Responsible government in the Dominions: Responsible government in the Dominions

Responsible government in the Dominions (Vol. 1)

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Multivolume work

Identifikator:: 1896933912

Document type:: Multivolume work

Author:: Keith, Arthur Berriedale http://d-nb.info/gnd/119086794

Title:: Responsible government in the Dominions

Place of publication:: Oxford

Publisher:: Clarendon Press

Year of publication:: 1912-

Collection:: Economics Books

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Volume

Identifikator:: 1896934455

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-236504

Document type:: Volume

Author:: Keith, Arthur Berriedale http://d-nb.info/gnd/119086794

Title:: Responsible government in the Dominions

Volume count:: Vol. 1

Place of publication:: Oxford

Publisher:: Clarendon Pr.

Year of publication:: 1912

Scope:: LI, 568 Seiten

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Multivolume work

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Part II. The executive Government

Collection:: Economics Books

352 THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT [PART II In the opinion of observers best qualified to form a judgement, in practice there is some political influence in reference to railway and civil servants, but it appears to be on the whole within bounds. It is true that the Civil Service Commissioners, who control the Civil Service independently of the Government of the day, may be to some extent subject to political influence, but in many cases they are personally strong enough to be practically independent of the Government, as probably was intended by the Public Service Acts. The authority of a Public Service Commis- sioner is often evaded by the creation of temporary appoint- ments or by the use of the powers reserved to the Governor in Council for exceptional cases, and the application of those powers to everyday contingencies. But, on the other hand, Ministries have seldom much margin of support, and Governors are able to exercise considerable pressure. Again, the public press has no special interest in the public service, and is not likely to support it against all the other interests which press for popular support. Moreover, with an expand- ing population there is rapid promotion both in the Railway and the Civil Service, and the competition of the Federal Service makes conditions fairly satisfactory in the lower and the intermediate grades, though in the higher grades salaries are not adequate to attract the best men. The loss of the franchise, so often advocated, is hardly effective, for it would be difficult to disfranchise the wives, sons, and daughters of the public servants, and impossible to disfranchise their less immediate connexions and friends. In South Africa the Civil Service was not specially treated, as in Australia, until the Transvaal adopted in 1908 the principle of a public service board which controlled all appointments under £600 a year, the limit being fixed to avoid undue formality with regard to selections for the higher posts. In the Union Act certain arrangements are made regarding the control of railways and harbours which will have the effect of removing these services from the normal governmental control. The coming of Union renders necessary a complete reorganization, and the existing system

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