would be unwise and untrue for anyone " who knows " to assume that " nepotism " is dead. It may seem natural that a Minister with a good deal of patronage to dispense should bestow what he can upon relatives or friends : for whether the recipients are relations or favourites it is prac- tically the same thing. The present writer has had opportunities, as Head of a branch of the department he served in, of judging — at the annual character-gi^^ing meetings — of the extent to which personal feeling or dislike is some- times exercised in giving a subordinate his service character. The plan adopted in the Outdoor Department of the Customs, to which the remark just made alludes, will illustrate what is meant. The Surveyors who are Heads of Stations meet annually to give the " characters " of the Examining Officers for the PROMOTION 95 preceding twelve months. The superior officers thus practically form a large committee of judges, so to speak. A subordinate had, during the year, frequently performed duty at more than one station, coming at each station under the supervision of a different Surveyor. The names of the Examining Officers came up for consideration in alphabetical order, and the practice was for the Surveyor with whom the officer happened to be at the time of the meeting to give his character ; but other Surveyors having had experience of the officer under review at some period during the year were entitled to give their opinions as to the officer's conduct and capacity. The characters were indicated by the letters " A," " B," " C," and " D." " A " meant " very capable and very attentive with distinctly superior abiHties." " B " meant simply ** capable and attentive." " C " was a bad character, almost certain to lead to reprimand and stoppage of annual increment. •' D," a very rare " character," was so bad that dismissal would probably follow. '* B " would not mean stoppage of increase in salary, but it could not mean promotion. To be qualified for promotion an '* A " character was indispensable. Opinions of different Surveyors often hovered between " A " and ** B " ; but what the present writer not unfrequently noticed was that a very capable and attentive officer who happened to be very independent in manner was likely to get a " B " instead of an " A " character. The open meeting was a great preventive of unfairness of this kind. In most departments, however, of the Civil 96 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Service there is, so far as we know, nothing like this open system. Circumstances, of course, often prevent its adoption. A clerk or other official may remain in the same branch of the service for many years under the same Chief, and the latter alone is able to judge of and report upon his official character. This is where the opportunity for unjust treat- ment may come in. Appeal in the ordinary way against the one chief would be practically useless, unless there were a Court of Appeal ; but whilst there is an established Court of Appeal for criminals there is none for His Majesty's Civil servants ! A man aggrieved by unjust treatment caused purely by prejudice, and the instances have been numerous, makes his position worse and increases the prejudice by, say, appealing to the Treasury. He becomes a marked man at once. The first thing the Treasury will do is to call for a report upon the complaint from those against whom the complaint is levelled, and it is quite certain that the latter will not minimise the alleged grounds on which they have stopped the annual increments of salary or actually reduced the salary or stopped promotion. The Treasury has sometimes held enquiries to investigate complaints made against Heads of Departments, but the latter in such an event nearly always have the best of the struggle. Sometimes a flagrant case may be taken up in the House of Commons. That, however, is the course adopted when an appeal to the Treasury, representing the Government for the time being in office, has failed. What then is the use of appealing to the PROMOTION 97 House against the Government, when the latter can command a majority of wilHng supporters of, say, a hundred strong ? Our advice to Civil Servants, whether old or new, whether a long time " in " or just entered, is to strive by might and main to give no cause of offence ; scrupulously to observe the rules and regulations of the departments ; to determine, as far as in them, to be "very capable and very attentive"; to give no " chance " to a possibly prejudiced or otherwise unfavourable chief ; and if then, in spite of the most blameless conduct, injustice is done to them, to move for the establishment of " a Civil Service Court of Appeal " ! XVII ANNUAL LEAVE Although there is no reason why there should not be at least a considerable amount of uniformity in the allowance of leave in the various departments under Government, differences still exist, and there is, perhaps, some justice in the contention that the hardest-worked branches of the service are those which have the smallest amounts of leave. The principle of uniformity was, however, recommended by the Royal Commission on Civil Establishments, presided over by Sir Matthew White Ridley, and commonly referred to as " the Ridley Commission." In their second report, issued in September, 1888, the Commissioners said that it appeared tp them to be essential that the rules as to holidays should be absolutely uniform throughout all the depart- ments of the service, subject to the qualification that " it is not necessary to have the same limit for the two divisions of the service, or possibly for the different grades within the same divisions." Com- menting on this recommendation in the Treasury Minute of December 12th, 1890, the minute says : " My Lords concur with the Royal Commissioners. Though desirous of securing uniformity as between different departments, they have not yet felt that they could recommend a rigid scale of holidays to 98 ANNUAL LEAVE 99 be applied to all ; but they thought that a con- siderable step would be made in the right direction if (saving existing rights) a uniform maximum of holidays were fixed for all offices. Accordingly the Order in Council fixes such maximum at thirty-six working days during each of the first ten years of service for persons appointed to junior posts, and forty-eight working days to other Civil Servants in classifications above the Second Division ; but it must be clearly understood that these periods are fixed only as a maximum, and that, within that maximum, Heads of Departments have now, as they have hitherto had, an absolute discretion in fixing the annual leave of their officers. The present Order in Council, therefore, does not affect existing regula- tions as to holiday, so long as the holiday does not pass the maximum permitted. No Civil Servant can claim the maximum annual leave mentioned in the order, and it must be understood that no increase of leave beyond what is now allowed should be given except upon proof of necessity." We have already referred to the terms in which this same question is dealt with by an Order in Council subsequent to the one mentioned in the Treasury Minute just referred to, namely, the Order in Council of the loth of January, 1910, which says, in clause 21 : " The ordinary annual holidays allowed to officers to whom Part III of this order applies — that is to say, to permanent officers in His Majesty's Civil Service drawing salaries or placed on scales of salary in excess of those of the Second Division — shall not exceed thirty-six week- days during each of their first ten years of service 100 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE and forty-eight weekdays thereafter, exclusive in all cases of Christmas Day, Good Friday, the King's Birthday, and (subject to the requirements of the public service) Bank Holidays : provided that nothing in this clause shall affect the rights of existing officers, who, under the regulations in force before the 15th day of August, 1890, in the respective departments in which they were then serving, are entitled to holidays in excess of those herein prescribed." By giving Heads of Departments, as the Treasury does in its minute of December 12th, 1890, " absolute discretion " in the matter of fixing — within the limits settled — the amount of leave for each depart- ment, it is possible to adjust the requirements according to the particular circumstances in each case. It gives some power, perhaps, to an illiberal Chief desiring to please the Treasury by extracting the largest possible amount of work from the smallest possible number of persons. Still, there is this safeguard against the power being arbitrarily and ungenerously exercised, that the Order in Council having laid down what its framers considered a reasonable and generous amount of leave, the Treasury, if appealed to, would be bound to see that the " discretion " its minute leaves in the hands of " heads " is fairly and equitably exercised. In what some people call " the good old times " — to go no farther back than the middle of last century — there was very considerable laxity in regard to leave. So little were individuals in an office looked after, that when their work permitted — work done in private ofiices and not in public ANNUAL LEAVE loi rooms where constant attention had to be given to daily callers on business — many days of leave could be obtained without permission. The Chief who reported to the Board on the amusing incident already referred to that a certain writer wanted " five days' sick-leave because he had a bad leg which he wished deducted from his annual leave," told the present writer that, when he was a junior clerk engaged on registers, he obtained successive days making three weeks in all of leave, without the necessity of formally applying for a single day, and, indeed, without the knowledge of his then chief ; and he employed the three weeks in visits to the London Exhibition of 1851. His plan was to pick up a register, go into the Chief's room with it, and just say he was going to take it to one of the bonded warehouses to compare and check off items of stock. Permission being given, the clerk returned the register to its pigeon-hole and would then leisurely proceed to the Exhibition. No one was likely to want this clerk during the day, and if he was asked for, an obliging colleague, or one not necessarily " in the know," would say that he had gone to the warehouse with a " query." Such irregularity is not possible, we think, nowadays ; supervision, at least generally, is much too strict to permit of it, and the delinquent would very quickly be " bowled out." Although some people outside, not so liberally treated as Civil servants, might consider that the large leave allowance is excessive and unnecessary, there is very little doubt that it is one of the attrac- tions that make the service as effective as it is. It 102 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE forms too a strong incentive to good conduct and good work. It solidifies the service, makes those in it feel that they must strain every nerve to keep straight, and thus earn and continue the benefits which the State accumulates on those who work for it. XVIII PENSIONS There is no doubt that amongst the strongest inducements offered to candidates for employment under the British Government is the certainty, under some necessary conditions and regulations, of superannuation pay as soon as service of an active kind ceases, either on the score of arrival at the age limit, which is usually fixed at sixty-five, or by unavoidable illness at an earlier period after a stated initial or minimum term of service. A good deal of misapprehension, however, has existed in the public mind as to the principle upon which Government pensions are granted ; and they are not the " free gifts " that a good many people have supposed, but have had to be paid for by contributions made in two different ways, which will be presently explained. Prior to 1859 pensions were paid for by a tax levied from the salaries of Civil Servants ; and this tax was deducted from the salaries before they were paid over. This plan of deduction is the one adopted in the present day by certain railway companies and other corporations ; but the modern method of dealing with the deducted money is widely different from that which prevailed in the Civil Service both before and after 1859, ^^^ ^^^^ 103 104 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE of the best known of the various Superannuation Acts of ParHament ; now, however, superseded in one important particular by the most recent Act — the one of 1909. The amount of the tax deducted prior to 1859 from Civil Service incomes was 2 J per cent from salaries under £100 per annum and 5 per cent from salaries exceeding that amount. The total raised in this way was a very considerable one, much more than sufficient to pay all pensions, at the prescribed rates, that accrued. It is quite clear that the proper way to deal with the collected excess of contributions over the necessary pension payments was to place it in a public fund that should in some way be used for the benefit of the contributors. The most proper and the most sensible way would have been to increase the amount of pensions or to reduce the amount of the contributions. The money accumu- lated clearly belonged to the contributors, but no account was kept of it. It was all paid into the general exchequer, and pensions awarded as they accrued. Calculation was made that, up to 1857, the Government had made a million pounds of profit out of the pockets of Civil Servants. In that year, however. Lord Naas (who afterwards became the Lord Mayo who was assassinated when Gover- nor-General of India) brought the question before the House of Commons. In those days, as ever, Civil Servants could, when combined, wield a good deal of influence. They exercised that influence against what was called *' the iniquitous Superannuation Tax/' Punch, then, PENSIONS 105 as now, the leading comic journal, for its clever and striking political and other cartoons, trenchantly re- presented the Press support of the cause of the Civil Service. Lord Palmerston was the Prime Minister in office and Sir George Cornewall Lewis was Chancellor of the Exchequer ; and the then Government had the strongest parliamentary following of any Minister during the first half of the last century. Just before the debate on the second reading of the Civil Service Superannuation Tax AboHtion Bill came on, Punch published a leading cartoon that attracted wide attention. It represented in the foreground the Chancellor of the Exchequer bending under the weight of a huge sack of gold. On the sack was written Superannuation Tax £1,000,000, repre- senting the surplus fund saved out of pension con- tributions. In the rear of the picture were the figures of a widow (of a Civil Servant) and her child. The widow had her handkerchief to her eyes as if sobbing. Underneath the entire picture were the words, in bold black type : " Heartless Robbery ! " When the Bill came on for second reading Lord Palmerston offered his most determined opposition to it ; but he was overwhelmingly defeated in his own House of Commons. The defeat was accom- panied by a strange demonstration, witnessed on the occasion in question by an old colleague (who was in the Gallery of the House of Commons) of the present writer, and this colleague related the incident. The old Strangers' and the Speaker's Galleries, then kept separate, but now all thrown open to " Strangers," were packed with Civil Ser- vants, who, when the numbers in the division were io6 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE announced, indicating the defeat of the Government and the success of the Abohtion Bill, rose to their feet and " stampeded " down the stairs with a noise probably never before or since heard in either House of Parliament. It was not good be- haviour, but was evidently prompted by the unusual excitement occasioned by the triumph of their cause. Upon the ruins of the old Superannuation-tax Measure the Superannuation Act of 1859 was built, so to speak ; but that Act has turned out to be more unfair than the measure it displaced. There was no arrangement for deducting from salaries contributions towards the future Pension Fund ; but salaries were given that were less than the market value of the services rendered, and it was understood, we may even say arranged, that the difference between the salaries actually paid and their market value should be deferred to form an imaginary Pension Fund. We say " imaginary Pen- sion Fund " because, as before, so since 1859, ^^ ^^' count has been kept of the total amount " deferred.*' That has gone also into the general exchequer ; and the deferments were not of 2| and 5 per cent, as prior to 1859, but of an average of 18 per cent, never properly accounted for. Nevertheless that system went on from 1859 to 1909, when the latest Pension Act was passed. The inequity of both systems — that under the Superannuation-tax regime and that adopted for the fifty years following 1859 — was that although the actual deductions from, or deferments of salaries due, were strictly the property of the contributors, PENSIONS 107 not one penny of the deductions or deferments was ever paid to the representatives of a Civil Servant when the latter chanced to pre-de cease the time when his pension would accrue to him. A very considerable number of very distressing cases have occurred under which the wives, children, or other dependents, after various periods of service of the husbands or fathers, some of the periods — in not a few cases — being up to, or close upon, forty years, have been left penniless. Yet not the small- est help has been given by the Government of the day. This state of things led to what has been called the Deferred-pay Movement , which after many years of agitation produced the new Pension Act of 1909. That Act, whilst, as we shall presently show, remedying some of the injustice inflicted by the old Superannuation tax and the greater injustice inflicted by the Superannuation Act of 1859, is far from being what it ought to be on every ground of equity. It must not be forgotten that the million of money taken out of the pockets of Civil Servants up to 1857 ^^^ never paid back would, on the principle of doubling capital by compound interest, in twenty- three years, have become two millions in 1880, four millions in 1903, and appreciably more now ; and this has been the result of an average deduction of less than 5 per cent from the salaries of a much smaller service prior to 1857 than now exists. But what is the total, in fifty-four years, of deductions (from a much more numerous body) of 18 per cent ? '^ io8 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE And to get the benefits offered under the Act of 1909 Civil Servants have to pay again, or agree to pay by accepting a half of their retiring salaries after forty years* service, instead of the two-thirds provided for in the Superannuation Act of 1859. The acceptance of the new terms is compulsory on new entrants, but optional for those in the service prior to the passing of the Act of 1909. Before dealing more explicitly with this, the latest, of the Pension Acts, it will make the subject more clear to review briefly successive Superannua- tion Legislation. The oldest Act, having some of its provisions still in force, is the Superannuation Act of 1834 » b^^ most of its provisions are superseded by the Act of 1859. The following clauses, however, remain, and are interesting because they explain how the actual salary received just prior to retire- ment is to be fixed for the purpose of reckoning a pension : also how a pensioner will be dealt with when he accepts a subsequent appointment (as sometimes happens) under the Crown, and further as to the discretion resting with the Treasury to dismiss a Civil Servant without compensation. The retained clauses of the Act of 1834 provide that the superannuation allowance shall not be computed upon the amount of the salary enjoyed by him at the time of his retirement unless he has been in receipt of it for at least three years immediately before the granting of a superannuation allowance, or upon a three years' average of his actual pay. More clearly explained, the meaning of this clause is that a Civil Servant coming, by promotion, into a superior class with a raised salary — say, for example. PENSIONS 109 ;f6oo a year — he must enjoy that income for not less than three years before he can reckon upon it as the basis for calculating his retiring allowance. If under the old pension arrangement, sanctioned by the Act of 1859, he was entitled after forty years' service to one-sixtieth of his active-service salary for each year of such service, he would claim forty- sixtieths or two-thirds of that salary. That would be £400 per annum on the basis of £600 active-service salary ; but to claim £600 as the basis he must be in receipt of that for three full years. Assuming that he was called upon to retire at the age limit of sixty-five, he must have had the £600 a year at the beginning of his sixty-second year of service and held it until he was sixty-five. If, however, the class on which he entered three years before his retirement was one rising from, say, £560 by £20 a year to £600, the two successive sums would be added to the first in order to compute his " retiring salary " — that is to say, it would be necessary to add £560, £580, and £600 together. The total, £1740, would be divided by three, producing £580, and his pension would be two-thirds of £580, or £386 13s. 4d. The Treasury are very precise in calculating into pence and shillings, and if the exact average in any case gave, say, £599 19s. iid., the pensioner would not be given even the odd penny to make up to £600. There is considerable benefit for the Civil Servant when, within three years of reaching sixty-five, he makes a big jump in salary. A comparatively recent case will make this plain. A Treasury official at sixtj^-two was in receipt of £1500 a year. \ no THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Had he continued at that until sixty-five his pen- sion would have been £1000 a year ; but at sixty-two he was appointed to the chairmanship of the Board of Customs, the salary of which post is fixed at £2000 a year. The appointee referred to thus had a handsome " jump " of £500 a year. He enjoyed the £2000 for the full three years and then retired on two-thirds of £2000 or £1333 6s. 8d., an appreci- able advance on the £1000 pension he would have had, had he remained at the Treasury on that salary. The fortunate official in question only survived to enjoy his handsome pension for a very short time, whilst others less fortunate still survive, and if *' life is worth living " may survive until they reach a great old age ; so that there are " compensa- tions " in this world for some of its ills. Another remaining clause (No. 20) of the Super- annuation Act of 1834 runs as follows : " Provided always, and be it further enacted, that in case any person enjoying any superannuation allow- ance in consequence of retiring from office on ac- count of age, infirmity, or any other cause, or enjoying any compensation for past services upon the abolition or reduction of office, shall be appointed to fill any office in any public department, every such allowance or compensation shall cease to be paid for any period subsequent to such appointment if the annual amount of the profits of the office to which he shall be appointed shall be equal to those of the office formerly held by him, and in case they shall not be equal to those of his former office, then no more of such superannuation allowance or compen- sation shall be paid to him than what, with the PENSIONS III •I salary of his new appointment, shall be equal to that of his former office." This clause seems to us to be manifestly unfair. A pension, according to quite recent ruling of a Chancellor of the Exchequer, is " earned incre- ment," and on that account, very properly, is subject to 25 per cent less of Income Tax than unearned increment. Such being the case, and in considera- tion of the additional circumstance that the pension has actually been paid for, and treated only during his active service as " deferred pay," it is obviously very hard that, should he energetically decide to do more work, instead of " resting on his laurels " to the end of his life, that he must lose what he has already earned for " work done " right up to the extent of the new pay for the new work. Such a condition would not, we believe, be insisted upon by any other body that pays pensions. Railway pensioners, for instance, would not, we think, be precluded from earning more money even in the same company under threat of taking away their already earned increment. Moreover, the State, one would think, would be the gainer by allowing pensioners to work, as the chances are that in many instances it would, by shortening the life of the pensioner, save some of the amount annually voted by Parliament for " non-effective service," or pensions. Clause 30, also retained, of the Act of 1834 seems distinctly to savour of injustice. It is as follows : " Provided always, and be it further enacted, that nothing in this Act contained shall extend or be construed to extend to give any person an absolute right to compensation for past 112 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE services, or to any superannuation or retiring allow- ance under this Act, or to deprive the Commis- sioners of His Majesty's Treasury, and the heads or principal officers of the respective departments, of their power and authority to dismiss any person from the pubHc service without compensation.*' This clause appears to us to place an arbitrary and altogether unreasonable power in the hands of the Treasury and the Heads of Departments. It practically undermines the whole of the provisions in the Superannuation Acts drawn up for the protection of those who have actually paid for their pensions ! It is not guarded by any protective proviso. It seems to confer absolutely autocratic power on the Treasury and the Heads of Offices, and opens a door for any amount of abuse. The same *' prejudice " that causes a man's promotion to be stopped because of a chief's dislike may equally be used to reduce or stop his pension. As an appreciable number of existing Civil Servants amongst those who entered the service prior to the passing of the Superannuation Act of 1909 have elected to remain under the provisions of the older Act, which had completed its jubilee when the measure framed to meet the reform demanded by the Deferred Pay Committee was passed, it will be interesting to mention that the preamble of the Act of 1859, although it repealed the Act of 1834, provided that such repeal should not affect any pension, compensation, or superannuation allowance granted or act done before its passing. The allow- ance to be granted after its commencement to per- sons who had served in an established capacity in PENSIONS 113 the permanent Civil Service of the State, whether their remuneration be computed by day pay, weekly wages, or annual salary, and for whom provision shall not otherwise have been made by Act of Parliament, or who may not be specially exempted by the authority of Parliament, was to b^ as follows : — To any person who had served " ten years and upwards, and under eleven years, an annual allow- ance of ten-sixtieths of the annual salary and emoluments of his office ; for eleven years and under twelve years, an annual allowance of eleven- sixtieths of such salary and emoluments ; and in like manner a further addition to the annual allowance of one-sixtieth for each additional year of such service, until the completion of a period of service of forty years, when the annual allowance of forty-sixtieths might be granted — no addition to be made for any service beyond forty years. Any question arising in any department of the public service as to the claim of any person or class of persons for superannuation to be referred to the Commissioners of the Treasury," whose decision was to be final. This clause, unlike not a few in Acts of Parlia- ment, is abundantly clear. It is, however, th^:- same clause ii. which is repealed for all new en- trants to the Civil Service by the Act of 1909, that gives eightieths instead of sixtieths of salary for the years of service, making the maximum of one- half of retiring salary for pension instead of two- thirds. The Act of 1859 provided that " nothing therein 114 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE contained should interfere with the grant to the officers and clerks who entered the public service prior to the 5th of August, 1829, of such super- annuation allowances as might thereafter have been granted to them under section 9 of the Act of 1834, or shall present, restrict, or diminish any other superannuation allowance, pension, gratuity, or compensation which, if the Act of 1859 had not been passed, might have been granted to any person who had entered the pubhc service before 1859/' Here, as elsewhere, is indicated the scrupulous regard which has invariably been shown in English Acts of Parliament to what are popularly known and described as " vested interests." The Act of 1859 provided that for any professional or other peculiar qualifications specially indicated, and not ordinarily to be acquired in the public service, required, and possibly at an age exceeding that at which public service ordinarily begins, there should be added a number of years not exceeding twenty, to be specified in an order or warrant, in computing the amount of superannua- tion allowance which might otherwise be granted to him, and that a period less than ten years (the time to be specified in an order or warrant) might entitle to superannuation, though he might not hold his appointment direct from the Crown, and might not have entered the service with a certificate from the Civil Service Commissioners ; " provided always that every order or warrant made under this enactment " should be laid before Parliament. This important clause places it in the hands of PENSIONS 115 the Treasury to bestow a very handsome recognition on professional experts, such as, for instance, doctors or lawyers. It would enable such a professional expert, who had been acknowledged to have ren- dered very especial service in any particular, to retire after ten years' service on thirty-sixtieths or one- half of his three years' average of retiring salary, or after twenty years' service on forty-sixtieths or two-thirds of the average of retiring salary ; and he might also be rewarded in the same manner and under the same circumstances for a service of less than ten years, that being the minimum period fixed by the Act of 1859 ^^^ quahfying for any pension at all. Provision was also made for giving a superannua- tion allowance in the form of a " gratuity " to Civil Servants prevented by " infirmity of mind or body " from continuing in the service, before the completion of the period entitling to superannuation allowance money, such gratuity not, however, to exceed one month's pay for each year of service. This concession, although it would only make a " gratuity " — supposing a man to have served nine years and to be receiving, say, £180 per annum at the end of that period — of £135, is probably more liberal than would be the treatment of an employe in any outside service. On the necessary abolition of any office, a circum- stance which might at any time occur, compensa- tion is granted by adding a term of years to the actual service rendered before calculating super- annuation, the addition being 5 years after 10 years' service, y\ years after 15 years' service, and 10 after ii6 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE 20 years' service; but more might be granted under special circumstances by special minute to be laid before Parliament, and in no case was it to exceed two-thirds of the salary and emoluments of the office. It has generally been considered that this clause provides for a liberal compensation in case of loss of employment occasioned by necessary reductions in the staff of an office in order to carry out im- provements, or reconstructions leading to the same result. Sometimes offices are entirely abolished, and the intention of the clause is to prevent the individual officer suffering wholly from the inevit- able changes. Of course, in many cases there is suffering, because the loss of full salary may have unfortunate results where a man is living up to his income and is unable perhaps to obtain other employment. Again, and in the instance now under discussion, the State treatment of its servants very favourably contrasts with the general treatment, by other employers, of those with whose services they are obliged to dispense, owing to the falling off in trade or for other reasons. Curt dismissal, without the smallest compensation, is often what takes place, and indeed, however kind may be the method of sending an old servant away, the kindness of manner does not heal the wound made by sudden loss of employment without compensation. Some- times, and indeed rather frequently, absolute bankruptcies prevent any remuneration being given for loss of office ; but the English Government, as Paymaster, never becomes bankrupt. PENSIONS 117 Occasionally when Civil Servants are no longer required in one department, places are found for them in others ; and that plan has been adopted much more frequently since the days of open com- petition, and in open-competition departments, than under the old patronage system, because patrons were unwilling to have their vacancies filled by '' redundants " from other offices. And the word " redundant " reminds us that sometimes when there has been a reduction not in the total number of persons employed, but — for purposes of economy — in the relative number of higher paid posts, those dispensed with from the higher positions have been retained on a *' redundant " class and allowed to go on as vacancies above them have occurred. Indeed, when any of these have been on a class, at the time of the change, rising by annual increments to a maxi- mum, and have not reached that maximum, they have been allowed to go on to it. Anyone examining the Civil Service Estimates annually presented to Parliament can identify the cases alluded to by seeing sections of the employes in an office having against the salaries the words *' old scale." This represents those who have been placed, so to speak, upon ** sidings " awaiting the time when, on the occurrence of vacancies, they may become " ab- sorbed " into the upper classes as fixed under any scheme of reorganisation. Not unfrequently, however, a Civil Servant, especially if he chances to have a good prospect of finding other employment, will jump at the offered " abolition terms," as they are called ; and he will also readily accept them when he chances to have a ii8 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE private income that may make him independent of State employment. The full allowance of superannuation under the Act of 1859 is only granted " upon production of a certificate signed by the Head Officer of the depart- ment (or by two Head Officers if there be more than one) that he has served with diligence and fidelity to the satisfaction of such Head Officer or Officers ; and in every case in which any superannuation allowance is granted, after the refusal of such certificate, the minute granting it shall state such refusal and the grounds on which the allowance is granted " — and a less amount may be granted where faults or demerit in relation to public service appear to justify such diminution. Comment on these two " conditions " is of con- siderable importance. Probably in a large majority of cases the Heads of Departments make a proper and straightforward use of their power in dealing with their subordinates, but there have been cases in which they have abused the power, in some cases flagrantly, in order to gratify feelings of prejudice against particular individuals. The power they wield in this way is limited by no sort of safeguard for the protection of the individual dealt with under it. They make an absolutely secret report to the Treasury, and the persons affected have no oppor- tunity afforded to them of defending themselves against secret and, in some cases, malicious reports. A case in point, for the absolute accuracy of which we can vouch, will best illustrate our meaning. A Civil Servant who had entered a London department at the age of nineteen, finding himself PENSIONS 119 possessed of abundant leisure — his Government office hours being *' ten to four " — and desiring energetically to employ his after-hours in honourable occupation, commenced an outside career of public work, of literature and journalism. His success in this work excited — inside the service — a not incon- siderable amount of jealousy and envy — and, we might add, of " malice and all uncharitableness." His prominence made him a marked man in official circles, and envy found expression in a tendency to magnify small official faults from which few Civil Servants can be wholly free. Nevertheless, inside the service, he not only displayed more than the average amount of skill, industry, and persever- ance, performing his work with unblemished in- tegrity, but stood up prominently in the interests of his colleagues for needed reforms, which, through his energetic and persistent action, were carried out. An absolutely unfounded impression got about, how- ever, that he was not sufficiently " zealous " in per- forming his own departmental work, and that impres- sion, notwithstanding the absence of any evidence to support it, precipitated in the form of unfavourable reports. Strictly speaking, they were not exactly reports ; but when his immediate Chiefs were called upon to give his official character they declined to mark it with an " A." If asked for an opinion, a disdainful shrug of the shoulders would sufficiently