"YOUNG MILLAR."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 243, 20 February 1911, Page 5

"YOUNG MILLAR."

A RAILWAY APPOINTMENT. JUSTIFIED BY THE PRIME MINISTER. By Telegraph.—Press Association. C'hristchureh, Last Night. The Prime Minister whilst in Christchurch yesterday went fully into the facts in connection with the appointment of a son of the Hon. J. A. Millar, Minister of Railways, to the position of assistant electrical draughtsman in the service. Sir Joseph Ward stated that young Millar had been in the railway service for nine and a half years, when he had obtained leave of absence. He had joined the traffic branch as a clerical cadet, qualified himself in station accounts and postal and telegraphic work, and afterwards obtained a transfer to the maintenance branch, as he desired to apply his evenings to the study of electricity, for which regular hours were essential. After three years' study in New Zealand he had obtained extended leave of absence without pay for the purpose of gaining practical training in large electrical works abroad. He hau spent two years and three months ii practical work in,one of the largest electrical engineering establishments in Great Britain, and had returned by way of America and Canada, where he hao availed himself of the opportunity. ol going through other large works and seeing with a practical eye the methods adopted there. Had Mr. Mijlar been content to remain in New Zealand, Sir Joseph Ward continued, and followed the occupation of a railway clerk, performing his duties without displaying more than the average intelligence and ability, lie would automatically have received classification increases annually, and his salary as a clerk on the day he resumed duty would have been £l9O, and £2OO from April 1 next. He had been promoted from the lowest class in the division, one which carried a maximum salary of £2OO obtainable by anyone without special training or qualification, to the next highest class, carrying a minimum salary of £2lO and a maximum of £220. Apart altogether from the amount of money spent in tuition in New Zealand, for over three years prior to leaving for England young Millar, in furtherance of his desire to qualify for the position he now occupied, had forfeited over £450 in salary, besides having to expend several hundreds in payment of travelling expenses, board, and special fees for instructional purposes, besides other contingencies during his two and a half years' absence. After all this expenditure he was at present in a position which gave a salary that was at the very most only £2O more than he would have had at an ordinary railway clerk or stationmaster at the smallest country station. It was an every day occurrence, the Prime Minister continued, to promote men who had specially qualified themselves from a lower to a higher grade. Such men were placed at the bottom ot the class into which they were promoted, and their further advancement in the service depended entirely on the requirements of the Department and the proficiency of the members concerned. For years past the regulations of the Department had affirmed the principle and provided the machinery for giving efficient members or those with special qualifications some advantages over the nonefficient or less qualified. Cadets were encouraged to learn shorthand by a provision that it should count for six months' service if they passed the junior civil service examination, ana twelve months if they passed the senior examination. It was thus possible for a endet with three and a half years' service to be appointed to a clerkship il he passed the three examinations, and he would therefore supersede a large number of others who were senior in service but were too indifferent to make an effort to improve themselves, or at any rate avail themselves of the opportunities that presented themselves. Surely it was not unreasonable to follow the principle and practice in a case where the person concerned had qualified himself at considerable expense for something more than a clerical position. Mr. Millar's total service was twelve and a half years.