The Dominion. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1912. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONERS

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1609, 28 November 1912, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1912. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONERS

The announcement made last evening of the names of the gentlemen who are to fill the offices of Commissioners and take charge of the Public Service of the country under the Act of last session, has been awaited with very keen interest. Both the public and the members of the Service have been anxious to discover tho intentions of the Government in the matter, and speculation has been freely indulged in as to the particular course Ministers might be expected to take. In some quarters it was felt that however desirable it might be to make the appointments from outside the Service, and by so doing introduce into its control a new influence unfettered by the past methods and practices of the various Departments, such a step would prove impracticable, and for more than one reason. In the first place the task ahead of the new Commissioners calls for some familiarity with the Service in order to ensure that the new order of things shall be brought into working shape with a minimum of friction. Necessarily the duties of the first Commissioners will be heavier at the outset at any rate, than those of the men who succeed.them; for to the Oommissione'rs first appointed will fall the constructive work associated with the introduction of. the, new system of control and rearrangement of tho Public Service. But more important perhaps than this aspect of the position was the question of whether the salaries'and conditions imposed under the Act were sufficiently liberal to attract men in business, and commercial circles possessing the high qualifications required for the office. It must be acknowledged that the inducements held out were not such as would be likely to persuade a successful business man of the stamp wanted to relinquish his existing engagement for the sake of a seven years term of office at £1300 or £1000 a year, with all the burden of work and worry which tho. new post involved. There was always the possibility, of course, of a lucky find, but the odds were against the Government being able to place their hands on the class of man wanted for these positions, on the terms stated, with any confidence of his proving a success.

In the circumstances it iB not surprising to find that the Government have been forced to fall back on the Public Service itself for their Commissioners. Two, including the Chief Commissioner, have been selected from tjie New Zealand Service, and they have gone outside our own Service to that of the Commonwealth for the third member of the board. This latter is a step which, under existing conditions, we heartily approve. Apart from the fact that Mr. Triggs, the particular Commissioner referred to, is possessed of high personal qualifications and wide experience, ne has one distinct advantage not .enjoyed by his fellow Commissioners,' Messrs. Robertson and Thomson. That is to say, he has served under Public Service Commissioners in Australia, and is familiar with the system of nonpolitical control in operation there. This experience should prove very useful t'o the new board when it takes up its task of reorganising our Public Service system. Mr. Robertson, who is to be the Chief Commissioner, has won a high reputation as the head of the Postal Department, and will from the outset command the confidence of a very large body of the Public Service. He is said to be very painstaking, and very thorough in his methods: and to be tactful in the handling of his Departmental officers. We should imagine that the Government can rely on the new system being brought into operation under Mr. Robertson with a minimum of friction, arid that he will prove a very careful and capable Chief Commissioner. Mr. A. D. Thomson, the third member of tho board, is less well known, perhaps, than the Chief Commissioner, and cannot claim the variety of experience of his fellow Assistant Commissioner, yet on the whole wc regard Mr. Thomson's appointment with greater confidence than that of cither of his colleagues. Not that we wish to suggest that the two gentlemen in question will not fully justify their selection, but we believe that Mr. Thomson possesses exceptional qualifications for tho position, and that the better he is known throughout the Service the deeper will be the respect in which he is held, and the stronger the confidence in his soundness of judgment and absolute impartiality. The Government have had a difficult task in selecting this Board of Commissioners under Mr. Herdman's Act. The success or failure of the Act is so dependent on the manner in which the board fulfil their duties that it was only to be expected that Ministers would exercise the utmost care in making their choice. Wo ourselves should have preferred to see a stronger clement frofn outside the Public Service on the board: but wc are satisfied, nevertheless, that the selection on the whole has much to commend it, and that it was made solely in tho public interest, and

with a view to strengthening and improving the Civil Service of the country. That it will have an excellent chance of doing this we have not the slightest doubt. That the bulk of the members of the Public Service will see that it is to their interest to have the Service removed beyond reach of the demoralising and degrading effects of political influence, and will render loyal and willing' assistance to the Board of Commissioners we are equally confident. The effects of the changed conditions under tho new system will in all probability be slow in making themselves felt, but under competent control they will be sure enough, and convincing enough, not only to justify the long and strenuous fight which . Mr. Herdman has fought for a free Public Service; but they should win him also the lasting gratitude of both Civil Servants and their masters, the general public.