convey their prejudice, and stoppage of promotion commenced — started in the first instance because the individual in question had had the courage to go to the Treasury and voice the opinion of the Service upon a contemplated "job." He had taken 120 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE that course directly against his own personal interests, and in the interests of certain men above him — Heads of Branches — over whom the subject of the contemplated " job " was to be " pitch- forked." The " pitchforking " took place in spite of the courageous act of the individual we are referring to ; and then severe and most outrageous punishment fell upon the protester. No sooner had this happened than the very men, on whose sole behalf the protest had been boldly made, turned against him, declared that his action at the Treasury was " very indiscreet," and, for years afterwards, did all they could to injure him. A number of inferior men were " passed over his head," and directly they got into the higher places took up the same cue and " blackballed " the aheady injured man on every possible occasion. The result was that for a long course of years he was kept at a standstill. First there was an actual reduction of salary, and then a long period of loss of promotion. Repeated remonstrances, by memorials, proved futile. Appeals to the Treasury were referred back to " the Board," who in turn referred to the *' constitutional advi- sers " of the latter. These " constitutional advisers " were now nearly all men who had been unjustly passed over the head of the sorely injured man. Of course they continued the " blackballing," and the punishment went on. At length it was under- stood that the Treasury did intervene, insisted that punishment had gone far enough, and one step of promotion ensued. This, however, was a long way short of adequate compensation ; and when a new Chairman — a man of great courtesy and in all PENSIONS 121 respects a gentleman — came from the Treasury to preside over the Board and the department, the injured official brought his case before him, and correspondence ensued that lasted over three years. During its course the Chairman told the complainant that if he could have his own way he would promote him, but that the " constitutional advisers " were against promotion — although he said, in one letter to the injured man : "All admit your superior abilities, and some think you were too severely treated in the past," but they alleged insufficient attention to duties. This allegation was promptly met by a demand, by the injured man, for a searching investigation into his forty years of service — for anything that could prove that he had not performed his duties with unblemished integrity, energy, intelligence, and zeal ; but the challenge was not accepted, no enquiry whatever was made, and the Chairman pohtely but firmly closed the corre- spondence. He had intimated that the Board had decided that the complainant must rise no higher in the service. Against this dictum the injured man made a direct and personal appeal to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. To the latter high official he gave a resume of his case, mentioning as one instance, in proof of his zealous service, that when in one of the largest and most important departments in London, he had made a strong report against the exemption from duty of certain imported articles on which the revenue had been losing enormous sums of money — articles coming in under the guise of " free samples " of wines and spirits. He had 122 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE stopped one consignment for the judgment of the Board. The report was referred to a superior officer, who — although he actually never went to look at them — declared the articles to be bona fide " samples," and he recommended their free delivery. The Board, however, entirely disregarded this recommendation (made by one who had previously passed over the head of the injured man and was notoriously prejudiced against him — ^being one of the *' constitutional advisers " already referred to), ordered the full payment of duty on the alleged *' samples," and immediately afterwards abolished the entire " free sampling " system, causing a saving to the revenue of many thousands a year ! The appeal to the Chancellor of the Exchequer was successful, for he practically ordered the Board to promote the injured man to the front rank in his class, informing him, moreover, personally that he had been glad to have been able to remedy some of the injustice from which he had suffered. It was, no doubt, a humiliating position for the Board, after saying that there should be no more promotion for a certain individual, to be compelled to give promotion. But there is a sequel to the incident. The Board had to give way to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is their superior. Two of its three members, perhaps not unwillingly, acquiesced — the Chairman, whom we will call R, and the Deputy-Chairman, whom we will indicate as K ; but the third, a junior member, whom we will de- scribe as P, had an opportunity, later on, of showing that his acquiescence was not a willing one. The PENSIONS 123 promotion ordered duly took place immediately. The Chancellor not long afterwards resigned his post ; the Chairman R retired on superannuation ; the Deputy-Chairman K was promoted to another department ; and then the member P became Chair- man of the Board, under which was still serving the injured man in the expectation of ultimately rising, by annual increments, to the maximum of the superior class into which he had been promoted by order of the now resigned Chancellor of the Ex- chequer. One annual increment was, in due course, obtained, and then came the chance of the non- consenting P, the new Chairman of the Board. Seizing upon a very trivial incident which he magnified into a weapon for his purpose, he induced his " Board " to compel the injured man to send in his " Superannuation Papers," piled up every little thing he could — in the latter 's forty-two years of service — against him — magnifying small faults and ignoring all good and special service — ^refused to give the certificate of " diligence and fidelity " re- quired by the eighth clause of the Superannuation Act of 1859, ^nd succeeded in inducing the Treasury — after fighting, we believe, for a heavier punish- ment — to agree to a deduction of 5 per cent from the smallest pension that could possibly be awarded I The injustice of this double punishment is obvious. The long stoppage of promotion had already auto- matically reduced the accruing pension ; but further to curtail an already reduced pension needs no explanation of a transparent inequity. An ex- haustive appeal to the Treasury was in due course made, but without result — another instance 124 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE of the futility of kicking against pricks. The plan is always, of course, adopted of referring an appeal back to the Board — or other Head — against which injustice is charged, and their — or his — opinion is sure to be a defence of the action complained of. Where, indeed, is the justice of referring the case of a Plaintiff in an action to the Defendant in the same action, or of referring the case of a Defendant to a Plaintiff ? Here again is indicated the absolute necessity for a Court of Appeal for Civil Servants. The system of secret reporting is a scandal to the Service ! The victim of the case just referred to has in vain demanded a full and proper enquiry, which has been denied. A man is punished for some imaginary offenccy and no reason given for the punishment. A criminal accused of the greatest crime is allowed the opportunity of defence, and of witnesses for the defence. Not so is it with the Civil Servant ! If the preceding recital has been somewhat long we think it furnishes a valuable object-lesson for all who intend seeking employment under Government. They may perform public work of utility outside their departments, and if it is prominently per- formed they may not only find no reward for it, but may incur prejudice inside the service that may enormously injure their official prospects. The diplomatic course will be to do their good outside deeds in secret — not even to tell the left hand what the right is doing ; and inside to work industriously but in steady silence. It will " pay " better, no doubt, to work hard in order to render, inside their departments, the " special services " which may PENSIONS 125 bring them under the generous terms of clause 9 of the Superannuation Act of 1859. Continuing our discussion of the provisions of this Act, we may note that clause 10 provides that a superannuation allowance for those under sixty shall only be granted upon medical certificate of " in- firmity of mind or body," and that such infirmity " is likely to be permanent." In cases of this kind, whilst no compensation is allowed for the inevitable loss of office, it is usual to give superannuation for the term of years actually served and upon the basis of the amount or of the average amount of the salary at retirement. Clause II lays it down that there is obligation upon those retiring before sixty to serve in othet offices if capable of doing so, under the penalty — for refusal — of loss of pension. This may perhaps be regarded as a rather hard condition, especially considering that the indi- vidual's deferred-pay contributions have more than paid for the earned " increment " of the pension ; but as it is part of the same Act as that which con- fers pension rights, there is apparently no legal way out of the " condition." Clauses 12 and 13 convey the right to " run on " service — for purposes of pension — when transferred from one post to another, provided the service is consecutive and there is no interval between the periods. Clause 16 is interesting. It says : " All super- annuations, compensations, gratuities, and other allowances granted, or hereafter under this Act to be granted, shall be paid to the persons entitled to 126 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE receive the same without any abatement or reduc- tion in respect of any taxes or duties whatever at present existing, except the tax upon property or income." It must be confessed that the " excep- tion " minimises appreciably the apparent privilege conferred. Some Superannuation Acts were passed subse- quently to 1859, b^t they are of minor importance, being chiefly amending Acts of a necessary but rather trivial kind. The Superannuation Act of 1887 (the 50 and 51 Victoria, c. 67) is, however, important, as it pro- vides for compensation for injuries whilst in per- formance of Government work. And now we come to the last of the various Superannuation Acts, but the first of this century, and more interesting to future entrants to the Civil Service than any other measure of the kind, although, of course, it is interesting to all previous entrants who, upon its passing, agreed to accept its provisions, and these last indicated officials numbered about 90 per cent of the entire Civil Service. We refer to the Superannuation Act of 1909 (the 9th Edward VII, c. 10). It was the action of the Civil Servants' Deferred Pay Executive Committee, of which for eight years the present writer was Vice-Chairman, that led to the passing of this new Pension Act, preceded by the enquiry and report of a Royal Commission obtained, after some years of persistent agitation, by the Committee referred to. To put the question in a nutshell, we may say that what fomented the agitation of Civil servants was PENSIONS 127 the manifest injustice of refusing to pay the legal representatives — widows, children, and others — of deceased Civil servants, dying prematurely, any compensation whatever, when contributions had been made regularly during their lives to the pen- sion money — we will not say to a Pension " Fund," because the '' deferments " of salary — as much con- tributions as actual deductions — were never formed into a stated *' Fund," but were swept haphazard into the general Exchequer. In any case the money obtained by the Government, although never accounted for, was to all intents and purposes the property of the contributors, and it is obvious, as an equitable point, that if these contributors did not live to obtain the benefits for which they had paid, their contributions, even if without interest, should have passed to their dependents. The "equitable point " may best be illustrated by the way in which Pension Schemes have been handled by Railway Companies and other Corpora- tions for the benefit of their employes. The latter pay into an actual and properly-established Fund regular and periodic contributions from their salaries. These contributions are properly " entered up " against the name and address of each con- tributor. The amount of the contribution is, we believe, 2^ per cent from salaries or wages under £100 a year and 5 per cent from salaries or wages over that amount. The employers pay in an equal amount — they double the contribution, in fact. (The State has never done that for Civil Servants.) To the double amount interest at the rate of 4 per cent per annum is added, as, in fact, another con- 128 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE tribution from the employers. (Another conces- sion which Government has never made to its employes.) The servant (of Railway or other company or outside employer) does not get them back if he lives to get his pension. That is his payment. If he dies, however, before the period when his pension would automatically become payable, the whole of the amount, principal (in- cluding the double contributions) and interest on the whole, is paid over to his representatives. But what has been the case in the English Civil Service ? Prior to 1859, ^^ ^^ have previously pointed out, the same deductions, 2J per cent and 5 per cent, according to salary and according to whether that was under or over £100 a year, were made ; and since 1859 " deferments " equivalent to deductions of 18 per cent — ^let us mark the im- mense difference, eighteen per cent, and not 2| per cent or 5 per cent — were made, and yet, right up to 1909, not a penny of the deductions or deferments went to the legal representatives of the Civil Service con- tributors when the contributing " bread-winners " pre-deceased the periods when their very hardly- earned and extortionately-paid-for pensions accrued ! There has been no " paying back " of the vast sum, the illicit *' profit on pensions," made by successive Governments during nearly a century ! The Act of 1909, whilst agreeing to pay something to dependents when Civil Servants do not live to receive their pensions, only does so in consideration of the contributors contracting to pay again for those pensions by consenting to eightieths instead of sixtieths at the end of respective terms of years. PENSIONS 129 and as the maximum term servable is forty years the limit of the pension is one-half instead of two- thirds, or forty-eightieths of salary obtained on retirement from the service instead of, as prior to 1909, forty-sixtieths. With this explanation we will now proceed to quote the clauses of the Act of 1909. The preamble runs — " Be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : — " I. (i) The proportion of the annual salary and emoluments on which the scale of the superannua- tion allowances to be granted to male Civil Servants is to be calculated, shall, in the case of Civil Servants who enter the Service after the passing of this Act, be one-eightieth instead of one-sixtieth, and accord- ingly section 2 of the Superannuation Act 1859, shall, as respects such Civil Servants, have effect, as if for the words * sixtieth ' and ' sixtieths,' wherever they occur, there were substituted the words ' eightieth ' and ' eightieths.' (2) The Treas- ury may grant by way of additional allowance to any such Civil servant who retires after having served for not less than two years, in addition to the superannuation allowance (if any) to which he may become entitled or the gratuity (if any) which may be granted to him under section 6 of the Superannuation Act 1859, ^ lump sum equal to one-thirtieth of the annual salary and emoluments of his office multiplied by the number of completed years he has served, so, however, that the ad- 130 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE ditional allowance shall in no case exceed one and a half times the amount of such salary and emolu- ments : provided that if a Civil Servant retires from the Service after attaining the age of sixty-five years, there shall be deducted from the amount of the additional allowance which would otherwise be pay- able to him one-twentieth of that amount for every completed year he has served after attaining that age." There seems to be something Hibernian about this clause (2) of section i. It is clear that if he re- tires at sixty-five he cannot be described as " serving after "it. The intention perhaps is that " in the event " of his serving after sixty-five the deduction mentioned shall be made. The " lump sum " is the compensation for agreeing to accept one-eightieth instead of one-sixtieth of his salary on retirement ; and it will be shown, later on in the Act, that should the Civil Servant not live until the pensionable age his legal representatives will get the " lump sum." The new Act continues : " 2. (i) Where a male Civil Servant who enters the Service after the passing of this Act dies, after he has served five years or upwards, whilst still employed in the Service, the Treasury may grant to his legal personal representatives a gratuity equal to the annual salary and emoluments of his office, provided that if he dies after attaining the age of sixty-five years, the amount of the gratuity which may be so granted shall be reduced by one- twentieth of that amount for every completed year he has served after attaining that age. (2) Where any such Civil Servant having become entitled to PENSIONS 131 a superannuation allowance dies after he has retired from the Service, and the sums actually received by him at the time of his death on account of such superannuation allowance, together with the sum received by him by way of additional allowance, are less than the amount of the annual salary and emoluments of his ofhce, the Treasury may grant to his legal personal representatives a gratuity equal to the deficiency." There is not, ordinarily, much humour to be extracted from the wording of an Act of Parlia- ment ; but it is clear that clause i might have been, with advantage, differently phrased. A man cannot very well " die " " whilst still employed in the service." The phrasing would have been better thus : " Where a Civil Servant dies during his em- ployment (or in the midst of his employment) in the Service. " 3. (i) Subject to regulations made by the Treasury, the Treasury may allow any male Civil Servant who has entered the Service before the date of the passing of this Act, and who at that date is under sixty years of age, to adopt the provisions of this Act, and in such case there may be granted to him or his legal personal representatives such super- annuation and other allowances and gratuity as might have been granted had he entered the Service after the passing of this Act, except that the amount of the additional allowance payable on retirement shall be increased by one-half per cent, in respect of each completed year he had served at the passing of this Act. (2) Nothing in this Act shall affect the right to superannuation allowance or gratuity of 132 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE a Civil Servant who has entered the Service before the passing of this Act, and who either is at that time over sixty years of age, or is under sixty years of age and does not adopt the provisions of this Act." This increase of allowance to those in the Service prior to the passing of the new Act is tantamount to some recognition of the deferred-pay principle. To give an illustration of the working of the clauses : A Civil Servant who had made forty years of service but was just under sixty years of age at the time of the passing of the Act would have to agree to take half, or forty-eightieths, of his salary as pension instead of forty-sixtieths, and if the salary on which the superannuation allowance was calculated hap- pened to be, say, £600 his pension would be £300 instead of £400 per annum. One-thirtieth of the salary as " allowance " — under the terms of the new Act — for each year of service would be forty- thirtieths, or the amount of the full salary and ten- thirtieths or one-third — that would be £800 plus forty times one-half per cent, or 20 per cent of the £800, equals £160, and totalling £960, payable as a " lump sum " in addition to the £300 per annum. The differ- ence between the amount of the pension due under the old system (£400) and that under the new (£300) being £100 a year, the £960 would be equivalent to slightly more than what is called nine and a half years' "' purchase " of the £100 difference. There is a point of importance to be made in favour of the new Act. It has been calculated that the average time during which a Civil Service Pensioner lives after his retirement is seven years. Assuming that a man retired at sixty-five and lived PENSIONS 133 for seven years, his age — seventy-two — at his decease would, we suppose, make a pretty good average. The Psalmist's average was three score years and ten. Some pensioners die directly after they get their pensions ; others live to a great old age ; but, as we say, the " average " of pension-life has been put at seven years. We must not forget to mention that no less than about 50 per cent of Civil Servants do not survive to the pensionable period, and it is only amongst those who do live to get a pension that the average time of enjoying it is seven years. Under the new Act therefore, upon the basis of this average, the individual in the illustrative case would — but for the compensation allowance — lose £700 in the seven years. But he is paid " down " £960 ; so that he would get, were he to die in seven years, as an Irishman might say, £260 more than he had lost. On the other hand, the State's " bad bargains," as they are called, or the very long-lived pensioners, would lose under the new system. If he lives, say, for twenty-five years after sixty-five to the not very unusual age of ninety his £100 a year loss would represent for the twenty-five years the total of £2500, against which he would only be able to set his £960 and interest ; and even assuming that he got it doubled by safe investment at com- pound interest, that would represent £1920 — let us call it £2000 — and he would still be a loser of £500. But to be more accurate we must not forget the interest on his own extra £100 a year lost for twenty-five years. That interest, whatever it is, would have to be deducted from the accumulation 134 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE on the " lump sum " of £960. Whilst referring to the very long-lived pensioner we recall the incident related to us by a son of a particular pensioner. His father, he said, had been unjustly compelled — to make room for someone else — to retire from the Civil Service at fifty years of age, although he would have preferred to remain until he was sixty- five. His pension was £300 a year. He, metaphori- cally speaking, shook his fists at the Government and threatened to be one of its *' bad bargains " ; and he lived to be nearly a hundred, regularly drawing his pension of £300 a year — thus obtaining about £15,000 from the State. So there are probably worse positions in the world than that of being a Civil Service Pensioner who happens to "enjoy " (who, by the way, does not ?) good health. Cobbett remarked, we remem- ber, in his English Grammar, that the famous Dr. Johnson, although he, in his famous Dic- tionary, described a " pensioner " as "a slave of State," afterwards himself became a pensioner. Proceeding with the Superannuation Act of 1859, we come to clause " 4. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the provisions of the Superannuation Acts 1834 to 1892, with respect to the qualifications for obtain- ing superannuation allowances and gratuities, and to the manner of reckoning years of service and amount of annual salary and emoluments, and to the diminution of superannuation allowances, and to the determination of questions by the Treasury, shall apply in respect of additional allowances and gratuities under this Act in like manner as they . PENSIONS 135 apply in respect of superannuation allowances under those Acts." " 5. A warrant framed by the Treasury under section i of the Superannuation Act 1887, with respect to the grant of annuities and allowances to Civil Servants injured in the discharge of their duty may be revoked or from time to time varied by a fresh warrant, and every such warrant shall be laid before Parliament." " 6. (i) It shall be lawful for the Treasury to grant to any person retiring or removed from the Public Service in consequence of the abolition of his office, or for the purpose of facilitating improve- ments in the organisation of the department to which he belonged, by which greater efficiency and economy can be effected, such special allowance or allowances, by way of compensation, as, on a full consideration of the circumstances of the case, seem to the Treasury to be a reasonable and just com- pensation for the loss of office, but not exceeding, in any case, the amount which a Civil Servant would be entitled to, or which might be granted to a Civil Servant if he retired on the ground of ill-health, (2) The foregoing provision shall apply only to persons entering the Service after the date of the passing of this Act, and shall apply to those persons in substitution for section 7 of the Superannuation Act 1859. Nothing herein contained shall affect the application of the said section 7 of the Super- annuation Act 1859 to persons who have entered the Service before that date, or to the practice of the Treasury thereunder." *' 7. (i) The Treasury may, from time to time, 136 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE make rules for the purpose of carrying this Act into effect, and for making such adaptations and modi- fications of the provisions of the Superannuation Acts 1834 to 1892 and other enactments relating to superannuation allowances and pensions of per- sons who have served partly in the Civil Service and partly in some other service entitling them to a pension, as may be necessary for adapting those provisions to the provisions of this Act, and for altering the rules made by the Treasury under the Superannuation Act 1892. (2) Before any rules made under this section come into force, a draft thereof shall be laid before each House of Parlia- ment for a period of not less than thirty days during the Session of Parhament, and, if either of those Houses of Parliament before the expiration of those thirty days presents an address to His Majesty against the draft or any part thereof, no further proceedings shall be taken thereon, without pre- judice to the making of any new draft rules." " 8. This Act may be cited as the Superannuation Act 1909, and shall be read as one with the Super- annuation Acts 1834 to 1892, and those Acts with this Act maybe cited together as the Superannuation Acts 1834 to 1909." In order to enable Civil Servants in the service prior to the passing of the 1909 Act to come within its provisions, formal applications must be made to and accepted by the Treasury, and strict in- vestigations undertaken as to the age and health of applicants ; but as the date for apphcation was practically closed on the 31st December, 1909, we need not now allude to them. PENSIONS 137 It will, however, be interesting to mention that by a Treasury minute dated the 17th March, 1894, the class of Civil Servants called " Women Typists " were admitted to the enjoyment of pensionable rights like other Civil Servants. Marriage, however, of a Woman Typist was made a disqualification for em- ployment ; but by a Treasury Minute of the 21st November, 1895, it was ordered that a gratuity might be given by the State after a service of six years, and it took the form of an allowance equal to one month's pay for each year of service, but was not to exceed in any case twelve months' pay. A Woman Typist therefore receiving, say, 25s. a week might find on marriage after twelve years a not unacceptable " dowry/' XIX HONOURS To some persons, at any rate, not the least of the inducements to enter upon a Civil Service career is the prospect, not only of honourable distinction, but of actual '' decoration." From peerages downwards these decorations are very plentifully showered upon members of the Civil Service. The first distinction usually given for particularly faithful service in any of the Home departments is that of Companionship of the Bath (C.B.). Then may come " promotion " in the order to a Knight Commandership of the Bath (K.C.B.). Not unfrequently the Grand Cross of the Bath (G.C.B.) follows. If it be Colonial Service that has been rendered, either abroad or in the Colonial Office at home, the decoration may be that of a Companion- ship of St. Michael and St. George (C.M.G.), leading, it may be, to a Knight Commandership of the same order (K.C.M.G.), and then, possibly, to the Grand Cross of the Order (G.C.M.G.). Similarly the Indian distinctions go to members of the Civil Service of India or to clerks and others in the India Office at home. These are the modest Companionships of the Indian Empire (CLE.), Companionships of the Star of India (C.S.I.) , Knight Commanderships of the Indian Empire (K.C.I. E.), Knights Grand Cross of 138 HONOURS 139 the Indian Empire (G.C.I.E.), Knight Commander- ships of the Star of India (K.C.S.I.), and Knights Grand Cross of the Star of India (G.C.S.L). Then there are Companions of the Victorian Order (C.V.O.), Memberships of the Victorian Order (M.V.O.), Knight Commanderships of the same Order (K.C.V.O.), and Knights Grand Cross of the Victorian Order (G.C.V.O.). Above these distinctions there are peerages sometimes given to men who have begun as clerks in the Civil Service, and rising to high positions, have been deemed worthy ultimately of such decorations. Anyone who cares to look at lists — there are plenty of them published and accessible — of the personnel of the Civil Service will see that they " bristle," so to speak, with " orders " — some individuals having earned two or three. One not unfrequently may see one individual with two or three decorations ; and turning, as we write, to a list, we find a permanent Under-Secretary of State who very likely rose from the rank of clerk in the Civil Service, and who is now entitled to the designations of " Right Honourable," Baronet, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., and K.C.I.E. The late King Edward, however, in connection with his Coronation, created for the Civil Service a special order for Civil servants alone — " The Imperial Service Order " (I.S.O.) — its object being the excel- lent one of recognising '* more fully than has hitherto been possible the faithful and meritorious service rendered to us by members of the Civil Service in the various parts of our Empire." The Sovereign and the Prince of Wales are the heads of the order, and they will be succeeded by their heirs and sue- 140 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE cessors. The popularity of this particular order in the service is all the greater because it is not con- fined to people high up in the service or to seniors, but may be given to anyone who renders especial service in his department. Appointments to the Imperial Service Order have to be made by a special warrant under the King's sign-manual, and to be signed also by one of the principal Secretaries of State. The decoration itself must be worn on the left breast, with and suspended from a ribbon. It consists of a medallion of gold and enamel, and has on one side the imperial and royal cipher, and on its reverse side the words " For Faithful Service," displayed on dark blue enamel on a shield or plaque of gold, surrounded by a laurel wreath, surmounted by the Imperial Crown. Those members of the service who have other orders are not precluded from obtaining the Imperial Service Order, which in the order of precedence comes immediately next to the well-known Dis- tinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) (another decora- tion that is sometimes bestowed on Civil servants), and it precedes the Fifth Class of the Royal Victorian Order. Holders of the I.S.O. also rank, in the table of precedency, before the eldest sons of younger sons of peers, baronets' eldest sons, eldest sons of knights, younger sons of younger sons of peers, baronets' younger sons, younger sons of knights, and naval, military, and other *' Esquires." It is a modest distinction, but one that may serve to attract some entrants, although they have before them a " vista " of distinctions up to peerages, as we have shown. XX LEISURE Not the least seductive amongst the numerous attractions of the British Civil Service is the really large amount of leisure which the comparatively short hours of attendance afford for indulgence in other occupations. Here, however, " valour " must be tempered by " discretion " and should form its *' better part." Should the industrious Civil servant endowed, say, with a large amount of inherent energy possess literary ability, he may find a way of adding appreciably to his income. The Civil Service has produced not a few men who have achieved fame by their pens. The very nature of the occupation in most departments is conducive to successful literary work. For one thing, the mind is at ease, because the occupation is usually straight- forward and quiet and not of a worrying character. There is security of tenure ; the prospect of a steady advance of salary, abundant holidays, the certainty of a pension for declining years, the chance of honourable distinction that may be marked by conspicuous decoration by the Sovereign, and the stimulating knowledge that service is being rendered to the greatest nation in the world, claiming a domain on which the sun never sets, and in some part of which the allotted duties may have to be 141 142 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE performed. All these considerations are calculated to soothe even the most excitable nerves, and pro- duce that condition of brain highly conducive to the exercise of the journalistic or other literary art. The examination for entrance is, in fact, what is called a literary one ; so the successful competitor is practically half armed for transmutation, so to speak, into an author — English composition being almost invariably one of the " subjects " of examina- tion. Of course, it is not every Civil Servant who is gifted with the especial capacity which goes to make the successful journalist or litterateur. His '* English composition " may be perfectly blameless — quite sufficiently " good " to enable him to " pass " — but bereft of the short, sharp, intensive style which alone makes the successful writer. His efforts may be quite good enough for official purposes, but not of the brilliant character which is required for a good and saleable book. Nevertheless, although the literary art is to a large extent inborn, quiet and persistent study will go a long way towards enabling it to be acquired ; and perhaps no other occupation affords so many opportunities of cultivating it as that of the Civil Service. Once more, however, it may be as well to hoist the danger signal, and to warn young Civil Servants, or would-be entrants, who may read these pages against making themselves too conspicuous outside the Service — for there then is always the risk of inciting jealousy inside. Anonymous writing for papers and writing for books may be done to any extent and with impunity so long as it does not LEISURE 143 " leak out " who the writer is. The Heads of Departments are especially sensitive about having any of their acts, however wrong they may be, and especially when they are wrong, held up to con- demnation in any of the newspapers of the day ; and they are very prone to visit with open, or secret, punishment the writer of articles or paragraphs. The present writer has frequently stood up for his department when he has found it unjustly attacked by newspapers, and sometimes he has felt it his duty to expose irregular or tyrannical pro- ceedings inside. He recalls one instance in which he sent to a London daily paper a correction of a gross misstatement made in the Press on official authority as to a particular incident. His letter bore a nom de plume that he had frequently adopted, and his official friends guessed therefore, pretty accurately, who had written the particular letter referred to — signed " Veritas." Yet, as anyone can sign " Veritas," that cognomen proved nothing. The letter, however, caused some fluttering in the official dovecotes, and an "Inquisition" was estab- lished to go thoroughly into the matter ; and as a start to the enquiry the Inquisitors were anxious to learn who " Veritas " was. Some busybody had intimated that the present writer was " Veri- tas " ; but such an intimation was not " proof," and what the Inquisitors wanted was proof and not " inference " ; so the following little scene was enacted in the secret chamber of the Inquisitors. Enter the witness, who was politely invited to take a chair. To him, thus, the Chairman of the Inquisitors : — 144 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Inquisitor : " Oh, Mr. , we have been told that you may be able to give us some information as to the subject of our enquiry." Witness : "I will give you any information I can, but I am afraid it will not be very much." Inquisitor : " By the way, a letter appeared a day or two ago in the Daily signed * Veritas,' the writer of which seemed to know a good deal about the matter of our enquiry. Perhaps if we could get at ' Veritas ' he might