H.—l4

12

Mr. R. W. Holmes, M.1.C.E., Engineer-in-Chief and Under-Secretary, Public Works Department, retired on the 31st July, 1920, after having completed fortyeight years' service, during which period he witnessed the development of the Public Works of the Dominion from its initial stages. Mr. Holmes, in retiring from the Service, carried with him the highest esteem of the officers who were privileged to be associated with him. .He was succeeded on his retirement by Mr. F. W. Furkert, M.1.C.E., A.M.1.M.E., who formerly held the position of Assistant Engineer-in-Chief. Dr. W. J. Anderson, M.A., LL.D., Director of Education, retired on the 31st March, 1921. Dr. Anderson entered the Education service in 1885, and, after having occupied many important positions under the Education Boards, was appointed to the Education Department as Assistant Director in 1915. His lengthy experience was of great value in dealing with the many varied and difficult matters arising in the Department under his control. Dr. Anderson was succeeded by Mr. J. Caughley, M.A., Assistant Director of Education. In passing it is pleasing to note that Messrs. Furkert and Caughley are both New-Zealanders by birth, and received their training in the Dominion. The death of Mr. R. Triggs, Public Trustee, on the 12th November, 1920, was a severe loss to the Service. Immediately prior to his appointment as Public Trustee Mr. Triggs held the position of Assistant Public Service Commissioner. Mr. Triggs's outstanding ability and his devotion to the best interests of the i Service were recognized by all. He was succeeded by Mr. J. W. Macdonald, Assistant Public Trustee. The Service also suffered a further loss by the death of Mr. W. Wyinks, who held the position of Registrar-General of Land. His appointment to the Public Service dates from 1878, and his career, which was such as to afford him a most intimate knowledge of all matters affecting his Department, was distinguished by kindness of disposition, earnestness, and devotion to duty. He was held in the highest esteem by the officers over whom he presided, by the legal fraternity, and public generally with whom he came in contact. Mr. Wyinks was succeeded in office by Mr. C. E. Nalder, who was promoted from the position of District Land Registrar at Christchurch. Returned Soldiers. As in all other parts of the Empire, the re-establishment of the returned soldier has been one of the outstanding problems which has received much attention during the last three or four years. In so far as the Public Service is concerned it has b_en the uniform practice to give preference, other things being equal, to the claims for appointment of returned soldiers. This applies not only to temporary positions, but also to permanent vacancies involving appointments from outside the Service. In this connection it should not be overlooked that all those employees who were granted leave of absence to enable them to join the Expeditionary Force were guaranteed their positions when they came back. Special opportunity was given the temporarily employed returned soldier of qualifying for permanent appointment: special classes for returned soldiers were instituted, and the majority of those who qualified for permanent appointment by passing the required examination were, if otherwise suitable, appointed to the permanent staff. At all times endeavours have been made to co-operate with returned-soldier organizations, and in most cases with good results. As, however, efficiency must be the guiding factor determining a person's employment, it was found necessary to positively reject, in some cases, the claims put forward on behalf of certain returned soldiers whom experience has shown to be unfitted for employment in the Service. Comparison of Civil Service Procedure with Business Methods. Departments have been notified by the Treasury that they will now be required to furnish balance-sheets in a commercial form. An effective spur to efficiency and economy will thus be afforded, particularly in the administration of those Departments where undertakings of a commercial or semi-commercial nature are carried on. It is unlikely, however, that the "business methods" of most Government Departments can be simplified to an extent enabling the administration to correspond with that of a private business undertaking, as such an