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No obstacle, therefore, seems now to prevent the practical prosecution of a scheme which, in its main and essential characteristics, has received the sanction both of the Executive authority and of the popular branch of the Legislature.
The design of the Paper which follows was to shew the applicability of the competitive scheme to the great number of situations below the class of clerkships, and the probable extent to which (while the service itself would be rendered much more effective) education would be favourably influenced by such a complete accomplishment of the wishes of the House of Commons. It is argued that, as incidental to the main objects of the Resolution (viz.—the abolition of patronage and the improvement of the service) a considerable encouragement would thus be diffused throughout the whole body of those educated at the elementary schools, and that both the average scholar and the advanced scholar would find a powerful motive for effort—such as it would be folly to expect that the love of learning for its own sake ever will supply—the prize to the former being the situation of Tidewaiter, Weigher, Letter-carrier, or Messenger, and that to the latter being the position of Surveying officer of Excise.
The latter class of appointments, however, by no means exhausts the whole number of prizes which would be within the reach of the more advanced pupils of these schools: there are many Clerkships, in various departments, to which they might reasonably aspire; and although perhaps it is to be expected that the majority of these would be gained by candidates from good middle-class schools, yet a fair proportion would doubtless reward the efforts of the best among the youth of the elementary schools.
It is hoped that, on some future occasion, a statement may be compiled shewing the entire number and the value of the clerkships and analogous situations in the whole Civil Service; so as to exhibit the utmost extent of the field which might be opened to competitive examinations, and to supply full materials for estimating the amount of encouragement to education
