NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1613, 3 December 1912, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

On two occasions during the rcoime of the Ward Government wo felt it our duty to question the propriety of promoting Cabinet Ministers' private secretaries to responsible and lucrative positions in tho Public Service, on the ground, principally, that the prior claims of those qualified Departmental officers whoso seniority entitled them to consideration were entirely disregarded under this system of Ministerial patronage. The same kind of thing has been going on in the Public Service at Home, under the presont Liberal Government, and, we aro pleased to observe, has not been allowed to pass unchallenged. For example, the private secretary to the President of the Board of Trade, drawing a salary of £450 a year, was translated to the Council Chamber of the Viceroy in India at a salary of £5300; the private secretary to the late Lord Chancellor, with £500 a year, is now Registrar of the Privy Council, with £1200 a year; anothor fortunate young gentleman, who received £300 a year as private secretary to the then Lord President of the Council, now draws £1200 as Commissioner of Customs. One of Mn. Lloyd-George's private secretaries, when that Minis,ter was at the Board of Trade, drew £200 a year, and now, as Insurance Commissioner for' Wales, enjoys a salary of £1200. And so on. There are other instances available that we might quote, but sufficient has been disclosed to show ample iustification for tho demand recently made by the Saturday Review for a full inquiry into a system of "promotion by personal favouritism"—we quote the language of the journal referred to—that "must ( necessarily disturb the poise of administration." As the 'Review rather pointedly expresses it, "the official private secretaries to a Minister of State or an Undersecretary are ex hypothesi- junior clerks in the Service %n statu pupillari who haye never had any experience of administrative responsibility. Their rapid promotion therefore is at the expense of their seniors, whose valuable experience goes for nothing, and whose Department is thrown out of gear." The Review concedes, as we ourselvos have conceded, that there may be instances where the personal attainments and general ability of the individual may afford some justification for some proportionate degree of recognition py way of, promotion to a permanent appointment in the Civil Service, and quotes two cases in point. . But that is not the real issue.

"The real grievance detrimental to the best interests and traditions of the Publio Service and distinguishing . the present Administration above all or any of. its predecessors, is," insists tho "Review," the pernicious praotice of promoting private secretaries to comforfcablo appointments over the heads of the rank and file of Civil : Servants;- , This' haphazard personal partiality disturbs tho course of promotion and the relative positions of public servants among thomselves. It creates an internal congestion in. the office affected, It gives rise to hea-rt-burnrnsr, unrest, petty jealousy,' wire-pulling, and toadyism, which cannot fail to react unfavourably on the efficient conduot of public business."

The tragic frequency of accidcrits and fatalities -which follow from the careless handling of firearms is once more brought home to the public by the telegraphed account to-day of a fatal shooting accident at Stratford. Some lads were conducting a mock circus in a gymnasium, and two of their number engaged in a mimic duel with two shot-guns that were hanging on the wall of the room. One of the guns was loaded and the snapping of the trigger was followed by a tragedy. We think that in the education of the community with respect to the proper handling of firearms the schools might do a very valuable service. No doubt many teachers mako it their business to caution their pupils in this very serious matter, but for the want of some definite instruction from the controlling authorities this caution in top many cases is only learnt by painful experience. A firearm should never be handled without being carefully examined, no matter how certain its owner may be that he unloaded it when he last used it. This simple precaution, to which might be added some instruction as to the proper methods of carrying a gun, would materially reduce the risk of accident.

In a letter to the London Times of October 23 last, Me. Richard Jebb, the well-known publicist, raised the question of whether (a), the Committee of Imperial Defence, or (b), the Imperial Conference, would best bo adapted to the purpose- of continuous consultation in regard to foreign affairs and defence, and submitted the conclusion that the constitution of the former was open to serious criticism. While the Imperial Conference possessed a regular constitution of its own making, defining its membership (which is confined to responsible Ministers) and its mode of settling differences of opinion (one Government one vote), the- Defence Committee, submitted Me. Jebb, had no regular •constitution, the composition of each being determined by the British Minister, who could Bummon whom he pleases, Ministers and .non-Ministers were associated on equal terms as regards participation in its proceedings, and the mode of its "resolution" a State secret. "The Defonce Committee," considered the writer, "is a compromise which cannot stand,, and tho real difficulties of Imperial Federation, which may prove insuperable, have not yet begun to be faced." As the Times quite correctly points from the consultative , character of the Imperial Defence Committee, such objections as are raised by Mr. Jebb with regard to the nature of its constitution and proceedings are really beside the point, and certainly do not touch the propriety of appointing responsible Dominion Ministers' to the Committee, a proposal put forward by the Times in a previous article. "The Dominion members of the Committee," observes that journal in a leading articlo on the subject of "Democracies ■ and Defence," "would of courso havo no power to commit their Governments to action of any kind. They would be there to represent views of their Dominions in matters of policy and defence with greater influence and continuity than is possible now. They would also be there to dispose with greater fullness and consistency of all-the information by whioh British 'policy is shaped. This prooeeaj

though simply and solely oonnultative, would havo a mutual valuo which no other expedient could give. . . . The Imperial Conference is only periodical, whilo the Committee of Defence can meet at iwiy tinio. . ... The Imperial Conference must be summoned by all its constituent Governments, and iu not properly' constituted unlcoti all are thero. A single Dominion could express Uβ viewH through tho Committee of Defence whenever it had viowa to express or information to demand. We want in tho practical British fashion, tho simplest ready expedient which will ocrvo the end in viow." The New Zealand Oompotitionß Society's second annual'festival concluded with a chorus of congratulation on Saturday evening in t7ic presence of an interested audience which completely filled tho Town Hall. Whilst there is plonty of room for argument as to whether these competitions do or do not do any material good from a strictly artistio standpoint, thero is no qucetion that they form among tho youngor peoplo a spur to musical and elocutionary endeavour, and furthermore disclose tho presence of talent which might otherwise remain latent or be confined to a very restricted sphere After all, everything in lifo is more or less influenced, by competition. It is the life of trade, and is most certainly a factor in the life of several forms of art. Most of our bucccssful singers recount amongst their) early student-day experiences their failures and successes in tho musical academies and conservatoires of tho Old World where the annual examinations partake largely of the nature of official competitions. Much of the artistic design work and architectural achievement at Homo is the result of competition, and painters annually compete through their works for hanging space "on the line" or off at tne Royal Academy, Paris Salon, and other art exhibitions. The principle underlying the local competitions is a sound one —that of supplying each candidate with a detailed analysis of his or her work and so pointing out those errors which should be rectified and weaknesses strengthened. There are, as a matter of course, always those who will differ-from opinions expressed by the judges, but if they be capable, broad-minded men with judicial capacity sufficient to eliminate anything in the nature of • personal bias, their marks and remarks must be helpful to competitors. It is satisfactory to learn that the recent festival has been successful both financially and artistically, and that the executive intend to push forward in the direction of making the Wellington competitions the centre at which the champions in similar competitions in other places can meet to decide supremacy.