THE PUBLIC SERVICE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 292, 13 May 1914, Page 7

THE PUBLIC SERVICE.

AN ASSOCIATION FORMED. There was an attendance of nearly thirty members of the Civil Servk'o in New Plymouth, at a meeting held in the Courthouse on Monday night, for the purpose of forming a Taranaki branch the Civil Servants' Association. Mr J. Terry took the chair. Mr Alan Hill, secretary of the Auckland branch, in addressing the meetign, mentioned that while he was not speei- ) ally deputed by the Auckland branch to do so, he had determined that while he was spending a holiday in New Plymouth he would do his he,st to form a Taranaki branch of the association. Prior to September, 1913, he said, the ■ only organisation of the sort proposed ( was the Civil Servants Association of Wellington. In September, however, a meeting was held at which 30 delegates from all over New Zealand were present, and it was decided to form a body to be known as the Public Servants Association of New Zealand. There were now over 1000 members in Auckland alone, and ninety per cent, of the public servants of the Dominion ' belonged to the association. Tho advantages of membership were manifold. Tlie main objects were to promote the welfare -J.ad protect the interests -of the public servant, and during the seven months' existence of tho association very good work had been done.. At the initial meeting over 50 remits were dealt with, and important questions forwarded on to the Public Service Commissioners. He stressed the various important matters which the association dealt with, such a» overtime and promotion, and pointed out that the formation of a Taranaki branch would tend to draw civil servants of the district together. The association embraced all departments of the Government service, including the Defence Department. hTe Post Office.and Railways each had a separate organisation, but a movement was on foot in the larger centres for these two bodies to join the Public Servants' Association. Much better results would be obtained from a combination of the three bodies. The subscription charged for membership was on a sliding scale. It was unanimously decided to form a Taranaki branch of the association. PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE. The following were appointed a provisional committee to report to a general meeting on Monday, May 25: — Messrs W. H. Fletcher and C. E. Archibald (New Plymouth), C. H. Lawn (Stratford), T. Rabono (Whangamomona), and Sergeant-Major, Dallinger (Hawera, Patea and Opunake). Hr Rhodes (New Plymouth) was elected secretary and treasurer pro tern. In answer to a question, - Mr Hill stated that a section was purely a provisional affair. If, as had been stated by previous speakers, some of the civil -servants in Taranaki had already joined the Wangunui section, it would be the duty of the latter body to remit the subscriptions to the Taranaki section.