be able to tell us something." Witness : *' Yes ; I read the letter ; but as it was anonymously signed, I presume it was the intention of the writer not to disclose his per- sonality." Inquisitor : " How do you think we could ascertain who was the writer ? Could anyone tell us, do you think ? " Witness : " There is only one person who could tell you who the writer was (besides the writer him- self), and that is the editor of the paper in which the letter appeared. You might write to him ; but I do not think he would be likely to tell you." At this point the Inquisitor came to the conclusion that he was not likely to get anything out of the witness, and evidently felt that he had gone a little too far. So he remarked : *' We merely thought that if we could have got ' Veritas ' before us he might have given us some help. Nevertheless we are much obhged to you for coming in." Thereupon the witness rose, and with a smile that expressed his great regret at being unable to help LEISURE 145 the worthy Inquisitor, he bowed and left the room with the satisfaction of knowing that the official " Personage " (using this word in the sense in which Lord Beaconsfield once used it) had not exactly ** scored." There are now, and there have proved to be in the past, many ways in which Civil Servants can honour- ably, usefully, and remuneratively occupy their official leisure, and in proof of the great success which has attended the filling up of spare time by business occupations we only need mention one or two of the institutions established by Civil Servants. One is the Civil Service Supply Association, Limited, which originated in 1865 through a few members in the Post Office '* clubbing" together to buy, at wholesale prices, a few articles of general consump- tion. It began, in fact, as " The Post Office Supply Association " ; and then in February, 1866, in order to extend its operations, enlarged its name, so to speak, into the Civil Service Supply Association, Limited, having rules for its regulation certified by the Registrar of Friendly Societies. For some years the outside trade was up in arms, protesting that Civil Servants had no right to become traders ; but it was argued that they were justified in doing what they liked in the way of business with their own time, and the Government refused to interfere. The co-operative trading indulged in by Civil Servants was, practically, a protest against the action of cer- tain West End tradesmen in charging such high prices to cash customers as to make them pay for bad debts ; and Civil Service trading soon showed the magic results that " cash " could produce by purchasing 146 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE wholesale the best goods at the lowest market prices and distributing them amongst the co-operators at the lowest possible prices. In due course the outside " trade " saw the folly of their open warfare, which only had the effect of proving to the public (the consumers) the advantages of co-operative trading ; and it served to advertise Civil Service co-operation. The proper course which should have been adopted at the outset was then taken and rival co-operations established. Practically, however, the rival trade organisations were not genuine co-operations. They were merely the outcome of the efforts of " limited companies " of capitalists to rival the enormous success of Civil Servants, and by erecting big shops, or *' stores " as they called them, to attract the outside buying public by low prices. The enormous and progressive success, however, of the Civil Service Supply Association is attested by two simple statements. In the year ending February, 1867, the gross amount of business done with 9 per cent of working expenses was represented by the amount of sales totalling £21,322, which showed a gross profit of £1697 and a net profit of £729. The " cash down " amount of *' business done " for the year ending the 31st December, 1909, was £1,670,821, the gross profit, with working expenses of slightly over 10 per cent, was £273,506 and the net profit was £48,428. A £1 share cost the original shareholders only los., which had been paid by 5s. down on application and 2s. 6d. per annum. As soon as the los. was reached — in this easy way — the then Association had got so rich by accumulated profits that the balance LEISURE 147 of los. for each shareholder was paid up by it. The original los. is now worth, we beheve, about £250 and the dividend on it is £10 per annum — a rate of interest representing 2000 per cent ; a very good return, indeed, upon an investment of ten shillings ! Other Civil Service Institutions which have proved very successful and have all been managed in leisure time are the Civil Service Lifeboat Fund — entirely supported by the voluntary annual subscriptions of Civil Servants in all departments — the Civil Service Benevolent Fund, for the assistance, by the aid of accumulated voluntary subscriptions, of the widows, orphans, and, in certain special cases, other dependent relatives of deceased Civil Servants, and the Civil Service Insurance Society (with which is associated " The Civil Service Widows and Orphans Fund " and the Civil Service Provident Society). This combined Institution was established to induce Civil Servants to insure their lives (more necessary before the recognition of the claims of the Deferred Pay Committee perhaps than now). To the end of 1909 this society had issued 28,504 policies, repre- senting the large insured amount of £7,552,560. A very important and successful institution is the Customs Annuity and Benevolent Fund Incor- porated, with a capital of over half a million. Then the Philanthropic Customs and Excise Orphanage, the Civil Service Co-operative Society, the Civil Ser- vice Mutual Furnishing Association, and the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise Provident Society all attest, by their successful operations, what can be honourably and beneficially accomplished by official " leisure." ^ XXI "SELLING OUT" There are certain circumstances under which a Civil Servant, in active employment, may sell to the Government, in exchange for a " lump sum," the annual pension he may have earned ; but the instances in which he may do this are now somewhat restricted, and only apply to those whose offices are abolished either because the work in them is no longer required, or the Government desire to make alterations, or reconstructions, in a staff for what they may deem to be the pubHc advantage. If, for instance, a young Civil Servant, say, of ten years' service — the minimum period entitling him to a pension — is suddenly found to be de trop, yet only entitled to a small pension, it would not be fair to compel him to take that pension or nothing. It might be found to be greatly to his advantage to have some capital to enable him to engage in business. In such a case he is offered the chance, under the terms of the Pensions Commutation Act of 1871, to " sell out " by exchanging his annual pension f or a " sum down." Formerly only officers in the Army and the Navy were allowed the privilege of commuting pensions ; but owing to certain drastic changes involving considerable reductions in the Civil Service, under which changes a number of 148 '' SELLING OUT" 149 young men were thrown out of employment with very small pensions, it was considered necessary to give future redundants the opportunity to turn their earned annual allowances into '' immediate cash." Older men, rendered superfluous for the same reasons, have proved to have unwisely changed their certain annual incomes into " lump sums," and we have known of some very painful cases in which the money thus obtained has been staked on invest- ments which have proved unsafe. The whole of the money has been lost and the investors suddenly rendered penniless. In other cases where the commutees have had private incomes they have not been subjected to so much, or rather to such dangerous risk ; and so they have preferred " the bird in the hand " of the sum down to *' the bird in the bush," as it might prove, of the pension, because, although a pension might go on for fifty or sixty years, and in some cases for more, if a young man lives to a great old age, it would cease immediately on his early death, and in that case his legal representatives might be largely the gainers by inheriting an undissolved " lump sum." The Pensions Commutation Board, of course, see that before agreeing to the commutation of any pension the pensioner is in good health, and is what is called a " good average life." Supposing, for instance, in a quite possible case a young man of thirty who had served for ten years was in receipt of £800 a year at the time of forced retirement, and owing to abolition of his office was entitled to ten years' compensation for loss of office, that would 150 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE give him a right, under the Superannuation Act of 1909, to twenty-eightieths or one-fourth of his salary. That would be £200 a year. If he com- muted that he would be entitled to rather more than fourteen and a half years' purchase at his age (thirty). The commutation " sum down " would be about £2900. Add to that the further *' sum down " payable under the same Act of one-thirtieth of his retiring salary for each year of actual service, there would be ten-thirtieths or one-third of £800 to receive. That amount — ^£266 odd — added to £2900 would make a total of £3166, a tempting " nest-egg." But if he lived for fifty years (until the age of eighty) to draw his £200 a year, he would have received the sum of £10,000, and his selling this handsome birthright, so to speak, for the " mess of pottage " of £3166 would be a very bad bargain. On the other hand, if within a few months of determining to hold on to his pension of £200, plus his cash down of £266, he had died, his " legal representatives " would lose £2900. In the whole business there is, of course, a considerable element of chance, but in the case of an ordinarily good ** life " the wiser course would be to hold on to the £200 a year. As it is quite possible than any Civil Servant, however bright the chances of permanency may be, might chance at any time, owing to unexpected con- tingencies, to have his post " abolished," we will quote in full the Pensions Commutation Act of 1871. It is the 34 and 35 Victoria, c. 36, and the preamble and text are as follow : — "Be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent "SELLING OUT" 151 Majesty, and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : — " I. This Act may be cited for all purposes as * the Pensions Commutation Act 1871.' "2. In this Act the term * the Treasury ' means the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury for the time being, or any two or more of them : the term * pension ' includes any half-pay, compensation allowance, superannuation or retirement allow- ance, or other payment of a like nature : the term ' officer ' means commissioned officer and warrant officer in the army and navy and subordinate officer in the navy : the term ' public civil office ' means any office other than that of an officer in Her Majesty's naval or land forces, the holder of which is paid his remuneration out of moneys provided by Parliament for supply purposes. "3. This Act shall apply only (i) to officers of Her Majesty's naval or land forces ; and (2) to persons who have retired or have been removed from public civil offices in consequence of the abohtion of their offices or for the purpose of facilitating improvements in the organisation of the departments to which they belonged, and to whom annual pen- sions have been granted by way of compensation for such retirement or removal. "4. It shall be lawful for the Treasury, in accord- ance with such regulations as they may from time to time make, on the application of any person to whom this Act applies, to commute his pension by the payment of a capital sum of money, calculated 152 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE according to the estimated duration of the life of the pension-holder, subject to the following pro- visions : — (i) In calculating the amount payable in respect of the commutation of any pension, the following rules shall be observed : (a) The age of the pension-holder shall be reckoned at the age he will attain on the birthday next succeeding his application for commutation, (b) In the case of impaired lives, years shall be added to the age of the pension-holder for the purpose of calculating the amount of commutation payable to him ; and in like manner a deduction from age shall be made as an equivalent for the right for prospective in- crease of the pension to be commuted, (c) In calcu- lating the amount payable in respect of any pension, interest shall be reckoned at the rate of not less than five pounds per centum per annum. (2) Where any officer in the naval or land forces of Her Majesty whose pension has been commuted under this Act subsequently marries, his widow shall not be entitled to any pension, and a child of any such officer, born after the date of the commutation of his pension, shall not be entitled to compassionate allowance. (3) Save as aforesaid, nothing in this Act contained shall be held to deprive the wife or children of any officer whose pension may be com- muted, of any reversionary right to pension or compassionate allowance to which she or they may be entitled. (4) No application for the commutation of a pension shall be received unless it be accom- panied, in the case of an officer who has belonged to Her Majesty's naval forces, by a recommendation from the Admiralty, and in the case of an officer -SELLING OUT" 153 who has belonged to Her Majesty's land forces by a recommendation from the War office, and in the case of any other person by the head of the depart- ment to which the applicant belongs, unless the Treasury otherwise direct. "5. There shall be constituted, for the purpose of advising on the cases of applicants for commutation of pensions under the Act, a Board, in this Act called * the Commutation Board.' The Commutation Board shall consist of the Comptroller General for the time being of the National Debt Office and of four other persons to be from time to time ap- pointed by the Treasury. The Treasury may, from time to time, appoint and remove an Actuary, medical referees, and such other officers or ser- vants as they ma}^ consider necessary, and may pay them such remuneration as they may think fit. The Commutation Board shall enquire into and report to the Treasury upon the cases of applicants for commutation under this Act in such manner as the Treasury directs. " 6. The Commissioners for the reduction of the National Debt, with the consent of the Treasury, may pay the amounts awarded as commutations of pensions out of any funds for the time being in their hands under the authority of the Act of the twenty-fourth year of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter fourteen, and the Act of the session of the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh years of the same reign, chapter eighty-seven, or either of such Acts. " 7. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Treasury may from time to time make, alter, or 154 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE revoke regulations as to the following matters : (i) The rules according to which applications for commutations are to be made, or, on payment of a prescribed fee, to be withdrawn : (2) the tables according to which the duration of life of applicants for commutation is to be calculated for the pur- poses of this Act : (3) the terms upon which pensions are to be commuted, and the cases in which the commutation is to be refused. "8. An account shall be made up annually of the amount paid by the Commissioners for the reduction of the National Debt for the commutation of pen- sions under this Act, and a terminable annuity shall be annually paid, out of the votes of Parliament upon which the respective pensions were charge- able previous to commutation, to the Commissioners for the reduction of the National Debt, of an amount sufficient to pay to the said Commissioners, at the expiration of ten years, the amount advanced by them, together with interest thereon at a rate of not less than three and a half per centum per annum, and the amount of the annuity payable in respect of the commutation of pensions shall be notified by a certificate under the hand of the Actuary of the National Debt Office, in the case of an officer in the naval forces, to the Admiralty, and, in the case of an officer in the land forces, to the War Office, and in the case of any other person, to the head of the department to which the person belonged whose pension has been so commuted, or to such other person as may be directed by the Treasury. "9. If any applicant for commutation under this Act wilfully make any false declaration in "SELLING OUT" 155 relation to any matter or thing required by any regulation made in pursuance of this Act, he shall be deemed to be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable, on conviction, to forfeit all claim to his pension or the value thereof, and to be imprisoned for any period not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour. ** 10. If any pension-holder whose pension has been commuted in pursuance of this Act accepts any public employment, a deduction shall be made from the salary payable to him in respect of such employment equal to the amount which would have been abated from the pension if it had not been commuted ; and in the event of his becoming en- titled to a pension in respect of such employment, the amount of such pension granted to him shall not exceed the amount which he might have received had his pension not been so commuted. *' II. If at any time it appear desirable to the Treasury and to the Commissioners for the reduction of the National Debt, having regard to the funds out of which the said Commissioners are authorised by this Act to pay the amounts awarded as com-- mutations of pensions, that an issue in money should be made out of the Consolidated Fund in repayment of advances made from such funds, the Treasury may, upon a certificate to that effect under the hands of the Comptroller General, or Assistant Comptroller, acting under the Commissioners for the reduction of the National Debt, issue to the said Commissioners out of the Consolidated Fund, or the growing produce thereof, such a sum as may be named in such certificate. 156 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE " 12. When an issue has been made as aforesaid out of the ConsoHdated Fund in repayment of advances made by the Commissioners for the reduc- tion of the National Debt under this Act, the Actuary of the National Debt Office shall certify to the said Commissioners the annual amount which should be supplied for a term of years to be fixed by the Commissioners with the assent of the Trea- sury, as the equivalent value of the amount so repaid to the said Commissioners, and the said Commissioners shall annually apply the amount so certified for the fixed terms of years, out of the moneys to be paid to them from year to year in respect of commutations of pensions under this Act, to the purchase and cancelling of perpetual and other annuities, exchequer bills, bonds, bank advances, or other descriptions of debt chargeable upon the Consolidated Fund, and the said Actuary shall take the rate of interest at which the annual payments are to be made to the said Commissioners under this Act as the basis upon which the amount of the annual payments so to be applied are to be valued. "13. The persons who at the time of the passing of this Act are members of the Commutation Board shall constitute the first Commutation Board under this Act, and any regulation made by the Treasury in pursuance of ' the Pensions Commutation Act 1869,' shall continue in force until revoked or altered in pursuance of this Act. " 14. ' The Pensions Commutation Act 1869 ' and the Act of the session of the thirty-third and thirty-fourth years of the reign of Her present "SELLING OUT" 157 Majesty, chapter one hundred and one, intituled ' An Act for amending the 6th Section of ' the Pen- sions Commutation Act 1869,' shall be wholly repealed provided that the repeal in this Act shall not affect (i) any pension duly granted, or anything duly done or suffered under any enactment hereby repealed ; (2) any penalty, forfeiture, or other punishment incurred in respect of any offence against any enactment hereby repealed, or the institution of any proceeding for enforcing or re- covering any such penalty, forfeiture, or punishment as aforesaid." In connection with the Act, instructions are issued to those who may desire to commute Civil com- pensation allowances under the terms we have quoted, and under the terms of a subsequent Act passed in 1876 exempting certain half -pay officers from the operation of section 10 of the Act of 1871 and under the terms also of an Act passed in 1882 giving the Treasury power to commute a portion of a pension. They are : — " I. Any person who has retired or has been re- moved from a public Civil office in consequence of the abolition of his office or for the purpose of facilitating improvements in the organisation of the department to which he belonged, to whom an annual pension has been granted by way of com- pensation for such retirement or removal, and who may be desirous of commuting such pension or a part thereof under the Pensions Commutation Acts 1871 to 1882, must make application in writing to the head or heads of the department to which he belonged, stating his desire so to commute, and 158 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE furnishing information as to his age, the office which he held, and the amount of his compensation allow- ance. 2. If the head of the department to which he belonged shall think proper to recommend the commutation under the fourth clause of the fourth section of the Act of 1871, the person will be so informed by the head of the department, and his application will be forwarded to the Commutation Board for consideration, but no application from any retired Civil servant under the age of fifty years, for the commutation of the whole of his allowance, will be proceeded with- without the special sanction of the Treasury. 3. The person will then receive further instructions from that Board. 4. The Com- mutation Board will require the person to give such information as to his health and habits as is usual in the case of persons proposing to assure their lives in assurance companies, and he will be required to submit himself for personal examination at the office of the Board at the National Debt Office, 19 Old Jewry, in the City of London. 5. The basis of the commutation will be the following Table, subject to an addition of years in the case of impaired lives." Then follows what will prove most useful to intending qualified commutes. Commutation Table. Table showing the Number of Years' Purchase, and also the Price in Cash, of an Annuity of £100, on the life of a male of any age undermentioned ; the interest of money being taken after the rate of Five per cent per annum, payable half-yearly, and the SELLING OUT 159 Law of Mortality being that adopted for the Tables regulating the Grant of Annuities on Male Lives at the National Debt Office. Age next No. of Years' Purchase Present Value of an Birthday. of Pension. Annuity of £100. £ s. d. 21 1500258 1500 5 2 22 14-96111 1496 2 3 23 14-92519 1492 10 5 24 14-88969 1488 19 5 25 14-85191 1485 3 10 26 14-80890 1480 17 10 tl 1474746 1474 14 11 1467951 1467 19 29 14-60551 1460 11 30 14-52581 1452 II 8 31 14-44054 1444 I 1 32 »4-35oo5 1435 I 33 1425257 1425 5 2 34 14I473I 1414 14 8 35 14-03442 1403 8 10 36 13-91478 1391 9 7 37 1379016 1379 4 38 13-66060 1366 I 2 39 13-52738 1352 14 9 40 1338854 1338 17 1 41 13-24313 1324 6 3 42 13-08568 1308 II 4 43 1 292050 1292 I 44 12-74483 1274 9 8 45 12-55834 1255 16 8 46 12-36096 1236 I 11 47 12-14690 1214 13 10 48 11-92339 1192 6 9 49 11-69128 1169 2 7 SO 11.45362 "45 7 3 51 1121356 1121 7 I 52 10-98145 1098 2 II 53 10-75133 1075 2 8 54 10-52560 1052 II 3 55 10-30351 1030 7 56 1008363 1008 7 3 57 986670 986 13 5 58 964896 964 17 II 59 9-42649 942 13 i6o THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Age next No. of Years' Purchase Present Value of an Birthday. of Pension. Annuity of ;^ioo. £ s. d. 60 9- 1 9800 919 16 61 895666 895 13 4 62 870132 870 2 8 63 8-43435 843 8 8 64 816571 816 II 5 65 789583 789 II 8 66 7.62437 762 8 9 67 737082 737 I 8 68 711881 711 17 8 69 686850 686 17 70 6-62170 662 3 5 71 638068 638 I 4 72 6-14448 614 8 II 73 5-90561 590 II 3 74 565540 565 10 10 75 539538 539 10 9 76 512 II 4 77 481532 481 10 8 78 450565 450 II 3 79 4-20762 420 15 3 80 3-9H77 391 9 6 6. The amount of money to be paid in commu- tation of the pension will be fixed by the Treasury on the recommendation of the Commutation Board. The applicant will then be informed of the amount and he will have the option of withdrawing his apphcation on the payment of a fee of ^^3 3s. within thirty days after receiving that notice. 7. If the appli- cant shall not withdraw his application and pay the above fee within that period the decision will be considered final, and the commutation of pension will take place absolutely. 8. In the event of any applicant for commutation desiring to withdraw his application before he has been examined by the medical officer of the Board he shall be at liberty ''SELLING OUT" i6i so to withdraw on payment of any expense not exceeding £3 3s. which may have been actually incurred by the Board on his account. 9. It is lawful for the Treasury, upon the recommendation of the Commutation Board, to commute part of a Civil compensation allowance, in which case it is prescribed that, " in commuting any part of a pension after the first, there shall be charged a fee of not less than three per cent on the further capital sum allowed, provided that such fee shall never be less than £5 nor more than £50." It cannot be said that the cost of selling out is excessive, and the privilege itself may in some cases prove to be a valuable one. XXII HOME APPOINTMENTS It is, of course, fully understood by the reader who has followed us so far that only those who are fully armed can pass the portals of the Civil Service in the present day. At the gates of the big domain which bristles with so many *' good things " stand the Civil Service Commissioners with all sorts of probing weapons. They are, however, chiefly intellectual weapons, and intellectuality must be the arming of the entrant. The Government of the present day has no place to offer for the incompetent. Brilliant and exceptional ability is not necessarily required ; but the possession of a good memory for acquiring the subjects of examination is by no means all that is requisite in a candidate for a post under Government. There must be discretional sense — shall we say common sense ? — to assimilate and utilise the educational food consumed. We recall the instance of a fond mother who boasted that whilst her son, unfortunately, had very little common sense, he had a great deal of extraordinary sense ; but the last-named qualification alone will not enable a candidate to " pass " for the Civil Service. We have known people possessed of quite abnormal memories — people coming under the amusing description of being " walking encyclo- 162 HOME APPOINTMENTS 163 paedias '* — and absolutely crammed with informa- tion, but at the same time utterly bereft of the assimilative function — in other words, of the capacity for applying their knowledge for any pecuniary or other purpose. The would-be entrant need not be discouraged by reflecting that in a conflict of ability between candidates, either in an open or in a limited com- petition, there is little chance for the ordinary man. He may get into a group of ordinary men like him- self, and have a good opportunity of " scoring. '* What we mean is that there must be an element of chance in the men who are thrown together for a particular examination. It may turn out that the average capacity in the group is not high. On the other hand, it may be very high. It reminds one of the common expression of " never knowing one's luck." Assuming that in two separate instances, in an open competition, exactly the same number of candidates came up for examination — say two hundred candidates for twenty appointments — and that one of the successful twenty who had entered and secured the first place in the first examination was allowed to compete with the second two hun- dred in the next examination — just to test his chance in that examination (of course the supposition is purely imaginary, as such a trial would not be allowed), it might turn out — subjects of examina- tion being the same and papers set similar — that he would have to take an eighth or even a lower place. The supposition, however, is actually proved to be correct in another way. In the examination for a particular department the " subjects " are i64 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE always the same, and although the papers set vary from time to time, the average of difficulty is, of course, the same. It is quite certain that the Civil Service Commissioners would not consider it fair to put, for instance, a set of excessively hard papers to one group of candidates and an easy set to another group. So far, of course, as the respective groups are concerned it would be fair to each group if it had identical papers ; but it would not be fair to the public, or shall we say to the tax-payer, to admit one lot of candidates into the public service . on easier terms than another lot. Of course, the - better paid the post the harder the examination ; but whilst the Civil Service Commissioners may be trusted to see to it that the average of hardness i§ maintained for the same department, they cannot possibly forecast either the number or the quality of those who will come up for examination in any instance. The proof, however, that the quality varies is found in the fact that when competitions are held — the maximum number of marks for each subject being always the same for the same subject and for the same departments — an equal number of marks obtained might place a candidate first in one competition, and fourth or fifth place only might be obtained in a subsequent examination by another candidate who had obtained the same number of marks as number i in the previous examination. Each set of candidates comes up in response to an advertisement by the Civil Service Commis- ^ sioners stating that an examination for a specified number of appointments will be held on an indi- HOME APPOINTMENTS 165 cated date. Of course a " latest date " is named for the receipt of applications. On that date the list is rigorously closed ; and, naturally, the number of applicants, governed by all sorts of chances, must vary from time to time. The following facts will indicate the variation in the subjoined cases. In October, 1904, there appeared for 20 vacancies 217 candidates ; in October, 1905, for the same num- ber of vacancies, only 158 candidates turned up ; whilst in March, 1908, the number entering for 20 vacancies fell to 126. There would probably, there- fore, be a much better chance of winning by a candi- date who had the luck to be amongst the 126 group than if he had been amongst the appreciably larger group of 217. Not necessarily, of course, because the 126 might contain a good sprinkling of Minervas. Nil desperandum, however, should be the motto of the youth who desires to enter the English Civil Service : recollection of the saying that " God helps those who help themselves " may have a very stimulative effect ; and we really may take this expression literally and apply it personally to a young entrant to the Civil Service. In a career characterised by a determination to pursue a course of unblemished integrity and industry, with a high- minded resolve to serve with unswerving loyalty the great country under whose service banner he has enrolled himself, is one that may be expected to insure Divine approval and aid. One of the greatest charms of the Service is its absolute independence. We have alluded to irregu- larities to envious prejudice and to positive injustice ; and these to a certain extent do prevail — perhaps i66 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE to a greater extent than they do in other employ- ments ; but there does not exist the same power, as in such other employments, of, what we may term, autocratic dismissal. A Civil Servant who determines to be rigorously punctual and indus- trious, and never to give a Chief the slightest chance to pull him up on any point, may dare that Chief to do his worst. Even slight and unimportant derelictions, however, from an absolutely punctilious course may easily be, and very frequently are, magnified unjustly to the detriment of an official ; and it is wiser to adopt the old plan of not " giving the devil a chance 1 " It is gratifying to note the tendency — which has been for the past few years surely, if slowly, growing — ^to level distinctions. Even for some time after the excellent principle of open competition came into operation, two practically impassable barriers were set up : one between what was called " Class A *' appointments and the " Lower Division," sub- sequently and now called the " Second Division," and another between this Lower Division and Boy Clerkships. All three classes were openly re- cruited from outside, and no encouragement was given to rise from one to the other. Now, however, whilst there are four divisions in place of the former three, namely, " Class I Clerks," " Second Division Clerks," " Assistant Clerks or Abstrac- tors," and " Boy Clerks," facilities are given for rising from one to the other, and in fact it is con- templated to recruit the class of " Assistant Clerks " only from the Boy Clerks class. Upon the institution of the Boy Clerks class or HOME APPOINTMENTS 167 " Boy Copyists," as they were formerly styled, they were kept quite as a class apart, and no prospect whatever was held out to them that they might, however meritorious and indus- trious, rise into better positions. A boy therefore who entered the service in this position simply wasted several of the best of his younger years. What he learnt in the Civil Service, being of so simple and routine a character, was of no use to him in other occupations, where, when rather ruthlessly turned adrift from the Civil Service, he had to begin again and learn altogether fresh work, at, of course, mere apprentice pay. Some studious boys might, whilst in the Civil Service, work up for the competitions ; but for them to do this was quite exceptional. As a result, the examina- tion being very simple, boys took up the situations as makeshifts and migrated to outside positions directly they could obtain them. Hence it was found that the Temporary Boy Clerkship system was mischievous. Now, however, a much more severe competitive examination is exacted, and the very great inducement is offered of recruiting the better- paid class of Assistant Clerkships or " Abstractors " only from the Boy Clerkships. The Assistant Clerks are enabled and encouraged to rise to Second Division Clerkships, and Second Division Clerks are given opportunities of rising to the Class A Clerk- ships. It will now therefore be interesting if we give for the benefit of future entrants the "General Regula- tions " issued by the Civil Service Commissioners, respecting Open Competitive Examinations for i68 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE situations in the Civil Service, included in Schedule A (which we have already quoted) of the Order in Council of the loth January, 1910. Although the Regulations are, the Civil Service Commissioners state, liable to alteration at any time, they are probably only likely to be altered in small details, and the current ones will give a great deal of information to intending entrants, and will give them a clear idea of what is expected of them. Here they are : — " I. Competitive examinations of candidates for situations in the different public departments will be held at such times and at such places as may be deemed expedient. Before every such examina- tion. Special Regulations will be issued, in which the particular conditions of the competition will be specified. 2. These examinations will have refer- ence either to the vacancies existing at the time of the examination, or to the number which may be estimated as likely to occur within any period not exceeding six months after the commencement of the examination, or to vacancies occurring within any period not exceeding six months from the date of the announcement of the result of the examina- tion. 3. These examinations are open to all natural- born or naturalised British subjects, being of the requisite age, health, and character, subject to such restrictions as are herein contained, and to Special Regulations affecting the particular situations, (i) The following persons are ineligible, viz. : mem- bers of the Royal Irish Constabulary of less than five years' service, (ii) The following classes of persons are eligible under certain conditions only. HOME APPOINTMENTS 169 that is to say : (a) persons actually serving in the Army, (b) persons actually serving in the Navy, (c) persons holding situations in the Civil Service, (d) members of the Royal Irish Constabulary of more than five years' service, {e) probationary Engineer Cadets in the Navy and apprentices in His Majesty's Dockyards, (/) persons who have entered upon or completed a course of education or training for the occupation of teacher, on account of which grants are payable from the Exchequer, (g) persons who have been trained in the Customs and Excise Branch of the Government Laboratory. No person actually serving in the Army will be eligible unless he pro- duces to the Civil Service Commissioners, when called upon to do so, the permission of his com- manding officer to attend the examination, dated before the commencement of the competition and given in accordance with such orders as may from time to time be issued by or under the authority of the Army Council. No person actually serving in the Navy will be eligible unless he produces to the Civil Service Commissioners, when called upon to do so, the permission of his commanding officer to attend the examination, dated before the com- mencement of the competition and given in accord- ance with such orders as may from time to time be issued by or under the authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Persons com- prised in the classes (c), (d), (e) must obtain the permission of the authorities of their Department to attend the examination before the commence- ment of the competition. Persons comprised in class (/) will not be qualified to receive appointments 170 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE until the consent of the Board of Education in England, the Committee of Council on Education for Scotland, or the Commissioners of National Education, Ireland, as the case may be, given in conformity with rules sanctioned by the Lords of the Treasury, has been notified to the Civil Service Commissioners. Persons comprised in class (g) will not be qualified for appointment until the consent of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, given with the like sanction, has been notified to the Civil Service Commissioners. 