CHAP. VIII] THE CIVIL SERVICE 349 
practice. In the Act No. 5 of 19021 organizing the service, 
the most elaborate provisions are laid down to secure that 
the control shall be non-political, and be in the hands of a 
Commissioner who cannot be removed except on an address 
trom both Houses of Parliament. The service is classified 
into four grades, administrative, professional, clerical, and 
general, and the principles of it are promotion by merit and 
seniority, but not by seniority alone, except in case of equal 
merit. The power is also given to take in outsiders if there 
is no one equally capable in the service, but the danger 
of political jobs is controlled by the requirement in the case 
of all promotions or new appointments of a recommendation 
trom the minister in charge of the department in question, 
a recommendation by the Commissioner, and a decision by 
the Governor-General in Council ; if the decision be to reject 
the candidate proposed by the Commissioner the only power 
is to reject him and ask for another, and the cause of this 
action must be laid before Parliament. 
Further, the Civil Service in the Commonwealth holds not 
by a mere customary tenure but by a legal tenure, which 
negatives the ordinary idea of holding at pleasure. Officers 
¢ See also Harrison Moore, Commonwealth of Australia,® pp. 187-96, and 
the annual reports of the Public Service Commissioner. 
2 ¢f. the New South Wales cases on the Civil Service Act of 1884; Gould 
v. Stuart, [1896] A.C. 575; Young v. Adams, [1898] A. C. 469; Young v. 
Waller, [1898] A. C. 661; and see Stockwell v. Ryder, 4 C. L. R. 469 (cf. 9 
0.L.R. 140). For the ordinaryrule,see Malcolm v. Comm. of Railways, [1904] 
T. S. 947 (cf. [1907] T. S. 557 ; [1910] T. 8. 1077) ; Skelton v. Government 
of Newfoundland, 1897 N ewfoundland Decisions, 243. In the case of the 
fommonwealth the same rule applies as in New South Wales, under the 
Public Service Act, 1902. So in Williamson v. Commonwealth (5 C. L. R. 
174) it was held that a dismissal must strictly follow the terms of s. 46 of 
that Act, and that an action lay where by a mistake a man had not first 
been suspended on the charges for which he was dismissed, but the impor- 
cance of the case is diminished by the rule that in assessing damages the 
Court will take into consideration the fact that the officer was liable to 
be dismissed forthwith under the correct practice. Stockwell v. Ryder, 
1. C. L. R. 469, was decided under the Public Service Act, 18986, ss. 40-2, of 
Queensland. On the other hand, a police constable in Queensland, under 
che Police Act, 1863, still holds at pleasure ; see Ryder v. Foley, 4 C. L. R. 
122 (reversing (1906) St. R. Qd. 225). For New Zealand see Reynolds v. 
Attorney-General, 20 N. Z. L. R. 24, Of. Williams v. Giddy, [1911] A.C. 381.