NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 548, 1 July 1909, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

An interesting lecturo on "Some Ideals of Public Service" was . delivered last weclc by ..Mr, Lockyer, /the Assistant Comptroller-Genoral of the Australian Customs. ■ Some of his points arc of speoial interest to Zealand, at the present time, when "the corruption and waste engendered■ by political 'influence in; tlib' Civil Service have given a great impetus to the. movement for notvpollci<:al : tt >iiti'ol, Efi. Loojim prottifilrtd '.against tie uru-

posal, which was n.ndo by tho Federal I Labour Government, that the regulations | governing fcho Sorvico should bo modified' 1 so as to permit Civil Sorvantsi to tako I' part in politics. It was, he said, "im- I possiblo to imagine efficient and faithful | public service of tho character they were ( expected to render associated with political partisanship." Everybody in Now Zealand knows pcrfcctly well that the condition of the Oivil Scrvicc horo affords u striking reason why the Scrvico should be cut; off from politics. _ The Sydney Morning Herald, commenting on Mn. Lockyer's 'lecture, puts the matter very well: : A Public Service, as the organ of popular government, should bo n stranger to politi. col partisanship. Tim first stop nwaj from this ideal is tnkon when sorvnnlgi are allowed to voto; tho last step , 'tvotjld bo taken when tliey were allowed to mount the political stump. .In tho political neutrality of our public servants lies tbeir title io ellir cioney and their claim to honour. To " lot loose amongst them tho disintegrating influences of parly would bo to untlcrmino, their stutus, menace their integrity, and, seriously weaken the executive arm of tho State.

Sin,'Henry.Parkes, in many respects the dearest thinker who over held a high place in Australian politics, expressed his doubts as to whether it was a wise thing to give the franchise to public servants of any class. - ' '

It will be remembered, by the way, that the PIUME MiNtSTEtt, discussing tho Pub; lie Service Bill introduced by Mil. .Herdman 7 in tho recent session of Parliament, declared that ho could show that nonpolitical control has produced ovil 1 results in New. South Wales. He ,can of course show nothing of the' sort.' In the meantime the 'opinion of the Sydney Morning Herald, given last Saturday, is well worth quotation: True, weak spots develop now and again,; and thoy are appropriately dealt .with when discovered; but on tho whole wo nro entitled to say with no small amount of pridethat tho Public Servic.e-s of Australia . ar'.; wonderfully honest. Generally .speaking, the detestable element of "graft"—the 'element ivhieh keeps so many comhiunities! from riding, and the element which is dragging -' at least one great community down . from > the heights t-o ■ which a more moral generation, lifted f QUnd no congenial soil in our .'.'ublio Service.

Can the same be said of the results that havo been produced by a thorough trial of political control -in "Now Zealand V Does the public not know perfectly ;well that the vices that have necessitated, the present retrenchment are forking even in the - cure ] v T'no cancer. is being cut away .with a septic knifo. ; -

The Minister for Education has at last discovered what we pointed out,in these columns over a year :May 14" of last year, "to bb' exact. :• We then' directed attention to the fact that nothing .pould be clearer than that "the growth of the expenditure [on education] from less than half'a million a year in 1894 to'a million a year at the present time has been due to extravagant administration," and) we suggested that l "the Government, should doterminc to check its disbursements" on pretentious ornament'and doubtful ,cx-, periment." Mr..' I\owlds announced be'rdn.y<. that ha. must, call a /halt, in ex-; penditure. The growth of the expenditure irorn £408,198 in tiio year 1833-4 to £920,000 in 1006-7 is only in small measuro accounted for by a growth in tho salaries of.; teachers. As a- Southland teacher pointed out .in the valuable analysis of from 1894 to 1906 which 'we reprinted in March', of . last >ear, the increase in the salaries of . teachers was not, more ,than 15 per cent. The ,-cost of the -head . office' increased by 230 . per . cent.,,- the ; - costof' ''Education ' Board: management" b.v,'t 60 per cent, the cost of Education Board expenditure (apart ! from salaries of - teachers) by 60, per, ccnt., the cost' of expenditure on secondary schools and universities by 600 per cent., industrial sch6ols by 250 per cent., and so on.: This teacher observed that "each, year the appropriations to p u rposcs other ; than primary schooU ato increasing,, at. an: even greater rate; and it were well, for the representatives of.tho pcopk to see that the,expenditure is not.ihat .of the .spendthrift."-■ Although tho Minister must not;bo.denied the fcredit, that is the, due of-every■repehtaht'sinner,' it: would, have been very much- Wore* creditable, if. he. had inquired- into and realised the drift of things whenlic first took office. His present alarm at the growth of expenditure is only the latest'illustration l of tho Government's reckless disregard for' n cohomy and: prudence when times" are good. , ,