4. In reckoning age for competition the following allowances will be made, viz. : (i) Persons who have served or are serving in the Army or Navy may deduct from their actual age any time during which they have served ; (ii) persons who may be serving or who may have served in the Militia, the Imperial Yeo- manry, the Honourable Artillery Company, or the Volunteers, may deduct from their actual age any time spent on actual military service, such time being reckoned by the number of days for which they received army pay ; (iii) persons who have served for two full consecutive years — (A) in the Royal Irish Constabulary, (B) in any Civil situation other than that of Registered Boy Clerk to which they were admitted with the certificate of the Civil Service Commissioners, (C) as registered Boy Clerks (if appointed on the results of the competition of September 22nd, 1908, or any previous competition) — may deduct from their actual age any time not exceeding five years which they may have spent in such service, with the proviso that persons com- prised in classes (A), (B), (C) will not be allowed HOME APPOINTMENTS 171 to deduct from their actual age more than the following, viz. : one year when competing at any examination held after the 31st December, 1911, for junior appointments in the Supply and Account- ing Department of the Admiralty or other situations grouped therewith under the same regulations ; one year when competing at any examination held after the 31st August, 1910, for the situation of Second Class clerk for port service in the Depart- ment of His Majesty's Customs and Excise ; two years when competing for clerkships in the Second Division of the Civil Service ; one year when com- peting for the situation of Assistant of Customs and Excise. 5. If at any examination two or more situations, whether in the same or in different Departments, shall be offered for competition, the successful candidates will be permitted (unless otherwise stated in special regulations and subject to the case of Examinations for clerkships in the Second Division of the Civil Service to the pro- vision contained in chapter 5 of Part IV of the Order in Council of loth January, 1910) to choose in their order as determined by the competitive examination among the situations offered for com- petition ; provided that they be duly qualified according to the special rules prescribed under clause 4 of the Order in Council of loth January, 1910, for the particular situations to which they may severally be assigned. A candidate will not be eligible for assignment or appointment to the Admiralty, the War Ofhce, or the Colonial Office unless he is a -British subject, and the son of a father also a British subject, except by special 172 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE permission from the Head of the Department con- cerned, and a candidate will not be eligible for assignment or appointment to the Foreign Office, unless he is a natural-born British subject and born within the United Kingdom of parents also born therein, except when special permission is given to the Civil Service Commissioners by the Secretary of State for foreign Affairs." As we have stated in a previous part of this chapter that the intention of the Authorities is clearly to make Boy Clerkships the initial positions for entry into the Civil Service, it will be interesting for future entrants to be put into possession of the whole of the rather elaborate regulations issued, in regard to these appointments, by the Civil Service Commissioners. It is important to note first that a lad can enter the class at the early age of fifteen, and he cannot enter after he is sixteen. Careful attention to this point, by parents or other guar- dians, will save a great deal of disappointment. Here are the " Boy Clerks " Regulations : — " I. Two Registers of Boy Clerks for temporary employment in Public Departments will be kept by the Civil Service Commissioners." (A note here points out that " Boy Clerks, who entered the Service by competitions earlier than May, 1906, will remain registered as heretofore on a single register for Great Britain and Ireland.") *' 2. These Registers will contain the names of boys who, being either natural-born or naturalised British subjects, are certified by the Civil Service Com- missioners to be of good health and character, and duly quahfied under the following Regulations HOME APPOINTMENTS 173 (3 and 4). One Register will contain the names of boys for service in London, Edinburgh, and pro- vincial towns of England, Scotland, and Wales. The other will contain the names of boys for service in Dublin and provincial towns in Ireland." We may remark here that we are sufficiently " in- sular " — not in a general way, but in this instance — as to think that "naturalised" British subjects should, in fairness to natural-born British subjects and in view especially of the large and distressing amount of British unemployment, be excluded from these competitions, unless it is the fact that the Civil Services of, say, European countries are equally open to naturalised subjects of those countries — and we very much doubt if that is the case. Anyone, that is to say, practically any foreigner, can become *' naturalised " in this country, and the " open door " mentioned would enable any number of " foreigners " to enter our Home Civil Service. Certainly we might admit Americans, Colonists, and all other English-speaking people, but should not admit all foreigners. Similarly there should, in the Indian Civil Service, be a good proportion of English- men, but it would not be fair to exclude native Indians from that Service, especially when natural- ised as British subjects. Continuing the Boy Clerks Regulations, we reach " 3. The limits of age are 15 to 16. If an exam- ination begins in one of the first three months of any year, candidates must be of the prescribed age on the first of January in that year. If an examination begins in April or May of any year, candidates may be of the prescribed age on the 174 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE first of April in that year. If an examination begins in June, July, or August of any year, candidates must be of the prescribed age on the first of June in that year. If an examination be- gins in one of the last four months of any year, candidates must be of the prescribed age on the first of September in that year. 4. The subjects of examination are : (i) Handwriting and Orthog- raphy, (2) Arithmetic, including Vulgar and Decimal Fractions, (3) Enghsh Composition, (4) Copying Manuscript — and any three of the follow- ing, except that not more than two languages may be taken : (5) Geography, (6) English History, (7) Latin, (8) French, (9) German, (10) Mathematics, (11) Elementary Science. No candidate will be regarded as qualified who fails to obtain such an aggregate number of marks as may indicate, in the judgment of the Civil Service Commissioners, a competent amount of general proficiency. 5. Open Competitive Examinations for the purpose of test- ing the qualifications of candidates in the above- mentioned subjects will be held by the Civil Service Commissioners from time to time as may be neces- sary, and a certain number, regulated by the prob- able demand from the Public Departments, of those who show sufficient proficiency will be placed upon the Registers kept by the Commissioners, and will be available for employment as their services are required. The competitions for the Irish Service wiU, as a rule, be held at the same time as the com- petitions for service in Great Britain, and the list of successful candidates for Ireland will be separate from that of the successful candidates for service HOME APPOINTMENTS 175 in Great Britain. Candidates can enter for both competitions, when they are held simultaneously, paying only one fee. If successful in both they will be entered on the Register for Great Britain only, or on that for Ireland only, or on both Registers, according to their choice. 6. The fee payable for attending an examination will be 5s. 7. Boy Clerks placed on these Registers will be summoned for emplo3niient in any of the Public Departments as they are wanted ; when not wanted they will have no claim to employment. Refusing to serve when called upon, except for reasons satisfactory to the Civil Service Commissioners, they will be removed from the Registers. The order in which they may be employed, the Departments to which they may be assigned, and their retention generally on the Registers, will be determined by the Civil Service Commissioners ; but they will be subject to the orders of the Departments in which they are serving during the time of their actual employment and will be liable to dismissal from them by the authori- ties thereof, without notice, for inefficiency or mis- conduct. Boy Clerks resigning, or procuring their own discharges from Departments, except for sufficient reasons proved to the satisfaction of the Civil Service Commissioners, will be removed from the Registers. Their assignment for service will, as a general rule, be according to their order of merit in the examination ; but exceptions to this general rule may be made when the engagement offered is very short, or for other sufficient reasons." It seems to be rather a hard condition that, after appointment, a Boy Clerk will have no claim to 176 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE appointment, especially as it should not be very difficult, when his services may be temporarily not required in the Department which he may have entered, to find something for him to do; and it seems especially hard for those lads whose homes are in the country, far away from the scene of their work, to be thrown out of employment ; but we believe that every endeavour is made to find con- tinuous work, and the prospect of competing for the next higher grade, that of Assistant Clerk, soon comes round, and then the salary runs up by annual instalments to £150. The regulations continue : " S. Boy Clerks will usually be engaged and paid by the week of 39 hours, namely : 7 hours a day on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and 4 hours on Saturdays ; and they will be paid 15s. per week during the first year of their service. After a year of approved service, an increase of pay to i6s. a week may be allowed. In any case of absence without pay a Boy Clerk's incre- ment shall be postponed one day for every day of such absence — absence without pay equally with the interval between two successive engagements not being reckoned as service for any purpose con- templated by the Regulations." The meaning of this regulation may not seem very clear perhaps to the ordinary reader. The explan- ation is that in the Civil Service, when the amount of ordinary leave within the year has been all taken and a further day or more is required, application is occasionally made, under urgent circumstances, to the Head of a Department to grant the leave desired HOME APPOINTMENTS 177 *' with loss of pay." Such leave, however^ is not granted as a matter of course. " Urgent private affairs " must be urged and, as far as possible, proved before such leave is granted. Otherwise individuals to whom loss of pay is not a great matter, owing to the possession of private means, might be continually asking for special leave, to the great inconvenience of the Public Service. In cases, how- ever, of family bereavement, such special leave is usually granted without hesitation, and in the past — but probably not nowadays — granted, in the case of the death of a parent, without loss of pay. The concluding part of paragraph 8 of these Regulations, runs : — " Boy Clerks may also be engaged and paid by the hour at the rate of 4jd. per hour during their first year of service ; and at the rate of 5d. per hour thereafter. Any who may be engaged by the week and who may be required to attend for more than 7| hours on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs- day, or Friday, or more than 4J hours on Saturday, will be paid at the hourly rate for the overtime attendance in excess of the normal attendance for such day. But in no case must overtime attendance exceed 6 hours in any one week. They may also be paid by the piece at such rates as may be fixed by the Civil Service Commissioners, with the ap- proval of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury. 9. No service in the capacity of Boy Clerk will con- fer any claim to superannuation or compensation allowance ; and Boy Clerks will not be retained, as such, after they shall have reached the age of 18. (Boy Clerks, however, who entered the service as 178 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE the results of the competition of September 22nd, 1908, or of any previous competition, may be, as hitherto, retained on the register up to the age of 20.) The 18 years' limit is subject to the following provisos : (i) Boy Clerks who have had no oppor- tunity of entering a competition for Assistant Clerkships after reaching the age of 17J may be retained until the next competition takes place, and provided they enter the competition, until the result is announced. (2) Boy Clerks who reach the age of 18 after entering a competition for Assistant Clerkships may be retained until the result is an- nounced. (3) A Boy Clerk who has been declared successful in a competition for Assistant Clerkships may be retained as a Boy Clerk until he is assigned to a vacant post as Assistant Clerk, unless he is rejected by the Civil Service Commissioners as not duly qualified in respect of age, health, or character for the permanent situation. 10. If a public holi- day on which the office is closed fall within the period of a Boy Clerk's engagement, he may be paid in respect of it as for a working day. Boy Clerks may, with the consent of the Department in which they are serving, or if not at the time serving, with the consent of the Civil Service Commissioners, be allowed holidays with full pay in the proportion of 12 days a year. No Boy Clerk shall be allowed to take more than 12 days' leave under these conditions between the ist of January and the 31st of December. Holiday pay can only be allowed for holidays actually taken, not for days on which the Boy Clerk is drawing pay in respect of employment in any capacity in the Public HOME APPOINTMENTS 179 Service. 11. Boy Clerks who may fall ill while serving in any Department, and whose illness may be attested by medical certificate to the satisfaction of the authorities of such Department, may be allowed sick-leave, receiving three-fourths of the rate of pay for the official day ; provided that no Boy Clerk shall be paid for sick-leave for more than 24 days within any one year, exclusive of public holidays, except in cases of severe illness, when sick- leave at the rate of three-fourths of pay may be allowed for a further period, not exceeding 12 days, making a total of not more than 36 days in all in any one calendar year. 12. Except in conformity with regulations 10, 11, 14, and 15, Boy Clerks will only receive pay for the hours, or parts of hours, during which they actually attend. 13. Persons who have entered upon or completed a course of education or training for the occupation of Teacher, on account of which grants are payable from the Exchequer, are not eligible for employment as Boy Clerks until the consent of the Board of Education in England, the Committee of Council on Educa- tion for Scotland, or the Commissioners of National Education, Ireland, as the case may be, given in conformity with rules sanctioned by the Lords of the Treasury, has been notified to the Civil Service Commissioners. 14. If any case of infectious dis- ease should occur in the house where a Boy Clerk is living, he must immediately report the fact to the officer under whom he is employed, and must, if required, at once discontinue his attendance. In cases of such enforced absence from his employ- ment, it is in the discretion of the Head of the i8o THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Department in which he has been serving to allow the Boy Clerk full pay at the usual rate for the period for which it is medically certified that his attendance at the office would be likely to be danger- ous to his colleagues." It is strange that such an allowance of pay should be left to the *' discretion" of any official, when the reasons for the absence are remembered. "15. In any year in which an open competition for situations as Assistant Clerk (Abstractor class) in the Civil Service, for situations as Assistant of Customs and Excise or for Clerkships of the Second Division is held, a Boy Clerk who obtains from the Head of the Department in which he is serving leave of absence to attend such exam- ination may also, at the discretion of the Head of the Department, be allowed pay, at the usual rate, for the days during which he is attending the examination. 16. Service marks for each full period of three calendar months of actual ap- proved service in the capacity of Boy Clerk, subject to a maximum of eight such periods, will be allowed to candidates attending examinations for the following situations, viz. : Clerkships in the Second Division of the Civil Service, Second Class Clerkships (Lower Section) for Port Service in the Department of His Majesty's Customs, and Assistantships of Excise, in the case of those who are serving or have served as Boy Clerks, provided they shall have rendered not less than six months' approved service in that capacity ; but the number of marks to be allowed for each period may be different at successive examinations." HOME APPOINTMENTS i8i A note to this clause i6 says with reference to the " service marks " alluded to : " Boy Clerks who have entered the Service on the result of the com- petition of September 22nd, 1908, or any previous competition, will, as heretofore, be allowed to reckon twelve such periods for service for service marks." " 17. In the promotions of permanent Civil Servants (Assistant Clerks, Abstractor class) under clause 45 of the Order in Council of loth January, 1910, not less than one year's and not more than two years' approved service as Boy Clerk may be allowed to reckon towards the six years' established service required by the said clause." This, the most recent list of Regulations respecting the admission of Boy Clerks to the Civil Service, was issued on 27th September, 1910. Attached to them are memoranda which will be of great use to candidates. They are issued as a syllabus of the examination in certain subjects and appear under the following headings, to which we will give prominence for convenience of refer- ence. Handwriting " The Civil Service Commissioners direct atten- tion to the principles upon which they will assess the merits of handwriting for the purposes of examinations conducted by them. Stress will chiefly be laid on Legibility, Regularity, Neatness, and Speed. To ensure the attainment of these essential requisites the subjoined rules should be observed : (i) Each letter and each figure should be clearly and completely formed, so as to avoid i82 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE the possibility of one letter or figure being mistaken for another ; and the slope from the vertical should be even and not exceed thirty degrees. (2) The characters should be of moderate and even size. The projection of capitals and long letters above or below the line should not be more than one and a half times the length of the short letters. Flourishes and superfluous strokes should be avoided. (3) There should be moderate and even spaces between the letters in a word, and also between the words in a sentence. The letters in a word should be united by strokes ; the words in a sentence should be unconnected by strokes. (4) The writing should be in straight lines, running parallel with the top of the page. The intervals between lines should be even and sufficient to prevent the inter- section of loops and tails. (5) The whole of the passage set should be copied ; failure to do so will entail serious deductions. In accordance with the principles and rules above set forth the Commis- sioners will judge each specimen on its merits, but will not otherwise accord preference to any particular style of handwriting. For adequate proficiency full marks will be awarded, and greater proficiency will receive no further reward. Speci- mens of writing worthy of full marks are included in the reprint of the question papers set at the ex- amination of January, 1911.*' The preceding " hints "as to handwriting are clearly excellent. A " Civil Service hand " is an expression which has crept into use since the insti- tution of open competition. What is needed is the maximum amount of legibility marred by no HOME APPOINTMENTS 183 eccentricity — copperplate writing, in short. That will always win a maximum of marks. Arithmetic " A knowledge of recurring decimals is not required. For full credit the working must be completely shown and clearly arranged. A result may be asked for to a certain approximation, or the data may themselves be only approximate. In such a case, to give the result to a greater degree of accuracy than is asked for, or is justified by the data, will entail loss of marks. Geography " The study of natural features and physical conditions in relation to the habits and occupations of man. Special attention should be directed to : — the distribution of plants, animals, and minerals, and their uses ; the distribution of land and water ; surface configuration ; drainage areas ; means of communication and their relation to configuration ; the distribution of industries ; climate in its rela- tion to vegetable and animal life ; elementary notions of the formation of cloud, rain, snow, and ice ; the shape and motion of the earth ; prevailing winds, tides, and ocean currents (all treated without reference to their causes) . Re maps : how to read maps and how to make a map of a small district ; contour lines ; sections ; latitude, longitude, and time. The British Isles in some detail, the World in out- line." These are really golden rules, careful and studious observance of which, combined with a good i84 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE memory and plenty of common sense, is sure to tell favourably in " marks. '* Languages ** Translation from the language and easy com- position in the language." Here, again, is brief but good advice. Mathematics " The triangle — ^the number and nature of the conditions that determine it ; simple relation among its parts. Parallels. Areas and volumes ; ex- pression for the area of a parallelogram or triangle in terms of base and height ; making a square or triangle equal to a given figure. Algebraic formulas, graphs, simple equations, use of graphs to solve equations, all in connection with the above and other problems. Theorem of Pythagoras, and its extension to any triangle. Grasp of elementary principles and readiness in practical application will be looked for. Numerical results should be worked out to a few significant figures. Candidates should be accustomed to using rough checks of the accuracy of their results. Simple problems in three dimensions are not excluded. No great skill in the use of drawing instruments will be needed." Again the advice is excellent, and if pertinaciously followed is certain of successful results. Elementary Science " The practical methods of measuring length, area, volume, and weight. Experiments with HOME APPOINTMENTS 185 pendulums. The methods of determining the rela- tive densities of solids and liquids. The barometer. Boyle's Law. Levers ; blocks and tackle. Centre of gravity. Observations of the effects of heat. The thermometer. Specific heat. Latent heat. Conduction, convection, and radiation. Solution, crystallisation, filtration, distillation. Simple chemi- cal and physical properties of common substances, such as air, water, chalk, lime, coal, salt. Oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen. Combustion." Good grounding in these subjects will form the finest intellectual basis for the student. A mind trained upon natural philosophy is, moreover, the finest for producing brilliancy and graphic power, and will be found invaluable for a literary career that will serve to add appreciably to the pecuniary utilisation of official " leisure." We now come to the class of what are called Assistant Clerks or *' Abstractors." These come, as we have seen, next above the Boy Clerks and under the most recent arrangements are to be recruited only from the Boy Clerks class. At first these Abstractors were men who had been promoted from the old class of what were called " Men Copy- ists" — the "Boy Copyists" and "Men Copyists," employed to do the inferior or more mechanical work of the service, being the forerunners of the " Boy Clerks " and " Assistant Clerks " — practically permanent appointments resulting from the purely temporary ones, such as those of " Boy " and " Men " Copyists. About six hundred Men Copyists thus became Assistant Clerks, and of these six hundred more than one-fourth have since been ad- i86 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE mitted to " Second Division " Clerkships. The great advantage — to the old " Men Copyists " — of the change was that from position^ carrying no right to superannuation they have come into the pension- able area. As by this very desirable process the class of *' Men Copyists *' became drained — ^being now, in fact, extinct — new recruits had to be ob- tained, and then came the idea of not only recruit- ing the new class of Abstractors — from amongst Boy Clerks — ^but of making it obhgatory that only Boy Clerks could be transmutable into Assistant Clerks, and that the former, in order to qualify for the higher positions, must have served for a specified time. At present the age limits for entrance of Assistant Clerks are 19 and 21. This is under what is called the '* old scheme " ; but a new scheme has been framed under which the age limits in future — but not until the ist January, 1914 — will be 17 and 18. To make the position clear, therefore, we will give the two sets of regulations, although the principal difference between them is in the matter of the age limits. The arrangement at present is as follows for the *' old " or existing scheme, which it is pro- posed shall continue to the end of 1913. The regulations are as under : — • • No candidate will be eligible who has not — {a) On the results of the Open Competition of 22nd September, 1908, or some previous competition, been placed on one of the Civil Service Commissioners* Registers of Boy Clerks or Boy Copyists ; and (b) actually served in one or more of the Govern- ment Departments as Registered Boy Clerk or Boy Copyist for the following period, viz. : for two HOME APPOINTMENTS 187 years if his service commenced before he was 17J years of age, or for one year if his service did not commence until he was over 17 J." It is important not to overlook the present limits of age, 19 and 21, as to which the Civil Service Commissioners make the following note: *' Candidates must be of the prescribed age on the ist of January or ist of July of the year in which they are examined, according as the examination is held in the first or second half of the year." Then reference is made to clause 4 of general regulations previously quoted (page 170) as to deductions from age that may be made by persons who have served in the Army, the Navy, the Militia, the Honourable Artillery Company, the Royal Irish Constabulary, and in certain Civil situations for previous service in the positions named, but not exceeding a maxi- mum of five years. The present subjects of examination, in open competition, for " Abstractors " are : (i) English Composition, (2) Arithmetic, (3) Digesting Returns into Summaries, (4) Precis and Indexing ; and (5) Book-keeping or Shorthand. An important " note '* made by the Civil Service Commissioners as to these subjects is : " Candidates who fail to obtain such an aggregate of marks as may indicate in the judg- ment of the Civil Service Commissioners a com- petent amount of general proficiency will not be regarded as qualified.'' The " new scheme " for Assistant Clerks varies chiefly, as we have mentioned, from the " old scheme " in the matter of limits of age, and that variation is, in that respect, important. Whilst it i88 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE will be advantageous to clever Boy Clerks by enabling them to enter the superior class at 17 — two years earlier than under the existing system — it closes the door three years earlier, namely, at 18 instead of 21. The subjects of examination are to be exactly the same as those just quoted under the *' old scheme " ; but the eligibility clauses (a) and (b) are different. The new scheme regulation says : " No candidate will be eligible who has not (a) on the results of some competition later than that of 22nd September, 1908, been placed by the Civil Service Commissioners on one of their Registers of Boy Clerks, and retained by them on the same up to the date of the examination ; and (b) actually served as Registered Boy Clerk not less than six months' approved service in one or more of the Government Departments." It will thus be seen that the new scheme is framed with the intention of giving a Boy Clerk at an earlier age the oppor- tunity of advancement — for from his i6s. a week or £41 I2S. per annum as Boy Clerk, he will, at the age of i6|, be able, should he succeed in a competi- tion and have entered the " Boy Clerks " class at 16 and rendered six months' *' approved service," to begin at £45 per annum and rise by annual incre- ments of £5 to £85 per annum ; and thence by increments of £7 los. per annum to £150 (" subject to a special certificate of proficiency "), when he reaches the maximum of the " first run," namely, £85 per annum. Should he have to wade — without succeeding in the chance of getting higher into the service — through every annual increment, he would only get HOME APPOINTMENTS 189 £100 per annum at 26| years of age and the maxi- mum when he was 33! years of age ; and this does not appear to be a brilHant prospect per se. Yet it would be curious to ascertain what is probably the fact, that a very large number of " clerks " out- side the Civil Service are getting appreciably less than £100 per annum at 22J, and less than £150 at 33J years of age. But we must not forget the Second Division and the chances for the Assistant Clerk to enter that much better paid grade. Previously the routine work of the various Government offices was done, as we have seen, by Men Clerks and Boy Clerks practically constituting a Lower Division. That designation was afterwards — in 1876 — formally adopted for this class ; but in 1890 the more com- plimentary name of Second Division was adopted ; but Boy Clerks were retained, as we have seen, as a lower grade, and the intermediate class of Assistant Clerks or " Abstractors " introduced. The pay of the Second Division is on a rising scale from £yo to ;f300 per annum ; the scale of advance being as under : £70 by £y ids. to £130. Then £10 per annum from that sum to £200, and again £10 per annum to £300. A certificate each year as to con- duct being quite satisfactory is necessary to ensure the increment ; and when the salary of £200 has been reached a more important certificate is re- quired, and that must state that the clerk reported on is able to perform with due proficiency the most important work that can under any circumstances be assigned to Second Division Clerks. As already stated. Boy Clerks and Assistant 190 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Clerks are allowed to compete for Second Division Clerkships, the subjects of examination for which are as under : (i) Handwriting and Orthography, including copying manuscript, (2) Arithmetic, (3) English Composition, (4) Precis, including Indexing and Digest of Returns, (5) Book-keeping and Short- hand Writing, (6) Geography and English History, (7) Latin (translation from the language and com- position), (8) French (in the same way), and (9) German (also in the same way) — ^but only two, and any two, languages may be taken — (10) Elementary Mathematics, and (11) Inorganic Chemistry, with Ele- ments of Physics. The Civil Service Commissioners state : " Not more than four of the subjects num- bered 4 to II may be offered ; so that the total of subjects is seven ; but, as will readily be understood, the first three are obligatory. The selection allowed, however, gives candidates a better chance. The limits of age for the Second Division are 17 and 20. The Commissioners publish the following note in reference to this particular competition : " Service marks for each full period of three calendar months of actual approved service, subject to a maximum of twelve of such periods, may be allowed to candi- dates attending an examination who are serving or have served as Registered Boy Clerks or Boy Copyists, and have entered the service by the competition of 22nd September, 1908, or any previous competition. To candidates who shall have been registered as Temporary Boy Clerks on the result of any competition subsequent to that of 22nd September, 1908, and shall have rendered not less than six months' approved service in that HOME APPOINTMENTS 191 capacity, service marks may be allowed for each full period of three calendar months, subject to a maxi- mum of eight such periods." This paragraph indicates the specific inducement held out to encourage Boy Clerks to enter the ranks of the Second Division Clerks. Whilst, in the list given of subjects of examination, it will be noticed that the number to be taken is limited, it is very important, in the interests of the candidate, that, although it is not explicitly stated that any of the subjects are obligatory, he would very appre- ciably minimise his chances of success were he to omit a subject he may take. One omitted subject that the candidate could pass in fairly well might mean a loss of, say, 300 marks. With these he might be several places above the line ; without them several places below it. For all the subjects of examination enumerated for Second Division Clerk- ships the total of marks is 5000 ; but as four of these, representing 400 marks each, cannot be taken — that is to say, as only seven of the eleven subjects can be ''taken on" by the candidate, 1600 of the 5000 marks are unobtainable, and the maximum attainable, for the highest possible proficiency — never yet reached we believe — in all the subjects is 3400. The maxima of marks are as follows : for Handwriting and Orthography and Copying Manu- script, 600 ; for Arithmetic, 600 ; and for English Composition, 600 ; for all the other subjects, viz. : (a) Precis, Indexing, and Digest of Returns, (b) Book- keeping and Shorthand, (c) Geography and English History, (e) Latin, (/) French, (g) German, (t) Mathe- matics, and (j) Chemistry and Physics, 400 each. 192 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE The analysis of one particular examination, held in September, 1910, will interestingly illustrate the outcome of an examination for Second Division Clerkships. In this examination 100 candidates were successful ; but the first — whom we will call A, on the list — failed to obtain the maximum num- ber of marks for any subject, although he came very near it by obtaining 596 marks for Arithmetic out of the maximum of 600. He only got, however, 230 marks out of the maximum of 400 for Precis, Indexing, and Digest of Returns. His other marks were 404 out of 600 for Handwriting and Ortho- graphy and Copying Manuscript ; 516 out of 600 for English Composition ; 314 out of 400 for Book- keeping and Shorthand ; 348 out of 400 for French ; and 320 out of 400 for Mathematics. His choice between (i) Mathematics and (f) Chemistry and Physics was for the former. The lowest on the list (whom we will call Z) for Chemistry and Physics got 293 marks, and for Mathematics 290. The total of marks of A was 2728 out of a possible 3400. The marks of the last candidate of the successful 100 were for Handwriting, etc., 378 out of 600 ; for Arithmetic, 552 out of 600 ; for English Compo- sition, 399 out of 600 ; for Geography and Enghsh History, 250 out of 400 ; for French, 302 out of 400 ; and for Mathematics and Chemistry, etc., as stated. The total of Z was 2464 or 264 marks less than those obtained by A. Competitions for the Second Division Clerkships began with an open one in September, 1900, as the result of which no less than 315 appointments were made. No less than 62 found the great advantage HOME APPOINTMENTS 193 of " service marks," and of these 29 had a maximum