Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The dictionary of daily wants / [Robert Kemp Philp]. Source: Wellcome Collection.
51/1152 page 41
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The dictionary of daily wants / [Robert Kemp Philp]. Source: Wellcome Collection.
![APP and, in tlie third place, the situations are permanent so long as a man conducts him- self properly. On the other hand, there are some objections to be urged against Govern- ment situations, which materially detract from the charms they appear to possess at first sight. The chief of these is monotony ; for when once a person is appointed to any particular department, he is seldom or ever removed into another; so that day after day, and year after year, he is continually cn- paged in the same dull unvarying routine of duty. Nor has a man an opportunity of achieving an independent position. It is true that he is gradually promoted through the various grades of his department, but to this there is a iimit at last; and the utmost point which he reaches is that of being a well paid servant. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, nowever. Government situations are greedily coveted, and thenumber of appointments are totally inadequate to the number of applica- tions. The patronage of Government situa- tions is vested in the Ministers of the Crow, and is by them distributed amongst those Mwbers of Tarliament who support the Ministry by their votes. Unless a person, therefore, is acquainted with some Member of Parliament on the Ministerial side, it is in vain for him to hope to succeed in obtain- ing a Government situation; nor does the bare knowledge of sueh a person, or tlie mere application to him, ensure a favourable issue. Ou the contrary, a Member of Par- liament is so beset with these applications, and is bound as it were to return an en- couraging answer to all, when, in many in- stances, he well knows that it will be utterly impossible for him to grant the request that IS being made. It is not sufficient, there- rore, to simply make the request and there let the matter rest, but it is absolutely neces- sary that from time to time, and at frequent intervals, the Member should be eonstantly reminded of his promise, until at length ^perhaps with a view of escaping further importunity) the favour is granted. With regard to patronage, a new order of things has been recently established, by which cer- tain Government appointments are supposed to be bestowed by public competition. This, however, is only a nominal coneession pro- ducing no result, and the iiatronage is in reality administered under precisely the same system that it ever was. Pefore a person enters upon the duties of a Government situation, he lias to undergo a term of probation to fit him for his appoint- ment. He is accordingly placed under cer- tain persons in the department to which he IS about to be appointed, and is instructed by them in the various branches of the duties that will be required of him. He then undergoes an examination upon these points, which, if passed satisfactorily, quali- fles him lor his post. In addition to this mitiation into oflicial duty, the candidate is mso examined in various branehes of ele- mentary knowledge; such as writing, arith- nietic, history, geography, bookkeeping, com- pos.tion, I'rench and Latin translation, and ri, M “cooxlibff to the exigen- cies of the department. 41 Candidates for Government situations ai « onU' eligible for admission at certain ages, +i” * generally speaking, the condition is, sliall not be less than si.xteen oi older than twenty-five. The salaries given in Government offices, although small at the outset, are augmented periodically; so that a youth beginning with .£60 a vear at sixteen may be in receipt of £250 before he is five- and-tw;enty. In many of the public offices the privilege is allowed of adding to the salary by working after office liours ; and as this interval is generally from ten till four, or nine till three, a few hours extra labour may be performed without overtaxin”' the inental or bodily energies. Haviiig'’thus stated the necessary requirements for a Goyernnient situation, we append the fol- lowing list of the prineipal Governmental departments:— '/7ie Admiralty is devoted to the adminis- tration of naval atlairs, and is eomposed as follows:— Naval Department, 39 clerks; salarie.s, iClOO to .£1000. Accountant-General, 19-1 clerks; salaries ^£90 to £800. Seamen’s Eegister, 35 clerks; salaries, £90 to £500. Dockyards, 113 clerks; salaries, .£80 to a450. Somerset House, 40 clerks; salarie.s, £70 to £200. In addition to these there are other minor branches, each employing from six to twenty clerks, with salaries ranging from £so (o £400. Audit Office.—The duties of this office consist in examining the public accounts; it em-- ploys a staff of 92 examiners and inspectors, with salaries varying from £90 to £400. _ Custom House.—This branch of the service IS considered one of the best, both ou ac- count of its varied employments, and for the value of its appointments. The duties con- sist of the examination of imports and ex- ports, taking the accounts of and levying the duties thereon. The Custom House may be primarily divided into two classes—the hrst comprising officers of various grade.s, who are charged with the actual e.xamina- tion of merchandise for import and export; and the second class consisting of clerks, who prepare and examine the accounts and other documents belonging to their respective de- partments. The first class is divided as follows: -IFeig/ierj, whose duty it is to assist the landing waiters in unpacking, opening, weighing, &c.; salaries from £25 to £35 per annum, with half-a-crowii a day when em- ployed. Lockers, to attend to the receipt and dehvC'T' of the goods from the warehouses; salarlt,! from £ioo to £120 per annum. Landtni yVaiters and Surveyors, to take an account el goods landed from all vessels arriving from foreign countries; salaries, £160 to J 600. Gauyers, to measure the con- tents of <’4isks containing wine, spirits, oil, and other liquids; salaries from £126 t £600. 7'i Waiters, to remain on board ship from the time of their arrival until theii dejiartur' in order to ])revent smuggling, and to take an account of all drawback](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24874619_0051.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
