22 DECEMBER 1888, Page 3

Mr. Goschen attended the fourth annual dinner of the Civil

Service on Thursday, and made a ringing speech in praise of his hosts, whose merits, he said, are little recognised by the public. They were supposed not to work hard, but "he could tell of midnight orgies on legislative work which be had had with members of the permanent Civil Service." They were the most discreet of men, and, he trusted, would always keep their tradition of discretion. He deprecated the public atti- tude of suspicion, and believed that the Civil Service was a steadying force in the national progress.