D.— 2,

VIII

Railways. I arranged last year for a committee to be set up (representing the Railways, Post and Telegraph, and Public Service Commissioner's Office) to go fully into procedure, the grading of positions in Division I, and, generally, any other matters that affected personnel administration. The committee, after visiting all stations and offices, interviewing staff, and investigating all aspects, has rendered a very useful report. It found that in many cases positions were not graded as high as analagous positions in other sections of the Public Service, and that in some respects procedure with regard to quite a number of matters should be brought into line with that of the other Departments. The investigation has brought to light the undesirability—not solely from the Railway point of view—of allowing Departments to become watertight, and staff administration to be run according to the views of the responsible controlling officers. Whilst I have no intention of interfering with control, I am certainly of the opinion that it should be subject to one uniform policy throughout the Government service on all questions of general application such as classification standards, periodical regrading, workingconditions, leave, annual reporting on staff, right of appeal, constitution of Appeal Boards, procedure following appeals, leave on retirement, and numerous other such questions. With a view to outlining a commencement with a scheme of uniformity, 1 have arranged for a committee, consisting of the Public Service Commissioner, the Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department, and the Staff Member of the Railway Board, to recommend a suggested order of reference of methods that might be made uniform throughout the Public Service generally, when I propose to ask Cabinet to set up a permanent uniformity tribunal to deal with such matters in future. This committee, as I have already explained, will not be invested with the control of the combined staffs, but will be purely responsible for the unification of the policy under which personnel administration of all the public Departments is carried out. Holiday Concessions to Scholars and Students. Encouraged by the support afforded to the " family ticket" concession, introduced two years ago for the express purpose of affording relief to large families desirous of travelling by train, I have now decided to further extend the opportunities for cheap train transit by introducing a new concession specially applicable to scholars and students attending our Universities, colleges, and schools. Under the new arrangement the existing fare concession of three-fourths ordinary passenger rates granted at vacation-time to school boarders only, will be discontinued. In lieu of this, concession tickets at excursion rates will be granted to all students and scholars in regular daily attendance at any of the Universities, colleges, or schools throughout the Dominion. The concession, however, will not apply to such students as may be engaged in an occupation from which they receive a salary or other emolument. These vacation tickets will be issuable at the recognized holiday periods of the educational institutions to which they apply. It is intended to make the tickets available for eight weeks at Christmas-time and for four weeks at the other two term-holiday periods. Frequent holiday changes during the years of study are generally recognized as beneficial to the health of both mind and body, and it is hoped that the new concession, by encouraging travel, will materially assist towards this end. Railway Conferences in Australia. During the year an Australian Railway Officers' Conference was held at Melbourne, and four officers from New Zealand attended. A Railway Commissioners' Conference was also held at Sydney, where the Dominion was represented by the Chairman of the Board of Management of the New Zealand Railways. It is considered that the facility offered by this means for an inter-State exchange of views on railway matters should be encouraged, and every opportunity will be taken of permitting Railway officers in New Zealand to attend such conferences.