of 120 such marks ; and it made this great difference to these 29, that it brought them above the Hne, when without them they would have been unsuccess- ful. Boy Clerks and also Abstractors have scored well in the various examinations that took place up to 31st December, 1909, for of the 1071 specially selected a large proportion came from those classes. In a considerable number of cases the successful competitors have been allowed to enter the offices they have selected or expressed a preference for. The following list gives the names of the various departments in England, Scotland, and Ireland where Second Division Clerks are employed, chiefly in the respective capitals, showing the wide field which is open for this useful class of Civil Servants. We will name them in alphabetical order. In London — the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Admiralty, British Museum, Charity Commission, Chelsea Hospital, Civil Service Com- mission, Colonial Office, Customs and Excise, Education Office, Foreign Office, Friendly Societies Registry, Home Office, India Office, Indian Audit Office, Inland Revenue, Local Government Board, Lunacy Commission Mint, National Debt Office, Paymaster-General's Office, Post Office, Privy Council Office, PubHc Works Loan Office, Reforma- tories' Office, Registrar-General's Office, Scotch Education Office, Stationery Office, Supreme Court Pay Office, Trade (Board of), Treasury, War Office, and Office of Works. In Edinburgh — the Chancery Department, Exchequer Office, Fishery Office, In- land Revenue, Local Government Board, Post 194 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Office, Prisons Department, and Registrar-General's. In Dublin — the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, Chief Secretary's Office, Constabulary, Deeds Registry, Dublin Metropolitan Police, Inland Revenue, Irish Land Commission, Local Government Board, National Education Office, Post Office, Prisons Office, Public Works Office, Reformatories' Office, Registrar-General's Office, Teachers' Pension Office, Treasury Remem- brancer's Office, and Valuation Office. Before leaving the subject of the Second Division of the Civil Service it should be noted that there are certain special positions, rewarded by higher pay than the maximum salary, £300, to which a clerk in this division rises regularly by annual in- crements of the amounts that have already been mentioned. These special positions are called " Staff appointments," in which work of a higher character and more important nature than that falling to the lot of the routine clerk has to be per- formed. Amongst the departments where these posts occur are the Admiralty, the Inland Revenue, the Local Government Board, the Board of Trade, and the War Office. The salaries vary according to the work and responsibilities allotted to the posi- tions, and range between £300 and £500. Moreover, as further encouragement. Second Division Clerks are eligible, after eight years' service, for promotion to the First or " A " Division. Nearly 150 of such promotions were made in less than five years, from 1901 to 1905 ; but during the same interval there were over 400 promotions to the " Staff " posts just alluded to ; and to show what may be accomplished HOME APPOINTMENTS 195 by especially meritorious members of the Second Division, we may say that one rose to be an Assistant Director of Stores at the Admiralty at a salary commencing at £800 and rising to £900. Another became a principal clerk in the Admiralty, be- ginning at £850 and rising to £1000 per annum. Another, again, was appointed a Commissioner of Income Tax under the Board of Inland Revenue, rising from an initial salary of £850 to £1000. Yet another became Secretary of the Estate Duty Office in the Inland Revenue at the by no means insignifi- cant salary of £1200 per annum. Amongst other posts attained to by Second Division Clerks was one of £900 in the War Office, the salary of an Acting Principal Clerk. Two Chief Accountant- ships (Army Accounts Branch) in the War Office were filled by men who had been Second Division Clerks — the posts commencing at £850 and rising to £1000. In the Customs Department some years ago a Second Division Clerk, who had "got on " in the Secretary's Office, was made principal of the Statistical Branch of the Customs at £1000 a year ; and in conclusion we may mention two other big posts, the Accountant-Generalship of the Navy at £1500 a year, and the Receivership of the Metro- politan Police, salaried at £1200, rising to £1500 per annum. The mouth of the modest aspirant to a Boy Clerkship at i6s. a week when he is 16 years of age — and working for seven hours a day — may well " water " at the fine possibihty of rising to £1500 a year and even higher, and ending his days as a Knight-Commander of the Bath, as a Baronet, or even as a peer and member of the much-abused 196 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE House of Lords. Even a possible £5000 a year need not be dismissed as a mere chimera of the brain. DeaUng, as we have planned to do, seriatim from the lowest to the highest posts in the Civil Service, we come, in due course, after Boy Clerkships, Assistant Clerkships, and Second Division Clerk- ships, to a class of grouped positions called '* Intermediate " appointments. The object of the grouping is to fix an intermediate open competition that shall come between the Second and the First Division, and be so arranged as to be more severe than the examination for the Second Division and less severe than that for the First Division ; and thus to meet the educational qualifications of young men who have been well trained in private and public schools, but have not had the severer experiences of a high-class university career. The departments thus brought together into a group to which the " Intermediate " competition applies are the follow- ing ten, viz. : (i) The Admiralty (for junior appoint- ments in the Supply and Accounting Departments) ; (2) Crown Agents for the Colonies (Clerkships, Class III) ; (3) Ecclesiastical Commission (Junior Clerkships) ; (4) Exchequer and Audit Department (Examinerships) ; (5) Inland Revenue Department (Assistant Surveyorships of Taxes) ; (6) Inland Revenue Department (Second Class Clerkships in the Estate Duty Office, London) ; (7) Inland Revenue Department (Second Class Clerkships in the Estate Duty Office, Edinburgh) ; (8) Inland Revenue De- partment (Second Class Clerkships in the Estate Duty Office, Dublin) ; (9) Metropolitan Police (Second Class Clerkships in the Commissioner's and HOME APPOINTMENTS 197 the Receiver's Offices) ; and (10) War Office (Junior appointments in the Royal Ordnance Factories). . The age Hmits for these posts are 18 and 19I, and y^ explanatory of these limits the Civil Service Com- missioners state that the half-year must be reckoned by calendar months. They explain : " If an examination commences in one of the first seven months of any year, candidates must be of the prescribed age on the ist of May of that year. If an examination commences in one of the last five months in any year candidates must be of the prescribed age on the ist of November of that year." The subjects of examination are divided into three classes, and the marks given for each subject are as follows : (Class I) Mathematics I, 2000 marks ; English, 2000 marks. (Class II) Mathematics II, 2000 marks ; French, 2000 marks ; and each of the subjoined subjects 2000 marks, namely, German, Latin, Greek, English History, Chemistry, and Physics. (Class III) Mathematics III, 4000 marks ; and 4000 marks each also for French, German, Latin, Greek, English, and European History, Chemistry, and Physics. Notes by the Commissioners state as follows : Both the subjects in Class A must be taken up. No candidate will be eligible who fails to pass a qualifying examination in Arithmetic and Enghsh. From Classes II and III candidates may select subjects, one of which must be a language, carrying marks up to a maximum of 10,000, making, with the subjects in Class I, 14,000 in all. The same subject may not be selected both in Class II and in Class III. A candidate who selects " Mathematics II may not also select Mathe- igS THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE matics III, and a candidate who selects English History may not also select History (English and European)." We will now give, briefly, the particulars of the various appointments of the ten departments named as constituting the '* Intermediate " group to which the ** Intermediate" open competition refers. The Admiralty appointments indicated by (i) are described by the Civil Service Commissioners as " Junior appointments in the Supply and Ac- counting Departments." They are, in fact, a species of Assistant Cashiers, Assistant Expense Accounts officers, or, as they are in some cases called. Assistant Storekeepers. They may be em- ployed at home or may have to serve abroad in dockyards or other naval stations ; but before being designated for service abroad the Medical Director-General of the Navy must be satisfied that they are physically fit to bear the foreign climate, whatever it might be. Two years' probation, to ascertain capability, must be served. The com- mencing salary of these appointments is £ioo a year, rising by increments of £io annually to £200, and from that amount by £15 annual rises to £350. Moreover, in foreign stations residences are pro- vided rent free or allowances made to cover rent of residences. The extra cost of colonial living is also met by certain extra allowances, and in addi- tion to these special advantages opportunity is afforded by appointment to higher places in the Admiralty service both in this country and abroad. The extent of service abroad is limited to twelve years — five only of which are apportioned to tropi- HOME APPOINTMENTS igg cal or unhealthy stations and seven to more salu- brious or temperate climes ; whilst residence at any one station is not usually extended beyond three years, if in a tropical climate, and five years, if in a temperate one. The largest number of these appointments with maximum salaries of £350 is nearly a hundred ; over seventy going to £500 ; over thirty rising to £700 ; half a dozen going to £800 ; three to £900 ; and one to £1000 a year. The next appointments (2) coming within the " Intermediate " group consists of Clerkships in the Offices of the " Crown Agents " for the Colonies | (Class III). Although not, strictly speaking, reckoned amongst the permanent Civil Servants of the Crown, practically they are in the same position, for they hold their appointments in the same way and are entitled to pensions ; the difference being that the salaries, etc., which they receive, instead of being paid out of money obtainable by votes of Parlia- ment, are obtained from Colonial Funds, under the disposition of the Colonial Secretary. The number of positions is nearly forty, and they are divided into three classes, the lowest class (Class III) be- ginning at £100 and rising after the usual period of two years' probation to £120, then by £10 annually to £200, and from £200 by £15 annually to £350. The next class above — Class II — are called " Deputy Heads of Departments," and these rise from £350 by £15 annually to £500; whilst the highest appointments (Class I) are styled ** Heads of Departments," and the salaries range from £550 by £20 annually to £700, and one " Head " in this highest class gets £150 per annum as chief clerk. 200 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Appointments coming under (3) in the group are Junior Clerkships in the Ecclesiastical Com- mission. These begin at £80 per annum, rising thence by £10 annually to £200, and from that sum by £15 annually to £300. Promotion also takes place to higher positions in the office of the Eccle- siastical Commission, " ascending " to that of the Secretaryship, which is rewarded by £1200 a year. Number (4) of the group comprises those appoint- ments in the Exchequer and Audit Department called " Examinerships." They are of a similar kind and are remunerated in a similar manner to the Admiralty posts in number (i) of the group, and there is the same liability to render service abroad, where there are some thirty Audit Stations, for ap- pointments to which selections are made, and they carry salaries, as at home, beginning at £100 a year, and when two years' probation has been served, rising to £120 and travelling thence by ^fio a year to £200, after which the advance is by £15 to £350. The work of these Examiners has to be done for the home service not only in London, but at out- stations. The department coming (5) in the group is the Inland Revenue ; the posts in (5) are Assistant Surveyorships of Taxes ; and the location of the Assistant Surveyors may have to be in any part of the United Kingdom. The salary at commencement and onward is the same as mentioned under (4) ; but there is an excellent opportunity of rising in the Taxes Department at the Head Office in London of the Inland Revenue ; and should an Assistant Surveyor be placed in full charge of a tax district, HOME APPOINTMENTS 201 and his salary at the time chances to be less than £200, he will receive that amount on promotion. Numbers (6), (7), and (8) in the group are also Inland Revenue appointments, and are Second Class Clerkships in the Estate Duty Offices in London, in Edinburgh, and in Dublin. The same commencing salary — £100 a year — is given, and the same annual rises to £350 are obtained, and the prospects beyond and above will be seen from the graded lists of salaries given later on in the volume — the highest pay being reached by the £1200 a year of the London Secretary. Number (9) in the group of " Intermediate ap- pointments " is the Metropolitan Police Office — the particular positions being Second Class Clerkships in the Commissioner's and in the Receiver's Offices. The same salaries, £100 to £350, progressive in the same way as in the case of the posts already de- scribed, are given, and the top rung of the clerkship ladder is occupied by the Chief Clerk with a salary of £700, with annual increments of £25 to £850 ; but the Second Class Clerk who may be appointed to act as Private Secretary to the Commissioner gets an extra allowance of £100 a year ; and in the Re- ceiver's Office two Second Class Clerks for special work receive £50 per annum allowance each. Finally, in this group of appointments for which " Intermediate Competitions " are held come (10) Junior appointments (under the War Office) in the Royal Ordnance Factories. The appointees have to serve either at Enfield Lock, at Waltham Abbey, or at Woolwich. The same scale of salaries prevails as in the other departments in the group, but some- 202 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE times a meritorious clerk of only five years' service may be advanced to £200. Again in this depart- ment, as in the others named, opportunity is afforded for merit, and the juniors may ultimately rise to one of the seven posts at £500, to one of the three posts of which two carry £700 each and one £750, or to the chief post at £1000 a year. Official residences, too, are thrown in, both at Enfield Lock and at Walt ham Abbey. Of course the struggle for success in the competitions is pretty severe, as will be gathered from the fact that something like 300 competitors have entered for 30 appointments. Having now shown how entrance to the Civil Service can be effected by what we may call " side doors," either at the modest opening that leads to a Boy Clerkship and thence by an inner door to an Assistant Clerkship, or it may be, through open competition, direct to a Second Division Clerkship, we come to what we may call the principal entrance, unbarred to none but those (on the arena just outside) who display sufficient intellectual prowess in successive jousts with those doughty knights called *' Examiners " as to beat down the probing armour of the latter. We are now alluding, it will be inferred, to the " Class I " ap- pointments of the Civil servants. That these are largely obtained by young University men coming within the age limits of 22 and 24 is due to the fact that University training gives a better opportunity, as a rule, than either private study (pursued per- haps under the distracting conditions of other occupations followed necessarily for the sake of pay) or private-school teaching. But, nevertheless, HOME APPOINTMENTS 203 it by no means follows that the private student may not alone, and unaided by teaching of any kind, especially if he can give all his time to the work, be able successfully and triumphantly sufficiently to outstrip his rival competitors as to find himself above the line, below which those others will have to " possess their souls in patience " and " try again." The age limits for Class I we have given as 22, and 24 ; but the Civil Service Commissioners give the following explanatory note as to age : " Candidates must have attained the age of 22 and must not have attained the age of 24, on the first day of August in the year in which the Examination is held." Subjoined are the subjects, a long list of 38, but as will presently be explained, there are limitations in the taking of them for a reason which the Civil Service Commissioners explain. The figures im- mediately following the subjects indicate the marks given : (i) Enghsh Composition, 500 ; (2) Sanskrit Language and Literature, 800 ; (3) Arabic Lan- guage and Literature, 800 ; (4) Greek (not less than two subdivisions, of which one must be Trans- lation), 400; (5) Greek Prose Composition, 200; (6) Greek Verse Composition, 200 ; (7) Greek Literature, etc., 300 ; (8) Latin (not less than two subdivisions, of which one must be Translation), 400 ; (9) Latin Prose Composition, 200 ; (10) Latin Verse Composition, 200 ; (11) Latin Literature, etc., 300 ; (12) English Language and Literature, 600 ; (13) Italian Translation, Composition, and Conversation, 400 ; (14) Italian, History of the Language and Literature, 200 ; (15) French, Trans- lation, Composition, and Conversation, 400 ; (16) 204 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE French, History of the Language and Literature, 200 ; (17) German, Translation, Composition, and Conversation, 400 ; (18) German, History of the Language and Literature, 200. A note of the Com- missioners says : '' The History of these Languages and their Literatures can only be taken by candi- dates who also offer themselves for the rest of the examination in those Languages." (19) Lower Mathematics, 1200 ; (20) Higher Mathematics, 1200. Then come Natural Science, i.e. any number not exceeding /owr of the following or three ii both Lower and Higher Mathematics be also taken, viz. : (21) Chemistry, 600 ; (22) Physics, 600 ; (23) Geology, 600 ; (24) Botany, 600 ; (25) Zoology, 600 ; (26) Animal Physiology, 600 ; (27) Geography, 600 ; (28) Greek (Ancient, including Constitution), 500 ; (29) Roman History (Ancient, including Constitu- tion), 500. Then ensues in the list, English History ; either or both sections may be taken : (30) I (to A.D. 1485), 400 ; (31) II (a.d. 1485 to 1848), 400 ; (32) General Modern History, 500 ; (33) Logic and Psychology, 600 ; (34) Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy, 600 ; (35) Political Economy and Economic History, 600 ; (36) Political Science, 500 ; (37) Roman Law, 500 ; and last, but not perhaps least, (38) English Law, 500 marks. A very im- portant " note " by the Commissioners says at the foot of this rather appalling list of subjects for the Class I competitions : " From the marks assigned to candidates in each subject such deduction will be made as the Civil Service Commissioners may deem necessary in order to secure that no credit be allowed for merely superficial knowledge " ; HOME APPOINTMENTS 205 and then, to show the plan adopted for preventing superficiahty, comes the remark : " Consistently with the limitations specified above, candidates are at liberty to name any of the foregoing subjects, provided that the maximum number of marks that can be obtained from the subjects chosen is limited to 6000. If this maximum is exceeded by a candi- date's selection he will be required to indicate one of his subjects, the marks for which should, in his case, be reduced so as to bring his maximum marks within the prescribed limit. The marks so reduced will be subject to a corresponding reduced deduc- tion." Moreover, it is added, ** if a candidate's handwriting is not easily legible a further deduction will, on that account, be made from the total marks otherwise accruing to him." The departments where Class I clerks are em- ployed are the Head Office of the Admiralty, the Chief Secretary's Office in Dublin, the Civil Service Commission, the Colonial Office, the Inspector- General's Office of the~Trish t^onstabulary, the Customs and Excise Department, the Home Office, the India.X)fi&C€^ (in the last-named in the Accoun- tant-General's, Audit, Correspondence, PoHtical, and Store Departments), in the Inland Revenue Department, Local Government Board (in both England and Ireland), the Lunacy Commission, Patent Office, Post Office (in the Secretary's Office and Surveyor's Department), in the Privy Council Office, Record Offices (both in England and Ireland), in the Office of the Secretary for Scotland, in the Board of Trade, in the Treasury, the War Office, and the Office of Works. 2o6 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE As to the offices just named, it will be interesting, in this place, to give the distribution amongst them of the appreciable number of Class I appointments — ^no less than 60 1 — filled by the 42 open com- petitive examinations that took place between 1870 and 1909. It was as follows : Admiralty, 83 ; Irish Chief Secretary's Ofhce, i ; Civil Service Commission, 11 ; Colonial Office, 34 ; Customs and Excise Department, 6 ; Exchequer and Audit Office, 5 ; Home Office, 11 ; India Office, 35 ; In- land Revenue, 55 ; Local Government Board (England), 58 ; Local Government Board (Ireland), II ; Lunacy Commission, 2 ; Patent Office, 8 ; Post Office, 104 ; Record Office (England), 23 ; Record Office (Ireland), 24 ; Science and Art Department, 6 ; Scottish Office, 4 ; Board of Trade Offices, 25 ; Treasury, 18 ; War Office, 71 ; and Office of Works, 6. Our numbers will, we think, exactly account for the 601 appoint- ments. Amongst the luckiest perhaps are the 18 who entered the Treasury, although we have no means of following their careers. The Treasury, however, has, with much truth doubtless, been described as ** the seed plot for the best appointments under the Crown " ; and the reason for this is not far to seek. The clerks and other officials there are better known to " the powers that be " — Cabinet Ministers — than any other members of the Civil Service can well be. The Treasury is practically Downing Street, and Downing Street is the Treasury. It is the official residence of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer — two most potent HOME APPOINTMENTS 207 Ministers. It is the centre from which " my Lords " (of the Treasury) wield their enormous power over other departments : it is the home of that *' bureau- cracy " which is even more influential in England than in Russia. The clerks of the Treasury taking it in turns, so to speak, to be private secretaries to " my Lords " (including the Premier and the Chancellor) — ^who have so many " good things " in their gift — are well and personally known to these powerful ones. What more natural, then, that snug Commissionerships and other leading posts in out- side departments should fall to the lot of Treasury clerks. Prime Ministers' private secretaries, when of the permanent staff of the Treasury, come in for an appreciably large share of the best things to be had in the appointment way. It has over and over again been the subject of great heartburning in departments under Treasury control, when officials well versed in the work of those departments — men who have spent the greater part of an official lifetime in a particular service and have got near the top — find the supreme posts taken from them when they were the round pegs for round holes, and bestowed upon square pegs in the shape of favoured Treasury clerks, who when they arrive have to be taught their duties by deserving, hard- working officials over whose heads the Treasury clerks have been *' pitchforked." Remembering all this, the future entrant will be well advised to try for the Treasury. Other departments, however, of course, have their chances and prizes, and the knowledge of this should prove an immense stimulus to the future 2o8 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Civil Servant to try his hardest for the acme of success in the open competitions. What may be called the average scales of pay of the Class I Clerkships look well at the first glance. To begin with, the initial salary (that of the '* third *^ class " of Class I) is £200 a year, a nice commencing income for a young man who may win the post at 22. The immediate " jump," so to speak, is a pleasant bridging of the period during which Second Division officials have to wade slowly from their much more modest start of £70 per annum. Then instead of the " annual rise " being £7 los. to £130, the Class I rise, in its third class, is £20 annually to £500. In heu of the Second, £130 by £10 to £200 in its next " upward grade," a jump of £100 is made from £500 to £600, and then the pleasant run of £25 annually to £800 ensues ; and whilst the Second Division '' tortoise " is labouring from £200 by £10 annually to £300, the Class I " hare " goes along — after " jumping " from £800 to £850 by £50 annual " bounds " — to £1000. Still all clerks cannot be of Class I. There must be Boy Clerks and Assistant Clerks and Second Division Clerks ; but nevertheless the mere possi- bility of getting to be members of " Class I " affords a splendid stimulus for ambition and exer- tion. The Englishmen (by which we mean all our home nationalities) is made of the right stuff to " try " and to try hard for the best things ; and even the pleasant £1000 a year of the class i of Class I is not the upward boundary by any means. There are, for instance, " opportunities " which may be " instanced " by the ensuing facts. HOME APPOINTMENTS 209 A successful " Class I " man in 1881 got into the Home Office, became Chairman of the Prison Commission, and earned the honour of a Knight Commandership of the Bath ; another became an Assistant Secretary of State at the Home Office ; another — entering the Admiralty — ^became Assistant Secretary of that department ; another a Director of Navy Contracts ; another a Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue ; another became Assis- tant Financial Secretary and Director of Army Accounts at the War Office ; another became Deputy-Chairman of the Board of Customs and Excise ; yet another a Chairman of that Board. Others became, one Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and another Assistant Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office. One who entered the Colonial Office in 1877 reached the position of \ Under-Secretary of State, a salary of £1500 a year, and the honour of a Knight Commandership of St. Michael and St. George ; and, to conclude our ** instances " of success — a man who won in a Class I competition in 1880 — rose to be permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office, obtained a salary of £2000 a year, and won the honour of a Knight Commandership of the Bath. Here are a few crumbs of success won quite recently, namely. Clerkships in the Admiralty, Colonial Office, Customs and Excise, Local Govern- ment Board, Inland Revenue Department, Board of Trade, Treasury, War Office, and Office of Works. Some of these began at £150, others at £200, and all rise to salaries none less than £800, some to £900, and others to £1000 and £1200 a year ; and the 210 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE charm of the thing is that " merit " alone is the golden key to the various doors. Before, however, this '* golden key " to public offices under the British Government can be used, it is important for the would-be user to make particu- lar note of one or two matters of especial importance — quite as important as being within the prescribed limits of age, having an unblemished character and being well up in educational subjects. There is, for instance, the question of " nationality " ; and it will be best to quote exactly what the Civil Service Commissioners say on this point. They remark : y *' Natural-born or naturalized British subjects are admissible to most open competitive examinations for situations in the Home Civil Service for which they are otherwise eligible. A person born in a foreign country who can prove that his father or his paternal grandfather was born in British Dominions is, if not expatriated under the Nationalization Act of 1870, a natural-born British subject. In certain Government Departments restrictions exist with respect to the appointment of a British subject who is not the son of a father also a British subject. Except by special permission of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, only persons actually born within the United Kingdom, of parents also born therein, are admissible to competitive examinations for certain appointments under the Foreign Office/' Another important matter, to which the Civil Service Commissioners allude, is that of " physical qualifications and disqualifications." They say : "It is not the practice of the Commissioners to consider beforehand the question of physical quali- HOME APPOINTMENTS 211 fications ; cases in which doubts exist are decided individually on their merits, and no prospective decisions can be given. Candidates are allowed to present themselves at open competitions, subject to such enquiries as may be necessary in the case of those who are successful, and on the understand- ing that no candidate can be appointed unless the Commissioners are satisfied that he is free from any physical defect or disease likely to interfere with the proper discharge of his duties. Successful candidates are examined by medical advisers se- lected by the Commissioners, and the names of these gentlemen cannot be supplied with a view to a preliminary examination. In case of doubt, the preliminary examination should be made by the candidate's own medical adviser, as stated below. Candidates who have been rejected on the ground of health are not debarred from entering subsequent competitions ; but they must do so at the risk of a second disappointment. The following memoran- dum, however, has been issued by the Civil Service Commissioners for the guidance of intending candi- dates, viz. : — " With a view to prevent parents and guardians from incurring the inconvenience and expense of preparing for examinations candidates who may be physically unfit for the Civil Service, it is suggested that the candidates be submitted to examination by the medical adviser of the family, or any other quali- fied medical practitioner, to whom the following points may be submitted as those towards which his attention should be chiefly directed. In advising candidates medical practitioners should bear in 212 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE mind that the question of fitness involves the future as well as the present, and that one of the main objects of medical examination is to secure con- tinuous effective service and (in the case of candi- dates for permanent appointments) to prevent early applications for pensions. It is to be understood that this private examination is merely suggested as a guide, and to lessen the chances of disappoint- ment, and that it is by no means intended to take the place of, or to influence in any way, the regular official physical examination, which is only held in the case of successful candidates, and can in no case be held before the result of the literary ex- amination is ascertained, (i) A weak constitution, arising from imperfect development or weakness of the physical powers of the body hereditary or otherwise. Especial attention should he directed to this point, as delicacy of constitution, though positive disease is absent, may lead to rejection, and for some branches of the service (especially the Post Office) want of general vigour may disqualify. (2) Height, girth, and weight. Candidates for appointments in the Post Office, Customs, and other departments respecting which rules as to height, girth, or weight are laid down in the published Regulations, should be careful to ascertain, before applying, that they are not below the prescribed standards in respect of those qualifications. (3) Chronic eruptions on the skin or scalp. The ordinary acne of adolescence would not disqualify. (4) Disordered intellect, epilepsy, paralysis, or other signs of disease or disorder of the nervous system. (5) Any serious defect of vision. A moderate degree of ordinary short sight HOME APPOINTMENTS 213 corrected by glasses would not, as a rule, be re- garded as a disqualification ; but candidates for the Customs out-door service are liable to disqualifica- tion for any defect of vision. Candidates for some other appointments of a special character would be rejected for colour blindness, but for the cove- nanted Civil Service of India, and for ordinary Home appointments, it is not, by itself, a dis- qualification. (6) Deafness, or discharge from one or both ears, disease or thickening of the lining membrane of the external ear. (7) Disease of the bones of the nose or of its cartilages, and polypus. Disease of the throat, palate, or tonsils. (8) Scrofu- lous disease of the glands of the throat or neck, external cicatrices from scrofulous sores. (9) Dis- ease of the heart or bloodvessels, deformity or con- traction of the chest, phthisis, spitting or other discharge of blood, bronchitis, chronic coughs, or other symptoms of tuberculosis or other disease of the organs of respiration. (10) Disease or enlarge- ment of the liver, spleen, or kidneys. Candidates should be very careful to ascertain, before com- peting, that they are free from albuminuria. (11) Any disease of the alimentary canal. (12) The existence of any serious congenital or acquired defect or malformation, especially in the head, feet, or hands. Paralysis, weakness, or any consider- able lameness, impaired motion, or contraction of the upper or lower extremities, from whatever cause. Distortion of the spine, of the bones of the chest, or pelvis, from injury or constitutional defect. In addition to the above the following may be cited as raising serious doubts as to a candidate's 214 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE fitness : (a) Rupture. This is in some respects a question of degree and of the duties of the proposed situation. For clerkships and some other sedentary occupations a properly supported rupture may not be a disqualification, (b) Appendicitis. The history of an attack of appendicitis would place the candidate under grave suspicion owing to its possible recurrence. The question of radical cure by surgical operation should be seriously considered by the candidate, (c) Varicose Veins and Varicocele, These, if serious, should be cured by operation, but in the case of situations which are, physically, of a trying nature, a tendency to Varix may be held to disqualify. The cure of varicocele by operation is important for candidates for the Civil Service of India, (d) Loss of sight of one eye by mechanical injury. If the remaining eye is sound and sufficient and not likely to become affected, the question of fitness will be specially considered, (e) Stammering. This is in some respects a question of degree, and of the duties of the proposed situation ; but any considerable impediment in speech renders a candi- date generally liable to rejection. (/) Teeth. It is necessary that candidates whose teeth are defective should have them properly attended to by a quali- fied dentist." The Commissioners add to their very useful and necessary hints the following italicised paragraph : *' The Commissioners will not undertake to define more closely any of the disqualifying defects or diseases referred to above; nor will they offer an opinion as to questions of degree in regard to them. This, of course, could only be properly decided by their duly appointed and carefully selected medical advisers.'* HOME APPOINTMENTS 215 Another matter not to be overlooked by intend- ing candidates for the Civil Service is that of Fees payable by entrants to the open competitions. They are not excessive, but they must, in any case, be paid. They are arranged upon a scale determined by the value of the various posts. By a notice in the London Gazette of the 19th April, 1901, and amended by a further notice of 17th December, 1901, in the same paper, the announcement is seen to be as follows : " The Civil Service Commissioners hereby give notice, in pursuance of the Order in Council of 22nd March, 1879, as amended by clause 21 of the Order in Council of 29th November, 1898, that, with the consent of the Lords of the Treasury, they have prescribed the following scale of fees to be paid by all candidates before they will be quali- fied to attend examinations held by this Board, except examinations by which other fees have already been, or may hereafter be prescribed by similar notice, or in Regulations for open competi- tions published in the London Gazette, with the consent of the Lords of the Treasury. The notice published in the London Gazette of 29th April, 1881, remains cancelled, except as to the cancellation of certain notices therein specified, and the notice published in the London Gazette of the 8th Novem- ber, 1889, is hereby cancelled. The following is the scale of Fees : When the initial salary or wages does not exceed the rate of £50 per annum, one shilling. When the initial salary or wages exceeds the rate of £50 per annum, but does not exceed the rate of £75 per annum, two and sixpence. When the initial salary or wages exceeds the 2i6 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE rate of £75 per annum, and for situations where the annual salary attainable in customary course of promotion without further examination or cer- tificate, the fees are : For salary above £75 and under £100, five shillings ; above £100 and under £150, seven and sixpence ; above £150 and under £200, ten shillings ; above £200 and under £250, twelve and sixpence ; above £250 and under £300, fifteen shillings ; above £300 and under £350, one pound ; above £350 and under £400, two pounds ; above £400 and under £450, three pounds ; above £450 and under £500, four pounds ; above £500 and under £600, five pounds ; and for salaries of £600 and upwards, six pounds. The Regulations as to fees add : " (i) The amount of the annual salary attainable, within the meaning of this notice, will be determined by the Civil Service Commis- sioners and the Head of the Department ; subject to reference, in doubtful cases, to the Lords of the Treasury. (2) When any person holding a situation in any Department is presented to the Civil Service Commissioners, with a view to his appointment to some other situation in the same Department, he will not be required to pay any further fee unless he is required to undergo a further literary examination, and, in that case, he will not be required to pay any greater fee than the difference between the fee which, according to the above scale, is leviable in respect of his new appointment, and the fee which he has already paid in respect of the situation which he already holds. (3) Trans- fers from one Department of the Public Service to another will, in respect of fees, be treated as if HOME APPOINTMENTS 217 they were new and original appointments, unless the Treasury otherwise directs by notice in writing to the Civil Service Commissioners that the transfer was made exclusively on public grounds. (4) Candidates for temporary situations will not be required to pay more than half the fees prescribed by the above scale, provided that the fee shall in no case be less than one shilling. If subsequently presented for permanent situations in the same Department they will be required to pay a further fee completing the amount payable according to the above scale for the permanent post. Persons who have served in one temporary situation after pay- ing the prescribed fee will not be required to pay any further fee on examination for another tem- porary situation of the same character." The fees for examination mentioned in the follow- ing pages are fees which have been prescribed either by special notices in the London Gazette or by regulations for open competitions published in the London Gazette with the consent of the Lords of the Treasury. In other cases the fee payable by a candidate is governed by the scale printed on the previous page. The Civil Service Commissioners also print the following important note : " Notice of any open competitive examinations which may be appointed to be held will be given by advertisement in some of the principal London and Provincial newspapers. The advertisements in the London Daily papers usually appear on Thursdays. Copies of the regula- tions may be obtained on application to the Secre- tary, Civil Service Commissioners, Burlington 2i8 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Gardens, London, W. The Commissioners can in no case record the names of intending candidates until a particular examination is announced, nor can they undertake to send a separate notice of a coming examination to any particular person until the date of the examination has been announced." Another note of importance is the following : " The Civil Service Commissioners have been re- quested by the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury to notify that persons already holding situations in the Civil Service will, if successful in obtaining appointment on the result of a competitive examination, be required to enter their new situations at the minimum of the scale of salary authorised for the situation to which the examina- tion relates, and will not be permitted to carry with them the salary drawn by them in their previous situations. This rule does not apply to persons competing for situations in the same Department as that in which they are serving at the date of the examination in cases in which there is an established practice allowing a successful candidate to enter the scale of the new situation at a salary in excess of the minimum." We must not forget to mention a class of situation which, although humble, furnishes a considerable number of places, many of which, in their modest way, are almost sinecures. We refer to Messenger- ships. Those who have had occasion to visit Government offices have doubtless, on visiting the " enquiry room," noticed the sort of luxurious ease of the respectfully attentive personage who, rising from a perusal of the morning paper, advances to HOME APPOINTMENTS 219 take the card of the visitor — first conducting the latter to the waiting-room ; then saiHng away to the proper office, returning more or less promptly to usher the owner of the card into the official " sanctum " of the personage he desires to inter- view. This attendance on visitors, answering electric bells when summoned to take messages from one official to another, posting letters, calling cabs, getting and taking cups of tea or coffee, and a few other sundry items of duty — none of it fatiguing — constitute the daily life of the happy messenger who has no responsibilities upon his shoulders, and is only required to be, what he usually is, a polite and obliging individual. Sometimes, and perhaps not unfrequently, the messenger drops his h's and aspirates his vowels, often in a very impressive manner, and sometimes very amusingly. We recall an amusing illustration of one of our messengers. A respectful knock at the door and a " Come in ! " are followed by a messenger who positively raised the aspirating of vowels to the dignity of a fine art. " They say it's 6.\hanam\ie, sir ! " quoth he. " They say what's ' ^xhanavaiie ? ' " quoth we. Then our messenger explained, for we at first had not the smallest idea what he meant, that he was alluding to an explosion that had occurred the night before at the Victoria Station, PimHco. We had been too officially busy that morning to look at our paper. Not so our messenger, who had read a second edition attributing the explosion at Victoria Station to a " Fenian " plot and *' dynamite." 220 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Another messenger in our recollection came out as a poet, and actually published a volume of poems. In appearance he was decidedly good- looking and something like the then Poet Laureate, Lord Tennyson. At least he thought so, and, his messagerial duties being very light, he dressed in a velveteen suit and wore a Tennysonian hat. The volume of poems was 5s. to subscribers, and would have been more to the general public had they bought any copies, but unfortunately for them- selves they did not buy any. Glancing at this volume one day, we noticed that it bristled with explanatory footnotes to make the poet's language easily understood by inferior beings. An example of the notes was (under a * against the word " crown 'V' five shillings." Nevertheless in the good old nomination days a not inappreciable number of people, hoping for better things from their patrons, were glad, after wearily waiting sometimes for years, to accept messengerships. In one case known to the writer a certain individual in the West of England (we will call him A) boasted of his influence, gave himself airs, and intimated confidentially to friends that he was on the nomination list for a very fine appointment. Then he disappeared, and whilst no one knew what had become of him, it was inti- mated that he had taken up the fine appointment. Shortly afterwards B, a friend of A's, succeeded in a limited competition for a clerkship in the Customs Department, and one day called on a friend of his (C), who was a clerk in the old East India Office in Leadenhall Street, E.C. After a chat C said to B, HOME APPOINTMENTS 221 " Would you like a cup of coffee ? " On B answer- ing in the affirmative, C rang his bell, and to the great astonishment both of B and the messenger who answered the bell, A appeared as that messen- ger. It follows, not by any means unfrequently, that the Civil Service messenger is both a gentleman and a well-educated one. For some years the present writer had allotted to him as a messenger a gentle- man who had been a captain in the British Army, but had been compelled to sell his commission. And a very charming fellow and a wonderfully good messenger he proved to be, with good sense enough not to grumble at the hard lot which, at any rate, provided him with a livelihood. The announcement by the Civil Service Com- missioners respecting " messengers and others " is as follows : "In most of the Departments of the Civil Service the following subjects of examination and limits of age have been laid down for candi- dates for situations of the messenger class." A foot- note says : " These subjects and limits have also been laid down for certain other situations." Sub- jects of Examination : (i) Writing (including copying manuscript) and Spelling ; (2) Arithmetic (first four rules, Money and Avoirdupois Weight)." It is added : " Persons nominated for the situation of Messenger, Established Postman, Park Keeper, Prison Warder, and some other situations of a similar subordinate character, who possess an Army Second Class Certificate of Education, may, at the discretion of the Civil Service Commissioners, be exempted from examination in the foregoing 222 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE subjects. Limits of age, 21 and 35, with the follow- ing provisions that " Candidates who have served in the Army or Navy, or, in certain cases, in the London Metropolitan Police, the Royal Irish Con- stabulary, or the Dublin Metropolitan Police, may deduct from their actual age any time which they may have so served ; and candidates who from a time when they were under 35 have been con- tinuously employed with a certificate of the Civil Service Commissioners, in a situation qualifying for pension, may be admitted up to any age." The Commissioners further state that for the position of Clerk of the Works in Prisons, Hospitals, State Lunatic Asylums, etc., the subjects of ex- amination are usually as follows : (i) Handwriting, (2) Orthography, (3) Arithmetic (including Vulgar and Decimal Fractions), (4) English Composition, and (5) Digesting Returns into Summaries ; and for subordinate positions either A (i) Writing (in- cluding copying manuscript) and Spelling, (2) Arithmetic (first four rules. Money and Avoirdupois Weight), or B (i) Reading, (2) Writing, (3) Arith- metic (Addition and Subtraction, Simple, and of Money), or C (i) Reading, (2) Writing, (3) Arith- metic (Simple Addition and Subtraction). For the subordinate positions just mentioned, and for others not filled by open competition, it is necessary to get nominations, so that practically the simple subjects of examination are merely applied as a test. Four notes are made by the Commissioners on this subject, and they are as follows : *' (i) An official nomination is required for all situations not filled by open competition, in- HOME APPOINTMENTS 223 eluding, as a rule, such as those of Messenger, Office Keeper, Warder, Postman, Preventive man, etc. (2) Examinations for such situations do not take place at fixed intervals, but are held from time to time as candidates are nominated to fill vacancies. (3) The Commissioners can give no information as to the means by which nominations are to be obtained. They are usually made by the Departments con- cerned. (4) The Commissioners can give no in- formation as to the occurrence of vacancies in such situations." It is, as it may be assumed, the Heads of the Departments who wield the influence and give the requisite nominations. Take, for instance, the Board of Agriculture, the President would be the nominator. So in the case of the Local Government Board, where again a " President " is the Head. Where a " Board " governs it is they sometimes, and not the Chairman only, who would nominate. Sometimes appointments are made by the Treasury ; for instance, where a " Board " is subordinate to the Treasury, as in the case of the Revenue Boards. The nominators in the following instances would be, for instance, in the Admiralty, the First Lord ; in the Colonial Office, the Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies ; in the Foreign Office, the Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ; in the Home Office, the Principal Secretary of State for Home Affairs ; in the India Office, the Principal Secretary of State for India ; in the Post Office, the Postmaster-General ; in the Treasury, the Prime Minister if and when First Lord, although other of *' My Lords " would have ** influence." 224 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE There are, however, more ways than one of getting at the dispensers of patronage, and members of the House of Commons, especially if they are " men of mark," are often the intermediaries ; but they must of course — as a rule — ^be on the " right " or ministerial side. As what we are now saying applies not only to subordinate positions in the Civil Service, but to a considerable number of other posts which are not filled by open competition, and some of which are amongst the best things in the Service of the Crown, hints as to how to get them will be valuable. A good deal depends on the " influence " of the candidate. Some men can command a good deal. The influence of others may be described as nil. Nevertheless the last-named may be able to exer- cise indirect influence. They may know people who know people, so to speak. Influential electors in a constituency — men who can command a certain " following " at elections — are good media for getting at the member for the constituency. If he cannot himself obtain a nomination, owing to his influence with, for instance, a Cabinet Minister, being slight, he can speak to other members who have that influence. Party allegiance in both Houses of Parliament has not unfrequently its price. Those who help to save a Government in a " critical division " naturally expect that " one good turn " shall deserve " another." Snubbing of a member by a Minister over some appointment asked for will frequently not be forgotten, and a time may come when that member can " pay out " the snubber. People may HOME APPOINTMENTS 225 say that this is not honest — that it is not " playing the game " ; but whilst poor human nature is what it is we fear the world will continue to wag in this way. No doubt a poor badgered Minister has often a very hard game to play. In the case of a snug appointment carrying, say, £500, £800, or £1000 a year or more, special qualifications are needed for it — such as, according to the Order in Council of the loth of January, 1910, are " wholly or in part professional, or otherwise peculiar, and not or- dinarily to be acquired in the Civil Service " {vide clause 7 of the order referred to). Then " the Head of the Department," who, we will say, is a Cabinet Minister, proposes [vide the same order) " to appoint thereto a person who has acquired such qualifica- tions in other pursuits ; or in case the Head of the Department and the Treasury shall consider that it would be for the public interest that the pre- scribed examination and the rules in regard to age should be wholly or partially dispensed with." Then by the same order the Civil Service Commissioners may, if they think fit, dispense with such examina- tion, wholly or partially, and with such rules in regard to age, and may grant their certificate of qualification upon evidence satisfactory to them that the said person is fully qualified in respect of age, health, character, and knowledge and ability." It may go without saying that there are in the United Kingdom a considerable number of persons who may come into this category of " special qualifications " '* not ordinarily to be acquired in the Civil Service." It may go also without saying that a good many of this number would like to get the Q 226 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE one post which is " going." Will the best of them get it ? That is the question. We fear by no means necessarily. It is very likely to go to the man amongst them who can command the most in- fluence. He must, or he " should/' at least be competent ; but there are a good many competent people in the country ; and if one of them can get one member of the " House " to work for him, and another can get twenty or more to do the same, it is only reasonable to conclude that the man who can pull the greatest number of " strings " in the shape of influential members, especially if they are all the " right," i.e. the ministerial side, will get the appointment. A candidate who wants to get any post of the kind indicated, whether merely a Messengership or a Commissionership, must first find out from his parliamentary representative, or someone in the department he wishes to enter, whether there is, or is likely to be, a vacancy or vacancies for the posts one of which he is seeking. The fact of such vacancies being impending, if the post is a good one, is not usually blazoned from the house-tops. Friends (inside) of a would-be candidate may confidentially inform the latter, who may then see what influence he can bring to bear to secure it. Not infrequently when the fact of a vacancy is mentioned in the Press it is too late to secure it. Then the patronage Minister has an easy time of it. He is sure to be importuned to " consider " the name of D or E, and of course replies in his nicest manner, ex- pressing his " great regret " that he cannot oblige, as the post has been already filled. We have HOME APPOINTMENTS 227 known instances where, by a happy incident, a perfect stranger has got a post by writing direct to a member of Parliament. One case was that of a man who wanted to get into the Inland Revenue. He wrote to an influential member of Parliament asking his help. Fortunately — as the sequel will show — the member did not get the letter. So the stranger wrote again to say he had had no reply, but did not mention the subject of the letter. The member — after expressing regret that the applica- tion had not reached him, owing, as he said, probably to the carelessness of a servant — asked what he could have the pleasure of doing for his correspon- dent. The latter promptly named the appointment he wanted, and eventually the " member " obtained it for him. Such luck does not always, however, happen to a place-hunter. One such wrote to a noble lord whom he did not know, asking for a post. He re- ceived an extremely polite letter from the nobleman's private secretary, in which the latter said : "I am desired by Lord to convey his compliments to you and to express his extreme regret that he is unable to comply with your request." The *' com- pliments " were not contained in the rough notes — the very rough notes — from which the private secretary '' compiled " his courteous message. His Lordship, being rather a fiery individual, after tearing open the applicant's letter, exclaimed, <' "What cheek ! Tell him "—flinging the letter across the table to the private secretary — " to go to the devil I " Although the Corrupt Practices Act has not yet 228 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE labelled the getting of posts under Government for valuable constituents bribery, it is, no doubt, a species of bribery, but the bribe — of this kind — is usually given after and not before the election, and herein lies its safety. Having now dealt somewhat exhaustively with the various Civil Service positions obtainable by the male sex, from Boy Clerkships upwards to Class I Clerkships, we must allude to the general fact that there are Girl Clerkships and Women Clerkships and what are called Female Typists, chiefly but not exclusively employed in the Post Office. There are also '' Lady Assistants " at Kew Gardens and Women Inspectors in the Prisons Department, *' Lady Clerks " and " Women Inspectors " in the Education Ofhce, *' Lady Inspectors " in the Factory and Workshops Department and in the Local Government Board. In concluding the section of this book relating to the Home Civil Service we must notice a number of appointments under the Admiralty called '' Assis- tant Clerkships." They are subject to an examina- tion under the limited competition system. These appointments are important because they lead up to Clerkships in the same branch ; then to Assistant Paymasterships, to Paymasterships, to Staff Pay- masterships, to Fleet Paymasterships, and to Pay- masterships-in-Chief. One appointment every year will be " selected by the Board of Admiralty from sons of officers of the Navy or Royal Marines who have been killed in action or who have been lost at sea on active service or killed on duty, or who have died of wounds received in action or injuries HOME APPOINTMENTS 229 received on duty within six months from the date of such action or injury, or who have performed long and meritorious service." These selected candidates will be exempted from the competitive examination, but will have, in other respects, to conform to the regulations. Other candidates will be nominated by the First Lord of the Admiralty. Age limits are 17 and 18, and a registrar's certificate of birth will be necessary. The number of candi- dates to be entered at each examination will be regulated by the requirements of the service, and " a candidate must be of pure European descent and the son either (i) of natural-born British sub- jects, or (2) of parents naturalised in the United Kingdom " ; and if any doubt arises on this point the burden of proof must rest upon the candidate him- self. The usual proofs of health and character will also be necessary, and the following clause comes in : " Candidates if nominated will be required to produce (i) certificates of good conduct from the masters of any schools at which they may have been educated during the two previous years, or if educated at home, from their tutor or the clergy- man of the parish in which they reside ; and (2) a certificate of abihty to swim." The pay will be shown of the various grades in this branch of the Admiralty in Appendix II ; but here we may say that, commencing with the initial salary, which is only £45 I2S. 6d. per annum — that of an Assistant Clerk — it goes, via the clerkships and grades of pay- masters, from the assistant ones to the " chief," i.e. to the comfortable salary of £693 los. per annum, a good run from £45 12s. 6d. 230 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE An important department of the Home Civil Service, not mentioned by the Civil Service Com* missioners in their Abstract of Regulations, be- cause we believe the examinations are conducted by the Science and Art Department at South Ken- sington, where the student candidates are selected from amongst those '* Assistants of Customs " and Excise who volunteer for the work, is the Government Laboratory, established — for revenue purposes — to conduct the necessary tests of spirits, tobacco, and wines. Besides these current salaries the selected candidates have allowances for " wear and tear " of £io, £15, and £20 a year. They have to " pass " in the following subjects : (i) Elementary Inorganic Chemistry ; (2) Ele- mentary Organic Chemistry, with reference particu- larly to the chemistry of brewing, distilling, and other business subjected to official control ; (3) Elementary Physics ; (4) Algebra up to quadratic equations ; (5) Euclid (First and Second Books). The salaries are as under : Twelve Analysts (Second Class), £160 by £15 annually to £350 ; seven Analysts (First Class), £400 by £20 per annum to £550 ; three Superintending Analysts, £600 by £20 to £650 ; one Deputy Principal, £700 by £25 to £800 ; and one Principal Chemist, £1200, and after five years at that salary, £1500 per annum. XXIII CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA A SPLENDID career is open to the healthy and enterprising man who succeeds in a competition which is open to all subjects of His Majesty — con- forming to the regulations as to age, character, and health — for the Indian Civil Service. The " qualifications " are practically the same as for Class I and for what are called ** Eastern Cadet- ships." The position is thus much simphfied for intending candidates, who, by passing the Class I test and being otherwise quahfied according to the regulations, are allowed to decide into which of the three services they will go. Supposing that the successful competitor decides to enter the Civil Service of India, he is placed on probation for a year. During that period he may decide — to work up in further subjects — to go to some college or university approved by the Secretary of State for India, and is allowed £150 for or towards his collegiate or university expenses. But it is by no means an idle time, for he is expected to work up and pass in the following further subjects — the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Indian History. Having been assigned to or having selected — subject, of course, to vacancies — the province of India to 231 232 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE which he desires to proceed, he must get up the particular vernacular language for that province. This practice in the particular language required is not optional, but — ^necessarily — compulsory. The following subjects are, however, optional, and he is allowed to take any one of the five that may not have been taken in the entrance examination. The five subjects are Arabic, Hindu and Mohammedan Law, Hindustani (in the case of candidates who may be assigned to the province of Burma), Per- sian, and Sanskrit. Failure in the final examination disqualifies for employment in the service ; but we should imagine that such failures are few, on account of the proved capacity of those who have got through the severe ordeal of a Class I compe- tition and on account of the stimulus which the preliminary success will have given to the candi- date. The combined result, in the shape of marks, of the two examinations, determines the order of seniority ; and that probably will not be disturbed until, later on, " superior merit " should work in favour of a junior on the first seniority list. The appointments open for successful candidates are many and varied, as will be supposed, in what is called *' our vast Indian Empire." The pay begins at 400 rupees per month, or about £40, which multiplied by twelve gives an annual salary of £480. It must be remembered, however, that living in India is appreciably dearer than in Eng- land ; but the new member of the Service may soon advance to much greater things in the way of salary. His " furlough " or leave, moreover, ex- tends to long periods for a recoupment, which is CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA 233 frequently taken in England, and out of his maxi- mum service of twenty-five years he need only have actively served for twenty-one years. Four years' " leave " in a quarter of a century is not an un- generous " furlough " ; nor is the retiring pension — atjthfi end, of the twenty-five ye ars — of -^looo a^ year ! To give an idea of the distribution of appoint- ments in the Indian Civil Service, we may mention that the allocation of 60 resulting from an open competition held in August, 1910, was as follows : to Assam and Eastern Bengal, 7 ; to Bengal proper, 12 ; to Upper Bengal, 20 ; to Bombay, 7 ; to Burma, 6 ; and to Madras, 8. The crush of candidates for the competitions is not nearly so heavy as might be supposed, consider- ing that the competitions are " open " (though they are not open to inability). In the ten years from 1901 to 1910 the following were the numbers of vacancies and competitors. In 1901 there were 47 vacancies and 203 competitors ; in 1902 there were 54 vacancies and 200 competitors ; in 1903 there were 51 vacancies and 174 competitors ; 53 and 176 (1904), 49 and 148 (1905), 61 and 166 (1906), 57 and 192 (1907), 52 and 162 (1908), 50 and 181 (1909), and 60 and 184 (in 1910). The best chance for candidates (apparently) was therefore in 1906, when only 166 entered for 61 appointments, appre- ciably less than three to one. Only about three to one too turned up in 1905, when for 49 places only 148 competitors appeared. 234 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Indian Police Force In 1893 appointments in the Indian Police Service w€re thrown open to competition. They possess the especial advantage that successful competitors can at once, and without any pre- liminary training at home, take up the positions allotted to them. The police force of any country being distinctly a civil as distinguished from a military body, the particulars — which by the courtesy of the Under Secretary of State for India we are enabled to give — concerning these appoint- ments, that open a fine field for enterprising candi- dates for service under Government, will, we think, prove to be very interesting. Although these particulars had reference to a competitive examination advertised to take place on the 27th June, 191 1, and the date fixed for the departure of successful candidates for India was " not later than October, 191 1," it will be under- stood that annual examinations will generally take place in June and that departures will be fixed for the ensuing October. I. Place of Examination. — The examination will be conducted by the Civil Service Commissioners. Candidates may undergo the written part of their examination in London, Edinburgh, or Dublin, or at any of the provincial centres at which the simul- taneous examination of candidates for admission to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, is to be held. A list of the probable centres may be ob- tained from the Civil Service Commissioners at any time after January, 191 1. The oral and practical CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA 235 parts of the examination will be held in London only. Examination fee : A fee of £2 is required from candidates examined in London, but when the written examination is conducted elsewhere than in London the fee is £3. Candidates examined at a college or school will probably be required to pay a local fee (in order to defray the expenses of superintendence), as to which they should obtain early information from the college or school authori;:- ties. The fee payable to the Civil Service Commis- sioners must be paid by means of stamps of the specified amount. Instructions on this point will be issued to candidates about ten days before the examination. 2. Number of appointments. — The number of candidates to be selected will probably be 32, viz. Madras, 4 ; Bombay, 2 ; Bengal, 6 ; United Provinces, 4 ; Punjab, 5 ; Burma, 5 ; Eastern Bengal and Assam, 3 ; and Central Provinces and Berar, 3. 3. Conditions of Eligibility. — Every candidate must be a British subject of European descent, and at the time of his birth his father must have been a British subject, either natural born or naturalised in the United Kingdom. The decision of the Secretary of State in Council as to whether a candidate satisfies this condition shall be final. Candidates must, without exception on any ground, be above 19 and under 21 years of age on the ist June, in the year in which they offer themselves. They must be unmarried, and if they marry before reaching India they will forfeit their appointments. Note. — Parents and guardians of candidates are warned that European descent will be regarded as essential. 236 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE In order to prevent disappointment, in cases of doubt, where there has been some admixture of non- European blood, an appHcation should be made to the Secretary of State for India in Council for a decision as to the candidate's eligibility to com- pete at the examination. In the absence of such a decision, the fact that a candidate has been admitted to the examination will give him no claim to an appointment should it be discovered afterwards that he is not of European descent. Application to compete at the examination must be made on a printed form to be obtained from the Secretary, Judicial and PubHc Department, India Office, Whitehall, London, S.W., and to be returned to him, with the necessary documents, not later than a time which the Civil Service Com- missioners will announce. Candidates must be pre- pared to attend at the India Office, if required, at their own expense, to reply to any enquiries which may be considered necessary in connection with their application. 5. Subjects of Examination. — The subjects and the marks assigned to each are given below : English, 2000 ; Mathematics (I), 2000 ; Mathematics (II), 2000 ; Latin, 2000 ; Greek, 2000 ; French, 2000 ; German, 2000 ; History, 2000 ; Science, 2000. Not more than five subjects may be taken up, of which English must be one. In addition to the above-mentioned sibjects, candidates may take up Freehand Drawing, to which 250 marks will be allotted. Candidates must obtain such an aggregate of marks in the examina- tion as a whole as may indicate, in the judgment of the Civil Service Commissioners, a competent CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA 237 amount of general proficiency. Reprints of the papers set at certain of the previous examina- tions, with tables of the marks assigned to the candidates, can be obtained by enquiry at the Civil Service Commission Offices, Burlington Gardens, W. Clause 6 of the particulars relates to Medical Ex- amination : " Those candidates who are successful in the literary examination will be required, shortly after the result of that examination is declared, to undergo a strict examination by a Medical Board, at the India Ofhce, as to their physique and capacity for active out-door work in the plains of India. Instructions as to the date and time of this examination will be issued to successful candi- dates by the India Office," and from the same office can be obtained printed " hints " for the guidance of any candidate. Clause 7 explains that successful candidates are appointed as " Proba- tioners." Clause 8 relates to the " Riding Test.'* Selected candidates will be examined by the Civil Service Commissioners as to their ability to ride, and will be required to produce — (a) a certificate from the Civil Service Commissioners that they are able to ride well and to perform journeys on horse- back ; or (b) a certificate from the Civil Service Commissioners of minimum proficiency in riding. Further tests will be applied on arrival in India, and if they pass such further tests they will be appointed Assistant Superintendents of Police. Candidates are warned that before being allowed to proceed to India they must get a certificate of minimum proficiency in riding, the tests to include jumping. " The chief tests will be Saddling and Bridling ; 238 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Mounting and Dismounting ; Trotting and Canter- ing ; Riding without stirrups at a trot ; Riding with stirrups but without reins at a trot ; Jumping a moderate hedge hurdle. Special importance will be attached to the first test (Saddling and Bridling). Although the examination will, in the main, be confined to these points, the examiner will not be debarred from applying any other tests which may appear desirable." Clause 9 specifies that *' selected candidates who have successfully passed the above- mentioned tests will be allotted, as probationers, to the various provinces upon a consideration of all the circumstances, including their own wishes ; but the requirements of the pubhc service will rank before every other consideration. The allotment will also be subject to the right of the Government of India to make transfers if necessary." In 10 it is laid down that uniform must be supplied by a candidate or he must find the cost of it, with not less than £50 for the purchase of a horse and saddlery in India. Departure for India of pro- bationers must be not later than October in each year, so that they may arrive in the course of November. " Failure to embark in time will, in the absence of satisfactory explanation, lead to forfeiture of appointment. Free passages to India will be provided by the India Office, but any probationer resigning his appointment within three years on any ground but that of health, supported by a medical certificate, will be required to refund the cost of his passage." Salary during Probation is indicated by clause 12 — the initial sum being Rs. 300 a month. Probationers, according to CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA 239 clause 13, " will be required to qualify by passing the necessary departmental examinations (as well as the riding test, if necessary) within two years of their arrival in India." Clause 14 says : " Any probationer who may fail to pass the prescribed examinations within two years, or be found unfit for Police duties, will be liable to removal from the Service." But he will then be furnished with a free passage to England, " provided he utilises such passage within three months from the date of such removal." Clauses 15 to 17 provide that " no probationer will be eligible for promotion, either acting or substantive, until he has passed the pre- scribed departmental examinations, including the riding test " ; and they give particulars which will presently be referred to as to Leave, Pension, and Provident Fund, and as to Articles of Agreement, which probationers will be required to sign, " de- scribing the terms and conditions of their appoint- ment, prior to embarkation for India." In addition to the information regarding leave and the pension and provident fund connected with the Indian Police Force, applicants, by the courtesy of the Under Secretary of State for India, can be provided with full information showing the salaries attached to the posts in the various Indian provinces and regulations as to the physical examination of candidates, including what is called the '* standard of vision " for the force. It will be important and interesting to refer to the last-mentioned regula- tions in the immediately following pages : — As to the physical qualifications of candidates, it will be understood that for police officers they must 240 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE be somewhat exacting. To assist the candidate the regulations are preceded by this note : " These regulations are published for the convenience of candidates and in order to enable them to ascertain the probability of their coming up to the required physical standard. But it must be clearly under- stood that the Secretary of State reserves to himself an absolute discretion to reject as unfit any candi- date whom he may consider, after hearing the opinion of his medical advisers, to be physically disqualified for the public service ; and that his discretion is in no respect limited by these regula- tions. The general physical requirements are " : 1. A candidate must be in good mental and bodily health, and free from any physical defect likely to interfere with the efficient performance of duty. 2. In the examination of candidates the Medical Board will apply the following table of correlation of age, height, and chest girth : — Age. Height without Shoes. Chest. Girth when expanded. Range of expansion. Inches. Inches. Inches. 19 to 21 64 and under 65 35 2 6s „ 68 35 2 68 „ 70 35^ 2 70 »» 72 36 2 72 and upwards 36I 2i 3. Measurement of height. A minimum height of 5 feet 4 inches is imposed. The candidate will be placed against the standard with his feet together, and the weight thrown on the heels, and not on the CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA 241 toes or outside of the feet. He will stand erect without rigidity, and with the heels, calves, but- tocks, and shoulders touching the standard ; the chin will be depressed to bring the vertex of the head level under the horizontal bar, and the height will be noted in parts of an inch to eighths. The measurement of a candidate's chest is made the subject of a rather elaborate process. More- over, *' hearing must be good," the *' speech without impediment," the teeth in good order or replaced by satisfactory artificial ones ; the chest " must be well formed, the lungs and heart sound." Further, it is important to note 9, that rupture, hydrocele, varicocele, varicose veins in a severe degree, or other condition likely to cause in- efficiency will disqualify a candidate, unless such condition is cured by operation. 10. Moreover, *' the limbs, feet, and toes must be well formed and developed, with free and perfect motion of all the joints" ; and 11 " a candidate must have no con- genital malformation or defect likely to interfere with efficiency," nor must he be the subject of chronic skin disease ; and it is remarked that " evidence of previous acute or chronic disease pointing to an impaired constitution will dis- qualify." Regulations as to the standard of vision for the Indian Pohce Force are very exacting, and failure to " come up " to the standard will cause the rejection of the candidate. N.B.^ — In all other respects candidates must come up to the standard of physical requirements laid down for candidates for commissions in the Army. R 242 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE We now come to the interesting subject of Leave. ** Privilege Leave " is a holiday which may be granted to the extent of one eleventh part of the time that an officer has been on duty without inter- ruption ; and it may be accumulated up to three months, earned by thirty-three months* duty. During privilege leave the officer retains a lien on his appointment, and receives an allowance equal to the salary which he would receive if he were on duty in the appointment on which he has a lien. An interval of six months must elapse between two periods of absence on privilege leave. Privilege leave may be prefixed to furlough, special leave, or extraordinary leave without allowances. The whole period of leave thus taken in combination is known as combined leave. Combined leave cannot be granted for a shorter period than six months, nor, except on medical certificate, may be extended beyond two years. " Extraordinary Leave " without allowances may be granted in case of necessity, and, except in certain specified cases, only when no other kind of leave is by rule ad- missible. It may be granted in continuation of other leave. *' Subsidiary Leave " in India, usually with half average salary, is granted to an officer proceeding on or returning from leave out of India, or on retirement, to enable him to reach the port of embarkation or to rejoin his appointment. It is admissible only at the end, and not at the be- ginning, of combined leave. " Short Leave " is also granted to enable officers to appear at ex- aminations. Long Leave or " Furlough and special leave " with allowances are admissible to an aggre- CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA 243 gate maximum amount of six years during an officer's service. The amount of furlough " earned " is one- fourth of an officer's active service, and the amount of " due " furlough is that amount less any enjoyed. Furlough without medical certificate can, if due, be generally taken after eight years' active service, and again after intervals of not less than three years' continuous service. It is limited to two years at a time. Furlough on medical certificate may be granted (a) to an officer who has rendered three years' continuous service, for not more than two years, but capable of extension up to three years, and (b) to an officer who has not rendered three years' continuous service, up to one year in any case, and up to such longer period, if any (but not exceeding two years), as the officer may have furlough " due " to him. The allowances ad- missible during furlough are : During the first two years of furlough without medical certificate and during so much of furlough with medical certificate as may be " due " — ^half average salary subject to certain maximum and minimum limits. After the expiration of the period for which the fore- going allowances are admissible — one quarter of average salary, subject to certain maximum and minimum limits. " Special Leave " may be granted at any time for not more than six months, with intervals of six years' service ; allowances, calcu- lated as during furlough, are given during the first six months only, whether taken in one or more instalments. Leave of absence is given or refused at the discretion of the Government ; and " after five years' continuous absence from India, an 244 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE officer is considered to be out of the employment of Government." Further, when leave allowances, other than privilege-leave pay, are paid at the Home Treasury, or in a colony where the standard of currency is gold, rupees are converted into sterling at the rate of exchange fixed for the time being for the adjustment of financial transactions between the Imperial and Indian Treasuries, unless any other rate has been exceptionally authorised. But for the present the rate of conversion is subject to a minimum of is. 6d. to the rupee. [" Privilege- leave " pay when issued from the Home Treasury (this is only admissible when Privilege leave is combined with other leave) is converted at is. 4d. to the rupee.] Not less interesting probably than the matter of leave is that of the " Pensions." " An officer of the Indian Police becomes eligible for a pension on completing thirty years' qualifying service, or on attaining the age of fifty-five years. If at an earlier date he is compelled to retire from the service through ill-health not occasioned by irregular or intemperate habits, he becomes eligible for an in- valid pension or a gratuity according to the length of his service. The amount of pension or gratuity is regulated as follows : After a service of less than ten years — a gratuity not exceeding one month's emoluments for each completed year of service. After a service of not less than ten years — a pension not exceeding the following amounts : — CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA 245 Years of Completed Sixtieths of Average Maximum Limit of Service. Emoluments. Pension 10 10 Rs. 2000 a year II II 2200 12 12 2400 13 13 2600 H 14 2800 IS 15 3000 16 16 3200 17 17 3400 iS 18 3600 »9 19 3800 20 20 4000 21 21 4200 22 22 4400 23 23 4600 24 24 4800 25 and above 30 5000 " Officers who have shown special energy and efficiency during an effective service of three years in certain appointments may, at the discretion of the Government of India, be allowed an additional pension of Rs. 1000 a year, subject to the condition that an officer must not retire voluntarily before the completion of a total qualifying service of twenty- eight years." Subject to certain prescribed condi- tions, rupee pensions are now issued at the rate of exchange of is. gd. the rupee to pensioners residing in countries in which the Indian Government rupee is not legal tender. The following regulations y& a general " Provident Fund," to which contribution is compulsory, are particularly interesting. " (i) The contribution is compulsory up to 6J per cent on salaries with voluntary contributions of not more than a further GJ per cent. Subscriptions on leave of any kind will be optional. (2) Compound interest 246 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE on such payments is annually credited by Govern- ment to each officer subscribing, the rate being at present 4 per cent per annum. (3) The sum which thus accumulates to the credit of an officer is his absolute property, subject to the rules of the Fund, and is handed over to him, unconditionally, on quitting the service ; or in the event of his death before retirement, to his legal representatives." This General Provident Fund system, it will be readily seen, contrasts very favourably with the Home Service pension system, established by the Superannuation Act of 1859, ^^^ altered by the Act of 1909. There, as will have been seen in our chapter on Pensions, the " deferments " of pay — practically equivalent to deductions from pay — were not 6J per cent, but 18 per cent for fifty years ; no contribution was made by Government ; no in- terest added for the benefit of the Civil servant ; no right whatever vesting in the contributor to the enormously disproportioned and accumulated con- tributions ; and no disposition to deal with it even as a compassionate fund, or to the extent of one penny, for the relief of those dependents often left absolutely destitute by the predecease of the con- tributor before the arrival of the pensionable age ! Indian Forest Service Another series of appointments that may possess especial attraction for some persons are those con- nected with the Indian Forest Service. In quoting the regulations concerning them, for which we are indebted to the courtesy of the Under Secretary of CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA 247 State for India, we must point out that, although the dates referred to for examinations for 191 1 are now past, the time of the year refers to the period when future appointments are Ukely to be made. The number of successful candidates appointed, however, will, of course, vary from time to time. " Applications for appointment must be made on a printed form to be obtained from the Secretary, Judicial and Pubhc Department, India Office, Whitehall, London, S.W.," and ** candidates must be prepared, if called upon, to attend at the India Office, at their own expense, for a personal interview with the Selection Committee. Candidates must be under the age of 23 years." Every candidate " must be a natural-born British subject," and unmarried, and *' if he marries before he reaches India he will forfeit his appointment. He must be of good physique, and must produce evidence of character. Preference will be given to candidates who can show that, in addition to a good general education, as described in the next paragraph, they have passed with honours in a public examina- tion, for a degree in some branch of Natural Science, held by a University in Great Britain or Ireland. In case the number of duly qualified candidates who have taken such a degree is not sufficient to fill the number of appointments, the Secretary of State for India in Council will nominate candidates who bring evidence to show that they have received a good general education, and that they have a good knowledge of Chemistry and Mechanics and Physics as indicated in the appended Syllabus. A good general education should be understood to include, 248 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE at the least, a fair knowledge of English Composi- tion, Mathematics up to and including Plane Trigonometry, and either German or French. The production of school certificates granted by the examining authorities of Universities, or of certifi- cates that a candidate has passed the Matriculation Examination of a University, in the subjects named, or of other certificates held by the Secretary of State in Council to be equivalent, will be taken to show that a candidate satisfies the requirements of this clause. Candidates of this class must not be less than 19 years of age. Should there be more candidates, considered by the Selection Com- mittee to be qualified in every respect, than vacancies to be filled, the Secretary of State reserves the right to require them to pass a competitive ex- amination conducted by the Civil Service Com- missioners, on the results of which their final selection would depend." Those candidates who are selected as Probationers will be required to undergo a strict medical examination. On passing this medical examination, candidates will be deemed to be Probationers for the Indian Forest Service. In the case of Probationers who have passed with Honours in Natural Science at a British University the period of probation will extend over two years. In the case of students who have obtained a Diploma in Forestry the period may be two years or less, as may be specially arranged. The Probationers will be required to undergo a special course of study at Oxford, and to become members of the University, if not so already. During the vacations they will receive, under suitable supervision, practical in- CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA 249 struction in such British and Continental forests as may be selected for the purpose. Excursions are also made for purposes of study in term-time. In the case of Probationers who have not passed with Honours in Natural Science, the period of probation will extend over about three years. Probationers must obtain the Diploma of Forestry of the Uni- versity of Oxford ; those who have passed with Honours in Natural Science, within two years, and the others within three years. The case of students who have already obtained, at another University, such a Diploma will be specially considered. The Probationers will be required to defray all expenses of lodging, board, tuition, and excursions, while at Oxford, and on practical instruction in Britain and on the Continent, with the exception of fees payable to local forest officers in Britain and on the Conti- nent. The Secretary of State for India in Council will pay to each Probationer possessing a degree in Natural Science, or a Diploma in Forestry, the sum of £120 annually, or a total of £240 (besides the fees to local officers mentioned above). These payments will be made on the following dates in each year : on the ist December, £30 ; on the ist March, £;^o ; and on the ist June, £60. In the case of Probationers who have not passed with Honours in Natural Science or obtained a Diploma in Forestry before being appointed Probationers, the Secretary of State in Council will give the same total allow- ance of £240 (in such instalments as may be required to meet the expenses of the practical work), and will defray (as above) the fees payable to local forest officers. The grant of the allowances is subject to 250 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE the following conditions : " (a) that the progress of the probationer in his studies is satisfactory ; (b) that the probationer gives security to refund the payments in case he fails to join the Indian Forest Service at the end of the period of probation." It is important for candidates to note that " every Probationer will be required to conduct himself during the period of probation in a manner satis- factory to the Secretary of State, and to give evidence of satisfactory progress in his studies in such a manner as may be required, failing which, or in the event of serious misconduct, he will be liable to have his name removed from the list of Probationers." Successful " Probationers " will be appointed Assistant Conservators in the Indian Forest Department ; and their position in the provincial Forest Lists *' will be determined by the results of the examination held during their pro- bation ; but in making selections for the post of Conservator, officers of the same year are reckoned as equal in seniority," and at the end of their pro- bation they may, subject to certain reservations, select their stations. Riding is one of the necessary qualifications. Articles of Agreement must be signed within a month of nomination as Assistant Conservator. The salary of an Assistant Conserva- tor of Forests is Rs. 380 a month (equivalent to £304 a year, when the rupee is at is. 4d.) from the date of his reporting his arrival in India. Leave in the Indian Forest Service, described as " Furlough and Special Leave," is " admissible to an aggregate maximum amount of six years during an officer's service. The amount of furlough ' earned ' CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA 251 is one-fourth of an officer's active service, and the amount * due * is that amount less any enjoyed. Furlough without medical certificate can, if due, be generally taken after eight years' active service, and again after intervals of not less than three years' continuous service. It is limited to two years at a time. Furlough on medical certificate may be granted (a) to an officer who has rendered three years' continuous service, for not more than two years, but capable of extension up to three years ; and (b) to an officer who has not rendered three years' continuous service, up to one year in any case, and up to such longer period, if any (but not exceeding two years in all), as the officer may have furlough * due ' to him." The allowances admissible during furlough without medical certificate are " during the first two years and during so much of furlough with medical certificate as may be ' due ' — half average salary, subject to certain maximum and minimum limits. After the expiration of the period for which the foregoing allowances are ad- missible — one quarter of average salary, subject to certain maximum and minimum limits. But ' Special Leave ' may be granted at any time for not more than six months, with intervals of six years' service ; allowances, however, calculated as during furlough, are given during the first six months only, whether taken in one or more instalments." Other kinds of leave are called respectively " privilege," " sub- sidiary," " short," and " extraordinary," and they are granted under rather elaborate ** conditions " which need not be detailed here ; but the regulations are very liberal, and an officer of the Indian Civil 252 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Service may get as much as five years of continuous " leave " of one kind and the other ; but that is the limit and he forfeits his appointment if he remains away longer. As to pensions in this Forest Service, as in that of the Police Service previously referred to, they are probably arranged for on some principle of deferment. There is also, in both services, a *' Provident Fund," provision for which is made by deductions from salaries of 6J per cent ; but the contributors may elect to get further advan- tage by an optional payment of a further 6^ per cent. An officer of the Forest Service is eligible for retirement after 20 years' service or upon reaching the age of 55. If retiring within a shorter time he becomes entitled to an " invalid pension." For any service less than 10 years he gets a month's pay only for each year. For over 10 years the pension is upon a sliding scale, rising from 1000 rupees (reckoning, say, about is. gd. per rupee) to 3000 per annum after 15 years and up to 19 years of service. After 20 years half pay, with a maximum limit of Rs. 4000 per annum, and, for 25 years' service and above, also half retiring pay, with a maximum limit of Rs. 5000 per annum. But " officers who have shown special energy and efficiency during an effective service of three years as Inspector-General of Forests or Conservator may, at the discretion of the Govern- ment of India, be allowed an additional pension of Rs. 1000 a year, subject to the condition that the officer must not retire voluntarily before the com- pletion of a total qualifying service of 28 years." CIVIL SERVICE OF INDIA 253 It is important to note that the " Provident Fund " (compulsory as to 6| per cent of the salary and optional as to a further 6\ per cent) is quite distinct from the pension. It (the Provident Fund) accumu- lates at compound interest, the Government paying this interest usually at 4 per cent, and an important regulation is that '* the sum which will thus accu- mulate to the credit of an officer to be his absolute property, to be handed over to him unconditionally on quitting the service ; or, in the event of his death before retirement, to his legal representa- tives." The health and general constitutional fitness of candidates for the Indian Forest Service are, of course, as they must be in the case of the Police Force, factors of the first importance ; and careful attention to these preliminary requirements will doubtless save much after-disappointment. The General Physical Requirements are practi- cally similar to those for the Police Force, already referred to ; and the official '' hint " that candi- dates may save themselves some trouble by obtain- ing from the London " India Office " the elaborate list of " physical requirements," and then sub- mitting themselves first for examination by their own medical advisers before going up for examina- tion by the official '* Medical Board," is one well worth taking, and likely to save, in cases of obvious unfitness, much disappointment. XXIV COLONIAL APPOINTMENTS The Colonial Police Service — for Ceylon, Hong Kong, the Federated Malay States, and the Straits Settlements — is also open to home candidates, and the " conditions " of entrance are so similar to those already outlined for the Indian Service that they need not be separately outlined. Indeed, the subjects of examination being the same for both Indian and Colonial appointments, candidates are at liberty to be examined for either or both, and to choose which they would prefer to accept. Applications each year must be made before the 1st of May, and the ages must be the fixed ones — 19 and 21 being the limits on the ist of June in the year when the examination takes place. Constabulary Forces For what, however, are called the " Constabulary Forces " of British Guiana, Jamaica, and Trinidad — ^the particular posts offered being sub-inspector- ships beginning at different salaries in each of the countries named, with opportunities of rising to differing amounts — there are issued special regula- tions, copies of which can be obtained from the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies. The appointments are to the posts of Sub-Inspector of 254 COLONIAL APPOINTMENTS 255 Constabulary in British Guiana, Trinidad, and Jamaica. The appointments are only made after examination, which will be either competitive or qualifying. A proportion of the appointments in each Colony are very properly reserved for candi- dates resident in the Colony, and these must receive a nomination from the Governor. All other candi- dates must get nomination from the Secretary of State for the Colonies ; but they must be unmarried, and between the ages of 21 and 26 years, and will be liable to removal from the service if they marry except in accordance with the Constabulary Regula- tions in force in the Colonies. Candidates must be not less than five feet eight inches in height with good chest measurement, and their physical develop- ment must be in all respects sound. They will be required to be medically certified physically fit for service. Positions will be filled on some- thing like the old plan of " limited competition " if nominees exceed in number the positions to be filled, and fees must be paid by candidates. Para- graph No. 7 relates to the subjects of examination, which can always be obtained fresh from the Civil Service Commissioners. Successful candidates must go to Dublin for training at the Depot of the Royal Irish Constabulary, but pay begins then at the rate of £125 per annum. This is practically re- garded as a period of probation, " and their ulti- mate appointment to a Colonial Constabulary will be conditional upon satisfactory reports upon their conduct and efficiency being received from the authorities of the Royal Irish Constabulary." Free passes to the Colonies are given to appointees, but 256 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE the " journey money " must be returned, as well as the cost of his uniform, " in the event of his re- linquishing his appointment of his own accord within three years of the date of his arrival in the Colony for any other reason than mental or physical infirmity." Further, " he will draw half the salary of his appointment from the date of embarkation, and full salary from the date of his arrival in the Colony." The regulations concerning Leave and Pensions may as well be quoted in full. They run : *' Subject to the necessities of the Service, leave of absence on half salary may be granted to members of the permanent Government Service after a period of six years' resident service without any special grounds. It may be given before the expiration of that period in cases of serious indisposition, or of urgent private affairs. In the absence of special grounds, the leave in such case must not exceed one-sixth of the Officer's resident service ; on special grounds it may exceed that period by six months. In addition to the above, vacation leave on full pay may be granted, if no inconvenience or expense is caused thereby, not exceeding three months in any two years." As to superannuation the present rules are shortly as follows : "In British Guiana an Officer, in the case of ill-health, may be allowed to retire on a pension after ten years' service ; otherwise he must have attained the age of 55. Pension is calculated at the rate, for each year's service, of one-sixtieth of the average salary of the retiring Officer's fixed appointments for five years prior to retirement ; but no addition will be made in respect of any service beyond COLONIAL APPOINTMENTS 257 30 years. In Trinidad, in the case of ill-health, an Officer holding a pensionable appointment may be allowed to retire on a pension after ten full years' resident service ; otherwise he must have attained the age of 55. For ten full years' resident service fifteen-sixtieths of the average annual salary of the retiring officer's fixed appointments for three years prior to retirement may be awarded, to which one- sixtieth may be added for each additional year's service ; but no addition will be made in respect of any service beyond 35 years. For pension purposes absence on vacation leave counts as full service, and leave on half pay as half service. In Jamaica a deduction for pension purposes of 2 per cent per annum is made from an Officer's salary. In the case of ill-health an Officer may be allowed to retire on pension after ten years' service ; other- wise he must have attained the age of 60. Pension is calculated at the rate, for each year's service, of one-sixtieth of the officer's salary, but no pension shall exceed two-thirds of the highest salary drawn by the Officer during his service. In Trinidad and Jamaica a deduction of 4 per cent is made from the salaries of all members of the permanent service, under the laws providing pensions for the widows and orphans of public Officers. In British Guiana the same deduction is made, the amount being applied in payment of the premiums on an insurance of the officer's life for the benefit of his widow or children." Applications for nomination by the Secretary of State for the Colonies must be addressed to his Private Secretary, Downing Street, S.W. The 258 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE candidate must give references as to his character and capacity and name the employment he wants. He must also furnish medical evidence of his fitness. The regulations say : "If the candidate is con- sidered suitable his name will be noted, and will be considered with those of other candidates for nomination as vacancies from time to time occur ; but no promise can in any case be made, and no definite prospect whatever can be held out, that the Secretary of State will nominate any particular candidate. No undertaking can be given as to how long before an examination is held candidates will receive notice that they have been nominated to compete. Every endeavour will be made to give as long notice as possible, but it must be under- stood that the exigencies of the public service may make the selection a matter of urgency.*' Eastern Cadetships What are called *' Eastern Cadetships " are appointments made for the purpose of manning the Civil Services in certain of our Colonies, such as Hong Kong, the Federated Malay States, and the Straits Settlements. They are all under the British Colonial Office, and the examinations and other regulations are similar to those for the Civil Service of India. The Under Secretary of State for the Colonies will supply a copy of the exact regulations applying to these appointments, and we summarise them here : — What are styled *' Cadetships " are posts the holders of which are required to serve in either Hong Kong, the Straits Settlements, or the Feder- COLONIAL APPOINTMENTS 259 ated Malay States, and they are required " to devote themselves for a certain time after their arrival in the East to learning a native language/' After allocation to one of the Colonies or States mentioned they will, as a rule — to quote the terms of the regulations — " look for promotion only in the States or in that Colony, but it must be dis- tinctly understood that they will be liable to be transferred at any time from one to another, at the discretion of the Secretary of State, without being given compensation for any special local privileges or allowances." It is added : " Cadets assigned to the Federated Malay States are liable to be called upon to serve in any of the Malay States under British protection which are not included in the Federated Malay States." It is a " condition pre- cedent " that Cadets must be natural-born British subjects of pure European descent on both sides. They are selected by open competitive examination conducted by the Civil Service Commissioners, to whom all enquiries on the subject should be ad- dressed. Examinations will generally be held in August of the years in which vacancies have oc- curred, simultaneously with the examination for the Civil Service of India. The limits of age are 22 and 24. Successful candidates are " expected to leave England about a month after the results of the examination are announced." The salary of a Cadet is £225 per annum, " half salary to com- mence from the day of leaving England, and full salary from the date of his arrival in the Colony or State to which he may be sent. In Hong Kong a Cadet receives a house allowance of $540 a year. 26o THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE In the Straits Settlements he receives free quarters or an allowance of £75 a year if quarters are not avail- able. In the Federated Malay States he is pro- vided with free quarters. A free passage to the Colony or State will be provided for the Cadet, sub- ject to an undertaking to refund the cost of his passage in the event of his relinquishing the ap- pointment within three years for any other reason than mental or physical infirmity." After arrival in the Colony or State to which he may be sent, and due observance of the local regulations imposed, including " regulations as to examinations in native languages, a Cadet, if he successfully passes, will receive £300 per annum until he obtains a sub- stantive appointment " ; but " should a Cadet remain three years, after passing his examinations, without obtaining a substantive appointment, his salary will be increased to £350.'' He is liable to dismissal " if at any time his progress in his studies or his conduct shall be considered by the Govern- ment to be so unsatisfactory as to render such a course desirable." Further, " the Government will decide, having regard to the ground of dis- missal, whether the Cadet shall be sent home at the public expense, or shall be left to find his own way home. Leave of absence, on half salary, may be granted after a period of six years' resident service without any special grounds. It may be given before the expiration of that period in cases of serious indisposition, or of urgent private affairs. In the absence of special grounds, the leave in such case must not exceed one-sixth of the officer's resident service ; on special grounds it may exceed COLONIAL APPOINTMENTS 261 that period by six months. In addition to the above, vacation leave on full pay may be granted, if no inconvenience or expense is caused thereby, not exceeding three months in any two years." The pension rules are important and interesting and are as follow : " The present rule as to superan- nuation is that in the case of ill-health an officer may be allowed to retire on a pension after ten full years' resident service ; otherwise he must have attained the age of 55. For ten full years' resident service fifteen-sixtieths of the average annual salary of the retiring officer's fixed appointments for the three years prior to retirement may be awarded, to which one-sixtieth may be added for each additional year's service ; but no addition will be made in respect of any service beyond 35 years. For pen- sion purposes absence on vacation leave counts as full service, and leave on half pay as half service. A deduction of 4 per cent is made from the salaries of all Cadets as a contribution towards the pensions of the widows and orphans of PubHc Officers." The following note as to payment is also important : *' The currencies of Hong Kong, the Straits Settle- ments, and the Federated Malay States are silver dollar currencies. For purposes of local payment in Hong Kong, salaries fixed in sterling are con- verted into dollars at a rate fixed by the Govern- ment, and based upon the average exchange value of the dollar during the month ending on the fifteenth day of the month for which salary is to be paid. When, however, the average exchange rate for any month exceeds 2s., salaries are con- verted at 2s. to the dollar. In the Straits Settle- 262 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE ments and the Federated Malay States sterling salaries are converted at the Government rate of exchange, which, at present, is 2s. 4d. to the dollar. Finally, the Civil Service of these Colonies and States as at present classified is shown in papers that can be obtained from the Colonial Office, but no guarantee whatever is given that the numbers and conditions of the appointments or the salaries at- tached to them will remain unaltered. Moreover, some of the posts included in these classes are not exclusively confined to officers originally appointed as Cadets.'* In addition to the Colonial appointments named there are some in Jamaica ; but as it is unlikely that there will be any vacancies that can be filled by outside candidates for some time to come, we shall omit any further reference to them. To convey an idea as to the number of appoint- ments to Eastern Cadetships falling due from time to time and the number competing for them, we may mention, taking a period of five years, that in 1906 there were 127 candidates for 10 appoint- ments ; in 1907 there came forward 174 for 14 vacancies ; in 1908 the number of competitors and vacancies was 145 and 13 respectively ; 161 came up for examination for 12 vacancies in 1909 ; yet in 1910 only 170 candidates appeared for as many as 24 vacancies. Of the 6000 possible marks the first on the list in 1910 obtained 3028 marks, httle more than half of the maximum obtainable, whilst the last on the list secured an appointment with only 1507 out of a possible total of 6000. Would-be entrants therefore need not in future be discouraged. XXV FOREIGN SERVICES Appointments abroad, in what are called the Consular and Diplomatic Services, will probably have attractions for many people. Amongst these are : Clerkships ; Attaches in the Diplomatic Service ; the General Consular Service; what are called Student Interpreterships for Greece, Morocco, the Ottoman Dominions, and Persia, and Student Interpreterships for China, Japan, and Siam. The ages and qualifications for the first-named, Clerkships and Attaches in the Diplomatic Service, can be obtained from the Foreign Office. From 1891 Clerkships in the Foreign Office at home and Attache- ships in the Diplomatic Service have been what may be called interchangeable — the qualifications for both being the same. Nomination is, of course, the first key to be obtained in order to be enabled to unlock, so to speak, these posts, which offer opportunities for so brilliant a career that they may well flutter the ambition of young men. Consequently the sonsl of men of high social and official rank are found amongst the nominated competitors. Not being J open competition, the number of persons named to compete for each set of vacancies is not large, about four to one, sometimes five to one, and occa- 263 264 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE sionally eight to one. For instance, in 1905 there were 17 nominated to compete for 4 vacancies, but one of these did not come up for competition, so that there remained exactly 4 competitors for each vacancy. In 1906 there were 32 nominated to compete for 8 vacancies, but as many as 5 of these failed to appear, leaving the contest between 27 for the 8 places ; but these came up in two separate competitions. In each of the three suc- ceeding years, 1907, 1908, and 1909, there were two competitions, in the course of which there competed respectively 31 for 6 places, 18 for 8 places, and 21 for 3 ; but there were 23 nominated in 1908 and 5 of these failed to come up, and 25 were nominated in 1909, 4 failing to appear. The 21 that actually did compete for 3 places in 1909 made 7 for each place. In 1908, however, the chances of the 18 were much better — 18 competitors for 8 places, being not much more than two to one. It will be inferred from the comparatively small number of 29 situations requiring to be filled in five years that the whole service is not large. The positions above that of Attach^ are, in fact, as under : 23 Third Secretaryships, 41 First and Second Secretaryships, 8 Commercial Attacheships, 13 " Councillors," i Agent, 7 positions as Resident Minister, 21 positions as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, and 9 Ambassadorships. First appointments, too, consist of some unpaid or honorary Attacheships, but these in an ordinary way are not in the line for promotion. Ordinary Attaches do not receive pay until after completing two years' service. Then they get Third Secretary- FOREIGN SERVICES 265 ships at £150 a year, rising to be First and Second Secretaries with a range of pay from £300 to £500 per annum. Councillors rise from £500 to £1000. Commercial Attaches are also on a scale from £500 to £1000. Then the ultimate prospect of a position as Resident Minister, salary from £1450 to £4500, or an Ambassadorship, ranging from £5000 to £11,500 a year, indicates the final reward to which an Attache may look forward. The class of appoint- ments abroad already mentioned and called Student Interpreterships were at one time filled by open competitions, but are now only given, under the limited-competition system, to those who obtain nominations. Candidates have to learn Oriental languages, and to be especially proficient in those of the country or group of countries to which they may be specially appointed. For this reason, so soon as they have successfully passed in the particu- lar subjects set for the examination, they are expected to go to a university to study Oriental languages and to remain not less than seven months in each year. Examinations to test their proficiency have to be passed whilst they remain at the uni- versity. Then they will get a salary beginning at £200 a year. They have to give bond for the sum of £500, in order to ensure the payment of that amount, should they, for inefficiency or misconduct, have to leave the service within a period of five years. The first designation of Student Interpreters will be " Assistants," and with a salary of £300 a year they will be appointed probably to the Em- bassy at Constantinople, to one of the Legations — Athens, Morocco, or Teheran — or to one of our 266 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Consulates in what is called '* the near East." Later on they will be required to pass a further examination in the Civil, Commercial, and Criminal Law of Persia or Turkey ; also to " get up " and pass in International Law, and learn the mode of administration, the language, and the history of the Persian or Turkish Empires, and become conversant with the general systems of the country to which they may be appointed, including a knowledge of any treaties that may have been concluded between the countries named and other foreign countries. The Student Interpreter has the chance, in due course, of becoming a Vice-Consul, rising to £500, or a Consul, from £500 to £1250. As an indication of the number of nominees for places periodically available, we may mention that twelve were nomi- nated for one vacancy in 1910, and the winning candidate secured 2459 marks out of a possible 3000. Foreign service under the British Govern- ment is not to be despised ! INDEX Ability, 35, 40, 78-81 ] — Conflicts of, 163 — " not wanted in the Cus- toms," 78 Abnormal memories, 162 Abolition of office, no — of office-terms, 115, 117, 135 — of pension tax, 105 A " Boy " becomes an " As- sistant clerk," 178 Absolute independence, 163 Absorption of redundants, 117 " Abstractors," 29, 167, 180, 181, 185, 189 — Examination for, 187 — " score " in exams., 193 — successes, 193 Accountant-Generalship, 195 Accountants, 91 — Assistant, 90 " A " character, Chiefs decline an, 119 Acting Chief Accountants, 91 Active service in India, Ca- pacity for, 237 Actuarial reference, 153 " A Division," Promotion to, 194 " Admirable Crichtons," 74 Admiralty, The, 2, 29, 36, 59, 152, 154, 169, 171, 193. 194. 195. 196, 200, 205, 206, 209, 228 — First Lord of, 223 Advice for students, Golden, 185 — to Civil Servants, 97 " A fine appointment," 220 Age deductions, 187 — limits, 58-60 Class I, 203 Equalising, 58 — Regulations as to, 197 " Agents," Political, 264 Agricultural and Technical In- struction (Ireland), 194 Agriculture and Fisheries, De- partment of, 2, 29, 193 — Board, President of, 223 Alcoholic tests for revenue, 230 Allocation of Indian posts, 233 " All round man," The, 38 "^ " Always late " ones. The, 76 " Ambassador back in thxee weeks," 73 ^ Ambassadorships, 264 Ambassador's pay, 265 Ambition, Splendid stimulus for, 208 Americans, 173 Amusing case of aspirating vowels, 219 Analysis of a Second Division exam,, 192 Analysts, 230 Annual candidates for Indian Service, 233 — turnover of the C.S.S.A., ;^i, 670,821, 146 Annuity and Benevolent Fund, Customs, 147 — of ;^ioo. Value of, 158 Anonymous writing, 142 An open door, 13 Appeal, Civil Service Court of, 81 267 268 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Appeal Court for Civil Servants, 124 " Appearance Sheets," 75, 76 Apprentices in the Navy, 169 Arithmetic, Hints as to, 183 — required. Kind of, 183 Arms, College of, 2 Army, The, 169, 170, 187, 222, 241 — business, 7 — Council, 20, 169 Artillery Company, Honour- able, 170, 187 Asking for a post, 227 Aspirating vowels, 74, 219 Assam, 233, 235 Assimilative function neces- sary, 163 Assistant Cashiers, 198 — Clerkships, 29, 37, 45, 48, 59, 90, 166, 167, 178, 180, 181, 185, 186, 189, 196, 228 Inner door to, 202 pay, 188, 189 Assistants of Customs and Ex- cise, 171 Excise, 180 " Assistants " recruited from " Boy " clerks, 185 Athens, Legation at, 265 Attach6ships, 263 — Honorary, 264 — interchangeable, 263 — numbers competed for, 263-4 — Unpaid, 264 Attendance, 30 Audit Office, 200 (India), 205 — stations. Admiralty, 200 Auditor, A State, 3 Auditor-General, 33, 47 Authorship, Encouraging for, 142 Autocratic dismissal. No, 166 Automatic salary increase, 89- 91 Average life estimate, 149 — of difficulty in papers, 164 " Bad bargains," State's, 133, 134 Badgered ministers, 225 Bad leg and annual leave, loi Bank holidays, 100 Bankrupt, EngUsh Paymaster never, 116 Baronetcies for Civil Servants 139, 195 " Behind the scenes," 50 Benevolent Fund, 147 Bengal, Eastern, 233, 235 — proper, 233 — Upper, 233, 235 Berar (India), 235 Berth by accident. Getting a, 227 Berth -giving for votes not bribery, 228 " Best who get in. Is it the ? " 226 Bible for proof of age, 58 " Blackballing," 120 Board " did something," The, 93 Board ordered to promote, 122 Boatman, A paralysed, 12 Bombay, 233, 235 Bonus for Copyists, 17 " Born tired," People who are, 83 " Boss," Wanting to see the, 73 Boy Clerks, 17, 45, 47, 59, 166, 170, 172, 179, 193, 195, 196, 208, 228 and infectious disease, 179 Attendance, 177, 179 holidays, 178 New 8cheme, 1 86, 1 87, 1 8S No retiring pay for, 177 Old Scheme, 186, 187, 188 Opening for clever, 188 Rate of pay of, 177 Registers, 173 in Edinburgh, 173 in London, 173 in provinces, 173 INDEX 269 Boy Clerks, Regulations as to, 172-85 retention to twenty, 178 score in exams., 193 service hours, 176 "service marks," 180, 181 sick leave, 179 successes, 193 " Boy Copyists," 166, 185, 186 a mistake, 166 " Brains " versus " patron- age," 64 Brilliancy may be acquired, 185 Brilliant careers offered, 263 " Bristling with orders," 139 British Captain a messenger, 221 — Empire, The, 2 — Guiana Police, 254, 256, 257 — Imperial Government, 8 — Museum, 5, 193 — residents, 264 — subjects, 171, 172, 173 Conditions as to, 235 — unemployment, 173 Bureaucracy, 9 — at home, 207 — EngUsh and Russian, 207 Burma, 232, 233, 235 " Business done " — 2000 per cent !, 147 Cabinet Minister's power, 225 "discretion," 225 Cadetships, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262 Cadets, Age limits for, 259 — Duties of, 258-9 — Exams, for, 259 — House allowance for, 259, 260 — Leave for, 260, 261 — Promotion for, 259 — Number of appointments of, 262 — Pay of, 259-60 — Pensions and, 261 Calculation of pension, 109 Candidate is " floored," How a, 66 " Capable and attentive," 80 Capitalists versus Service " stores," 147 Capital sum given for pension, 151 Cartographers, 59 " Cash down " success, 146-7 Cash price of pensions, 158 " Cash," The magic of, 145 Central Provinces (India), 235 Certificate necessary for incre- ment, 189 Ceylon PoUce, 254 " Chance," Element of, 163 Chancellor of Exchequer inter- venes, 1 2 1-2, 123 — remedies injustice, 122 Chancery Department (Scot- land), 193 " Character giving," 94, 95 — must be good, 22 — of Navy clerks, 229 — requirements, 61-3 Characters " A," " B," " C," " D," 95 Charity Commission, 2, 29, 193 Charm of the Service, 165 Chelsea Hospital, 193 Chemist, Government and, 230 Chief Accountantships, 195 " Chief " likes, What a, 83 Chief's dislike. A, 112 Chief Secretary's office (Ire- land), 194 China, Posts in, 263 Choice in order, 171 Civil establishments. King's 20, 21, 30, 61 — Servants and Co-operation, 145-6, 147 " the trade," 145-6 — Service as a profession, i Benevolent Fund, 147 Commission, i, 14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 53. 54. 270 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE 55. 56, 58, 61, 62, 64, 65, 69, 114, 162, 164, 167-70, 172, 174, 175, 177-9, 181, 182, 186-8, 190, 193, 197, 198, 203-6, 210, 211, 214-18, 221-3, 225, 230, 234-7, 255. 259 Civil Service Co-operative So- ciety, 147 " hand," The, 182 institutions, 145-7 Insurance Society, 147 Lifeboat Fund, 147 Mutual Furnishing Asso- ciation, 147 of India, 231-33 Provident Society, 147 " Stores," 145-7 Supply Association, 145-7 Widows and Orphans Fund, 147 " Class I " clerks, 16, 29, 43, 58, 166, 167, 202, 205, 208, 228 age limits, 203 for Indian Service, 231, 232 pay, 298 posts, Number of, 206 subjects of exam., 203, 204 " Class II," 16 Classifications, Old, 79 Clerks of Works, Exam, for, 222 Closing date (new Pension Act), 136 " Coach," The, 65, 66, 68 — Uses of the, 66 Cobbett and Dr. Johnson, 134 Code of Criminal Procedure, 231 Coffee, The messenger and the, 221 Colenso's Arithmetic, 66 Collection of taxes, 4 Colonial appointments, 254-62 — Civil Service, 18, 138, 258 — Constabulary Sub - Inspec- tors, 255 Colonial Crown Agents, 196 — Office, 2, 29, 171, 193, 205, 206, 209, 258 — PoUce, Height of, 255 pensions rule, 256-7 physical fitness, 255 training, 255 — Secretary, 223, 254, 255, 257 Colonists, 173 Colour blindness, Rules as to, 213 Combined Institution, A suc- cessful, 147 Comical scenes, 76 " Commercial Attach^ships," 264 — Attaches' " pay, 265 Commissionerships, 15, 226 — for Treasury Clerks, 207 Common sense, 162 versus " red tape," 88 Commutation case. A, 150 — Table, 158-9, 160 Commuting of pensions, 148- 61 C.B. for Civil Servants, 138 CLE. for Civil Servants, 138 C.M.G. for Civil Servants, 138 C.S.I, for Civil Servants, 138 C.V.O. for Civil Servants, 139 " Compensations," no Competitions for Second Di- vision, 192 Competition for Indian posts, Amount of, 233 — numbers vary, 165 Competitions, Limited, 163 — Open, 163 Comptroller-General, 153, 155 Conservator of Forests, India, Assistant, 250 " Consideration " of names for posts, 226 Consohdated Fund, 155 Constabulary Forces, Colonial, 254. 255 — (Ireland), 194, 205 INDEX 271 Constantinople, Embassy at, 265 " Constitutional advisers," 120, 121, 122 Consular Service, i pay, 263, 266 Co-operation, Civil Service, 146-7 Copyists, 16 " Copyist " system con- demned, 17 Coronation decoration, 139 Corrupt Practices Act, 227 " Councillors," 264 — pay, 265 Councils, Rural District, 4 — Urban District, 4 Court of Appeal for Civil Ser- vants, A, 96, 97 " Cramming," 65, 66 Criminals allowed to appeal, 124 " Critical divisions," Helping at, 224 Crown Agents for Colonies, 2 — Colonies, 8 — preserves, 49 Crush of candidates, 233 Customs, The, 2, 29, 36, 59, no, 195, 220 — Fund, 147 — and Excise, 169, 170, 171, 180, 193, 205, 209 Orphanage, 147 Dean " squared " the Ex- aminer, The, 10 Decoration by the Sovereign, 141 — for Civil Servants, 138-9 Decorations, List of Civil Ser- vice, 138--9 Deductions after sixty-five, 130 — from salaries, 102 Deeds Registry, Ireland, 29, 194 Defendant and plain tifif, 124 Deferments for pension, 246 Deferments of salary, 127 — prior to 1859, 128 — since 1859, 128 Deferred pay, 106, in — Pay Committee, 112, 126, 147 Deferred-pay movement, 107 — principle, 132 Demerit affects grant of pen- sion, 56 Departments of the Service, 2 Dependencies of the Empire, 8 Determination, Value of, 68 Diagnosing excuses, 76 Dictionary, Johnson's, 134 " Di/fawamite, sir. They say it's," 219 " Diligence and fidelity " ques- tion, 118, 123 Diplomas quaUfy, 55 Diplomatic posts, Exams, for, 255, 265, 266 — Service, i, 263 story, 72 Direct Crown appointments, 22 Director of Stores, 195 Disappearance of a candidate, 220 Discourtesy sometimes charged , 71, 72 Discretional sense, 162 " Discretion," A point as to, 180 — Value of, 88 Distinction for Civil Servants, 138-40 Distinctions attainable, 195, 196 " Distinctly superior abilities," 95 Distribution of Indian posts, 233 Divine Aid, To ensure, 165 Dockyards, The, 169 " Dodging questions," 66 Dogged hard work, 82 " Don't write anything I " 94 " Do something " for the clerk. To, 93 272 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Downing Street, 206 " Dowry " for women typists, 137 Dropping H's, 74, 219 D.S.O. for Civil Servants, 140 Dublin, 194, 234 Dynamite scare. A, 219 " Earned increment," iii East End offices, 36 — India Office, 220 Eastern Cadetships, 231, 258 Ecclesiastical Commission, 2, 29, 196, 200 Edinburgh, 193, 234 " Editor, You might ask the," 144 Educational fitness, 22 — status. Needed, 64-8 — tests. Object of, 65, 66 Education, Board of, 170, 179 — Office, 3, 29, 193, 228 Eighteen per cent " defer- ment " (!), 128 Eightieths instead of sixtieths, 129 Electoral " influence," 224 Eligibility for Indian Service, 235 Employers esteem willingness. All, 82 Energy defined, 82 Enfield Lock, 201-2 Enforced absence from work, 179 Engineer Cadets, 169 " Englishman, The," i English - speaking people, Choice of, 173 Enquiry unjustly refused, 120, 121 Entrance regulations, 168-230 " Envoy Extraordinary," 264 " Envy, malice," etc., 119 Estate Duty Office clerkships, 196, 200 Estimates, Civil Service, 117 European countries, 173 — descent essential, 235, 236 European descent of candidates for Navy clerkships, 229 Examination, Dispensing with, 27. 54 Examinations, 168 — Times of, 25 Examinerships, 200 Examining officers, 95 Example of 1909 Pension Act, 132 Exchequer, 169 — and Audit Office, 3, 29, 196, 200, 206 — grants, 179 — Office (Scotland), 193 Excise, 2, 29, 59 Excuses for lateness, 75 " Excuse," The official, 51 Expense Account officers, 198 Expert quahfications, 53-7 — skill, 55 — duties, 4 Extortionate system. An, 128 Extra clerks, 16 Factory Department, 228 " Faithful Service," Decora- tion for, 140 False declaration punishable, 155 Favoured Treasury clerks, 207 Fees for examinations, 215-16, 235 — for Colonial Police, 255 — for pension commutation, 161 — in certain cases not paid twice, 217 — payable. Scale of, 215, 216 — Payment of, 24, 25, 28 Females in post offices, 71 Female typists, 228 " Fenian plot " and " dyna mite," 219 Fifty per cent die before pen- sion, 133 Fine art, A private secretary's, 227 Finest qualifications. The, 82 INDEX 273 " Firing more guns," 51 " First Secretaryships," 264, 265 First step of reform, 14 Fishery Office (Scotland), 193 Fleet Paymasters, 228 "Fluttering" in official dove- cotes, 143 Forced to retire, Official, 123 Foreigners, 173 Foreign Office, 3, 90, 172, 193, 263 — Powers, 3 — Secretary, 172, 223 Service of, 223, 263-6 Forestry Diploma for India Service, 249 Forest Service, India, 246-53 pay, India, 249 Forgery of signatures, Friendly, 76 Frantic " late-comer," The, 76 Free passages for India Police, 238 " Free samples " abolished, 121 Free-sampling system, 122 Friendly Societies' Registry, 3, 193 Furlough " earned, 243 — in India Service, 232-3 Forest Service, 250-2 of India Police, 242 Furnishing Association, A Ser- vice, 147 " Fussiness," Irritating, 88 General Register Office, 3 " General Regulations," 168- 230 Geography, Hints as to, 183 — required. Kind of, 183 Girl Clerkships, 228 " God helps those who help themselves," 165 Golden advice, 185 — key. Merit a, 210 — rules re Geography, 183 Good grounding for students, 185 — manners essential, 74 — nature " pays," 85 " Good old times," The, 9, 94, 100 Good speech essential, 74 " Good things " for Treasury clerks, 207 in the Service, 162 " Governing families," 9 Government Laboratory, 3, 169 exam, subjects, 230 pay, 230 " Grace " allowed, 75 Grammar, Cobbett's, 134 G.C.B. for Civil Servants, 138, 139 G.C.I.E. for Civil Servants, 139 G.C.M.G. for Civil Servants, 138, 139 G.C.S.I. for Civil Servants, 139 G.C.V.O. for Civil Servants, 139 Grants, Special, 55, 56 Graphic power may be achieved, 185 Gratuity for infirm Civil Ser- vants, 115 relations, 1 30-1 Greece, 263 Gross annual profit of C.S.S.A. (;^273.506), 146 Guardians, Boards of, 4 Half-hoUdays, Saturday, 30 " Halt, the lame, and the blind," The, 9 Handwriting, Deduction for bad, 182 — Hints upon, 181, 182 — important, Good, 181, 182 Hard work. Value of, 68 Health conditions, 69-70 — may break down, 69 Hearing must be good for India Police, 241 Heartburning, Injustice causes, 207 274 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE " Heartless robbery " (!), 105 Hibernianism, Flavour of, 130 " Higher Division," The, 16, 91 High-minded resolves, 165 Hints for India Service, 237 Holidays, 178 — Abundant, 141 — Public, 100 — Total of, 37 Home and India pension sys- tems, 246 — appointments, 162-230 — Civil Service, The, 18, 138, 173 — Office, 4, 29, 193, 205, 206, 209 — Secretary, 223 Honesty of British Civil Ser- vants, 8 Hong Kong, 258, 259, 261 Police, 254 Honorary distinction, 141 Honours, 138-40 Hospitals, 222 Hours of attendance, 30 House of Commons, 224 How to " get on," 83, 84 Hustling out, A case of, 56, 57 Hydrographic Department, Admiralty, 59 " I always go early," 76 Ill-health, Retirement caused by, 135 Imaginary offences, Punished for, 124 Impaired lives and pensions, 152 Imperial Service Order, 139 for Civil Servemts, 140 Import duties, 4 " Impossible " young Irish- man, 84 Improper influence, 92 Income Tax Commissioner- ship, 195 Incompetence, Worst forms of, 13 Increments of salary, 32, 41 Independence of a Lord Chan- cellor, 52 India Audit Office, 193 — Civil Service, 18, 138, 173, 213, 214, 231-53, 259 fees, 235 leave, 232 pay, 232 qualifications, 231, 232 — Office, 4, 29, 138, 193, 205, 206, 236, 238, 253 — Secretary for, 223, 249 Indian Dependency, 4 — Empire, 138-9 " Indian Empire, Our vast," 232 — Evidence Act, 231 — Forest Service, 246-53 leave, 250, 251 pay, 249 pensions, 252 Physical fitness for, 253 probation, 248, 249 Provident Fund, 252, 253 qualifications, 247, 248 — Forests, Inspector - General of, 252 — History, 231 — Penal Code, 231 — Police Force, 234-46, 253, 254 range of chest expan- sion required, 240 chest girth, Table of, 240 Exam, for, 234, 236-7 get free passages, 238 horses to be paid for, 238 leave (extraordinary), 242 (combined), 242 (due), 243 (long), 62 (payment during), 243-4 INDEX 275 Indian Police Force leave (privilege), 242, 244 (short), 242 (special), 242, 243 (subsidiary), 242 pay (probation), 238 probationers, Terms of promotion of, 239 pensions, 239, 244-5 contributions for pen- sions, 245 Government subscrip- tion to pensions, 245-6 table of height re- quired, 240 pensions, 245 Provident Fund, 239 reward for energy, 245 Uniform to be paid for, 238 Individuals, No separate notices to, 218 Industry, 82-5, 165, 166 — defined, 82 " Industry will tell," 82. 85 Inequity, An obvious, 123 Inferior work, 17 Infirmity provided for, 125 " Influence," 13, 14, 92 — lies, Where, 224 — Personal, 50 — Political, 50 — the prime factor, 224 — Value of, 50, 51, 52 — wielded by " Heads," 223 " Influential M.P.," The, 227 Injuries, Compensation for, 135 Injustice, 165 — Illustration of, 118-24 Inland duties, 4 — Revenue, 4, 29, 36, 193, 194. 195. 196, 200, 205, 206, 209, 227 (Ireland), 194 (Scotland), 193 and Customs Provident Society, 147 Inquisitors About some, 143, 144 Institutions by Civil Service, 145-7 Insurance Societies, Civil Ser- vice, 147 Integrity, 165 Intellectual basis for the stu- dent, 185 Intermediaries can influence, 224 " Intermediate appointments," 196, 197 Pay of, 198-202 Irish Chief Secretary, 29, 205, 206 — Constabulary, Royal, 187 — Land Commission, 194 — Service, 1 74 Irregular appointments, 49 Irregularities, 165 Jamaica, 257, 262 — Police, 254 Japan, 263 " Job," Penalty for opposing a, 119-20 " Jobs " and House of Com- mons, 49 " Journey money" for Colonial PoHce, 256 Judicial and Public Depart- ment (India Office), 236, 247 Kew Gardens female workers, 228 " Kicking against pricks," 124 King Edward VII of genial memory, 76, 139 Knighthoods for Civil Ser- vants, 139-40 K.C.B., 138, 195, 209 K.C.I.E., 138, 139 K.C.M.G., 138, 209 K.C.S.I., 139 K.C.V.O., 139 " Knowing the ropes," 65 Lady Assistants, 228 — Inspectors, 228 Lamb, Charles, 76 276 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Land Commission (Ireland), 194 Languages for India Service, 231 — Hints as to, 184 Late-comers, 75 Leave, 98-102 — Annual, 35, 36 — for the Second Division, 42 — Maximum, 99 — rules. Colonial Police, 256 — specially given, 1 77 Legations, British, 265 LegibiUty required. Maximum of, 182-3 Leisure, 140 — for journalism, 142 literature, 1 4 1-2 — Occupation of, 31 — Official, 185 Lethargic dispositions, 83 Letter, Story of a, 143 LeveUing of distinctions, 166 Lewis, Sir Geo. Comewall, 105 Lifeboat Fund, Civil Service, 147 Limited competition, 255 Literary and official worth may be coincident, 185 — art inborn, 142 — fame, 141 " Little land," The, i Living in India, Cost of, 232 Local Audit Office, 91 — Government Board, The (England), 4, 29. 53, 193, 194, 205, 206, 209, 228 President of, 223 (Scotland), 29, 193 (Ireland), 194 London, 234 — and country paper notices, 217 London Gazette, The, 28, 44, 215, 217 " Lord 's compliments "(?), 227 Loss of office, Compensation for, no, 116 pay leave, 177 Lower Division," The, 16, 17, 37, 166, 189 Loyalty, Unswerving, 165 " Luck," The chances of, 163, 165 " Lump sum " compensation, 129, 130 for pension, 148, 149 for relations, 130 Lunacy Commission, 193, 205, 206 Lunatic asylums, 222 Madras, 233, 235 Magistracy, Selections for the, 52 Magnifying faults, 166 Malay States Police, Federated, 254, 258-9, 261, 262 Malicious reports, 118 " Manners " were not wanted. When, 72 Marines, Royal, 228 Marks, How to get, 66, 67 — How to win geography, 183 mathematics, 184 science, 184-5 writing, 183 — for " intermediate appoint- ments," 197-8 — Varying results of, 164 Mathematics, Hints as to, 184 — marks. How to win, 184 Mayo, Lord, 104 Medical Board (India Office), 237, 240, 253 — certificates required, 69 — Director-General (Navy), 198 — exam, for India Service, 237 — licensing authorities, 55 Memory, Value of good, 82, 162 Men Clerks, 17 " Men Copyists," 185, 186 Mental health for India Police, 240 Merit, 81 " Merit " a golden key, 210 Messenger-poet, The, 220 INDEX 277 Messengers, 218-20, 223, 226 — etc., age limits, 222 — easy duties, 121 — subjects of exams., 221 Meteorological Ofi&ce, 4 Metropolitan Police (Irelcind), 194. 195 Micawber, Mr., 78 Militia, 170, 187 " Minervas," A sprinkling of, 165 Ministerial polite bluff, 226 — recommendations, 49 Minister Plenipotentiary, 264 Mint, The, 4, 29, 193 Money not paid back, 107 Monopoly, The old, 9 Morocco, 263, 265 Mortality, Law of, 159 M.P.'s can do, What, 224 M.V.O. for Civil Servants, 139 " My Lords," Power of, 207 Influence of, 224 Naas, Lord, 104 National Debt Commissioners, 153-4. 155. 156, 158 Office, 5, 29, 193 — Education Office (Ireland), 194 — Gallery, 5 of British Art, 5 — Physical Laboratory, 5 — Portrait Gallery, 5 Natural-bom British subjects, 168 NaturaHsation, 210, 235 — Act (1870), 210 " Naturalised " British sub- jects, 168, 172, 173 Natural philosophy as a tonic, 185 Nautical Almanac Office, 5, 59 Navy, The, 169, 170, 187, 195, 198, 222, 228 — clerks' character, 229 pay, 229 " Nepotism," 94 T 2 Newspaper notices of exams., 217 " Nicest manner " of the patron, 22 Nil desperandum motto, 165 Nominating persons, 223 Nomination appointments, 49- 52 — for Colonial Police, 257, 258 — system, The, 226 — " the first key," 263 Non-effective service, iii Not genuine co-operations, 146 Obeying rules, 71 Obligation of further service,! 25 Official registers, 58 Officials who " get on," 74 Office Keeper, 223 — of Woods, 60 " Old scales " of pay, 117 " One good turn," etc., 224 Open competition, 14, 167, 174, 224, 233 — door. An, 13-48 " Open letter," The, 92, 93, 94 " Opportunities " exampled, 208 Optional terms of 1909 Pen- sion Act, 131 Order in Council (1855), 14 (1870). I5» 16, 22 (1879), 215 (1898), 215 (1910), 16, 18, 22-48, 49, 53, 61, 69, 99, 168, 171, 181, 225 — for Civil Servants, 138-9 Ordnance Factories posts, 197 pay, 201 Oriental languages for Diplo- matic Services, 265 Orphanage, Customs and Ex- cise, 147 Ottoman Dominions, 263 Outside qualifications, 26 — work. Punishment for, 118- 19 Overtime, 83 278 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Palmerston, Lord, 30, 105 Park Keeper, 221 Parliament to sanction special pensions, 114 Part of pension, Commutable, 158 Party allegiance. Price for, 224 Pass examinations, 13 " Passing," Gratification of, 71 " Passing over," Unjust, 120 Patent Ofifice, 5, 205, 206 Patronage lies. Where, 223 — minister. The, 226 — not bribery (?), 228 — system, 13 Pay for certain enforced ab- sence, 179-80 " Paying back," No, 128 " Paying out " the snubber, 224 Paymaster-General, 5, 29, 193 Paymasters, Assistant, 228 — Fleet, 228 in-Chief, 228 Paymaster's Staff, 228 Payment " down," 133 Peerage, 195-6 Peerages amongst rewards, 138, 140 Peer and the clerk, The, 93 " Peer he didn't know," The, 227 Penalty for opposing a " job," 119 Pension Acts (1834 to 1909), 103-37 — Act (1829), 114 (1834), 108, no. III, 112, 113, 114, 134, 136 (1859), 22, 55, 106. 108, 113, 114, 115, 118, 123, 125, 126, 129, 135 (1887). 135 (1892), 136 {1909), 104, 107, 112, 113, 126, 128-37, 150, 246 " Pensioner a slave of State," The, 134 Pensioner's average life, 132, 133 Pension for declining years, 141 India Service, Retiring, 233 " Pension Fund " a misnomer, 127 Imaginary, 106 — Reduction of, 56 — rules. Colonial Police, 256-7 Parliament must sanc- tion, 136 — schemes, 127-8 — systems contrasted, Home and India, 246 Pensions, 103-37 — free from certain taxes, 126 — Commutation Act, 148-61 Board, 149, 153, 156 — Contributions for, 103 — India Forest Service, 252 Police, table, 245 Perseverance, Value of, 68 Persia, 263 Persistence, Value of dogged, 68 Personal dislikes, 57 — favouritism, 57 Pettifogging " fussiness," 88 Physical defects a bar, 21, 69 — fitness. Hints as to, 210, 211, 212, 213 — qualifications, 210 — tests for India Police Ser- vice, 237-8, 239, 240, 241 " Piling up " charges, 123 " Pitchforking," 92, 120 — from the Treasury, 207 " Place-mongers," 9 Places found for redundants, 117 Plaintiff and defendant, 124 Playfair Commission, 16 — system, 17 Plymouth import incident, 86 Police, 4 — British Guiana, 254 — Ceylon, 254 INDEX 279 Police chest girth, Colonial, 255 — Dublin Metropolitan, 222 — Exams, for Colonial, 255 — Federated Malay States, 264 — fees, Colonial, 255 — Free peissages for Colonial, 256 — Height of Colonial, 255 — Hong Kong, 254 — Force, Indian, 234-46, 264 — Irish Constabulary, 222 — Jamaica, 254 — leave. Colonial, 256 — London Metropolitan, 222 — Nomination for Colonial, 257. 258 — Office clerkships, 196 (Dublin), 29 salaries, 201 — Pay of Colonial, 255 — pensions. Colonial, 256 — probationers for India, 237 — superintendents (India), 237 — Trinidad, 254 Pohteness and the public, 72, 73 " Polite note," Story of a, 227 — " putting off," 226 Political " Agents," 264 — services. Reward for, 52 — "wire-pullers," 52 Popularisation of the Service, 16 Port of London Authority, 5 Possible ;^500o a year, A, 196 . Postman, Established, 221, 223 Postmaster-General and lady clerk, 71 Post Office, 5, 36, 59, 71, 193, 205, 206, 228 Height required in, 213 P.M.G., 223 (Ireland), 194 (Scotland), 193-4 "young ladies," 71 Posts filled by promotion, 22 Posts, How to get Govern- ment, 224 Potent Ministers, Most, 206 " Powers that be," Known ta the, 206 " Prejudice," 112, 118, 165 — shown by a " shrug," 119 — Suspicion of, 80, 8i Preventive man, 223 Prince of Wales and the " I.S.O.," The, 139 Principal Chemist, 230 Prison Commission, 209 Prisons, 4, 222 — Department (Scotland), 194 — Office (Ireland), 194 — Warders in, 221 Private and public service con- trasted, 116 — school teaching, 202 — secretaries' chances, 207 get good things, 207 — study, 202 Privy Council Office, 193, 205 Probation, 46 — essential, 26 — for India Forest Service, 248 Police, 237, 238 — periods, 25 Probing armour of the Ex- aminer, 202 Professional experts, 115 — posts, 55 — quahfications, 22, 54, 55, 61, 62 — services. Recognition of, 115 Profit, IlUcit, 128 — on pensions, State, 128 — pays up shares, 146 Promotion, 15, 34, 35, 39, 40, 57. 92-7 " Promotion by merit," 40, 57. 78, 79 — How to get, 74, 85 — stopped, 112 Provident Fund, India Police, 245. 246 — Society, A Service, 147 280 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Public Works Loan Board, 6 Office, 193 (Ireland), 29, 194 " Pulling strings," 226 Punctuality, 74-7, 166 — of King Edward, 76, 77 Punch on the " Superannua- tion Tax," 104 Punjab, 235 Purchase terms, Pension, 158 Purse answers a question. A, 10, n Qualifications to be tested, 2i Queen Anne's Bounty, 6 Receiver, Metropolitan Police, 195 Record Office, 6, 29, 205, 206 Reduced pension. Reason for, 118 Reductions, Compensation for, 148-61 Redundant classes, 117 Reformatories, 4 — Office, 193 (Ireland), 194 Register House (Edinburgh), 29 Registrar-General, 3, 29, 58, 193 — (Ireland), 29, 194 Regularising leave, 6 Relations benefit under 1909 Pension Act, 130 Reports of Civil Service Com- missioners, 65 " Resident Ministers " (Diplo- matic), 264 pay, 265 Retention of services. Special, 31 Retirement, 31 — Forced, 149 — terms. Special, 23 Revenue Departments, 4 — Laws, 62 Reversionary rights to pen- sions, 132 Rewards for party support, 224 Rich service institution. A, 147 Riding test for India Police, 237. 238 Ridley Commission, 17, 98 " Right Honourable " for Civil Servants, 139 "Right side," Importance of the, 224 On the, 226 " Rises " in salary, 89 " Rotten old system," The, 9 Rough draft of a peer's letter, 227 " Round pegs " for round holes, 207 Royal Commission, 126 — Irish Constabulary, 168, 169, 170 — Observatories, 5 — Observatory (Edinburgh), 5^-60 (Greenwich), 59 " Royal road," No, 65 — Victorian Order," 140 — Warrant " appointments, 49 Safeguards necessary, 57 — wanting, Justice, 118 Salaries usually not to " run on," 218 Salary deferments tapped by State, 127 '/"■i'- ,' "^ — increase. Automatic, 89-91 — to begin at minimum, 218 Salisbury, Lord, 86, 87 Sandhurst Mihtary College, 20 234 Scandal, A Service, 56, 57 " Schedule A," 24, 29 — B," 21, 22, 28, 29 Science and Art Department, 206, 230 — Hints as to Elementary, 184-5 — marks. How to win, 184-5 " Scoring," Chances of, 163 INDEX 281 Scotch Education OflSce, 193 Scottish Secretajy's Office, I 205-6 ' Seat in Commons disqualifies for Civil Service, 31 Second Class Clerk, 171 — Division Clerks, The, 29, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47. 48, 59, 90. 99, 166, 171, 180, 186, 189, 191, 193, 196, 202, 208 examination, 190-2 maxima of exam, marks, 191 — — salaries, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43. 189, 190 special posts, 194, 195 Secretary for India, 231, 234-5, 236. 239, 240 Scotland, 29 " Secretaryships," Number of Diplomatic, 264, 265 — Pay of Diplomatic, 265 — Second, 264, 265 Secret chamber enquiry, 143 — of success, 74 — reports, Evils of, 118 " Security of tenure," 141 " Seed plot for best posts," 206 Selection of subjects, A cer- tain, 205 " Selling out," 148-61 Seniority system. The, 79, 80 Separate registers, 174, 175 Sequel to an incident, 122 Service Co-operative Societies, 31 " Service marks " system, 180, 181, 190 Service may " run on," 125 — Two kinds of, 162 Seventy age-limit, 27 " Shakes his fist," A pensioner, 134 Siam, 263 Sick leave, 33, 34, 179 regulations, 70 terms. Liberal, 70 Side-door entrances, 202 " Sidings " for redundants, 117 Sight, Rule as to defective, 214 " Signing on," 75 Sixty-five age-limit, 27 " Snug appointments," 225 Sons of men dying in action, 228 " Sorry I can't oblige," 226 South Kensington, 230 Sovereign and the " I.S.O.", The, 139 " Special qualifications," 225 — regulations, 168 — selections for Navy clerical posts, 228, 229 Specimen papers, 64 " Square pegs " for round holes, 207 " Staff appointments," 194 " Stagnation " in promotion, 90 Stampede in Commons, 106 Star of India, 138 Starting the Service career, 71-4 State treatment of employ6s, 116 Stationery Office, 6, 29, 193 Statistical Office, Customs, 195 Steady salary advances, 141 Storekeepers, Assistant, 198 " Store prices," 145-6 Stores, Civil Service, 145-6 Story of patronage, 10 Straits Settlements, 258, 260, 261 " Striped and robed," 11 Student Interpreterships, 263 Assistant, 265 pay, 265, 266 " Stupid Customs officer," A, 86-7 Stupidity of appointees, 11 Subjects for Boy Clerks, 174 Intermediate Appoint- ments, Exam, for, 197, 198 Subordinate posts. Exam, for, 221 282 THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE Successful climbs, 209-10 Success of Service institutions, 145-7 — Phenomenal trading, 146 " Summing," 67, 68 Superannuation, 15 — tax, 103, 104, 106 Superficial knowledge. No credit for, 204 Superior merit in India, 232 " Superior ofl&cer " ignored, 122 — work, 17 Supply Association, Civil Ser- vice, 145-7 Post Ofi&ce, 145 Supreme Court Pay Ofi&ce, 193 Surveyors, 95 Surveyorship of Taxes, Assis- tant, 196, 200 Surtout pas de zMe, 86 " Swearing in," 26 Syllabus re Examinations, 181 Table, Commutation, 158-9, 1 60 — of pensions, India Police, 245 Talleyrand's advice, 86 Tate Gallery, 5 Teacher, Post of, 179 Teachers' Pension Ofi&ce (Ire- land), 194 Teheran, 265 Temporary Clerks, 16 — Copyists, 17 Tennyson, Lord, 220 Testings, Revenue, 3 Test of willingness, 84 Tests for revenue purposes, 230 Text-books, The best, 66 "Third Secretaryships," 264 Thursdays for notices of ex- ams., 217 Trade, Board of, 6, 29, 193, 194, 205-6, 209 Traders and Civil Servants, 145-6 Traders' animosity, 31, 32 Tradesmen, London, 145 Trading of Civil Servants, 31, 32 — profit, ;^48,428, 146 Training for Colonial Police, 255 Transfers in India Police, 238 " Transmutation " of Boy Clerks, 186 Transparent inequity, A, 123 Treasury, The, 6, 15, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, ^ 31. 32, 33. 36, 37. 43-8, 53- 1 6, 91, 96, 98, 99, 100, no, ' 112, 113, 115, 119, 120, 121, 123, 129, 130, 131, 135, 136, 137. 151, 153. 155. 156. 157. 158, 170, 177, 179, 193, 205, 206, 207, 209, 215, 216, 217, 128, 223, 225 — clerks get " good things," 207 — control, 207 — enquiries, 96, 100 — First Lord of the, 223 — intervention, 120 — may amend commutation rules, 154 — Minute (1890), 98, 99, 100 — Remembrancer's Ofi&ce (Ire- land), 194 Trinidad, 257 — Police, 254 Trinity House, 7 United Provinces (India), 235 University training, 202 Unjust treatment, 96 " Urgent private afi[airs," 177 Vacancies not blazoned, 226 — Occurrence of, 25 " Valour " and " discretion," 141 Valuation Ofi&ce (Ireland), 194 (Ireland), 29 " Veritas," The letter of, 143 — was not drawn, 144 Vernacular compulsory for India Service, 231 INDEX 283 " Very capable and very atten- tive," 95, 97 " Vested interests," Regard for, 114 Victoria Station explosion, 219 Vindictive punishments, 56 Vision for India Police, Stan- dard of, 239, 241 " Vista " of distinctions, 140 Volunteers, The, 170 Vowel aspirating a fine art, 219 Warders, 223 " Walking encyclopaedias," 162-3 Waltham Abbey, 201-2 War Office, 7, 29, 36, 90, 153, 154, 171, 193, 194, 195, 197, 201, 205, 206, 209 Washington Embassy, Scene at, 73 Weapons, Intellectual, 162 West End offices, 36 " Who was Japhet's father ? " Widows and Orphans Fund, 1 47 " Wiggings " for lateness, 76 " Willing ones," The, 84 " Will the best succeed ? " 226 Wine spelt with an " h," 11 Witness scored, The, 144-5 Women Clerkships, 228 — Inspectors, 228 — typists, 137 Woods and Forests Office, 7, 29, 60 Woolwich, 201 — Mihtary Academy, 20 Working of 1909 Pension Act, 132 Workshops Department, 228 Works, Office of, 7, 29, 193, 205-6, 209 Writer and his bad leg, A, 12 Writers, 16, 17 Yankee, A rude, 73 Yeomanry, Imperial, 170 Zeal, 86-8 — without discretion, 86, 87 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY WM. BRENDON AND SON, LTD. PLYMOUTH i%' UNI 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This b RENEWALS ONLY— TEL NO. 642^40S This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. 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