27 AUGUST 1853, Page 10

PROVIDENT PLANS FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE. THE question of the

Superannuation Fund is still, we believe, "under consideration" ; but, pending the cogitations and session- distractions of Ministers, enlarged ideas have found birth among the civil servants, who desire not only to obtain a juster appropri- ation of the fund, but to effect a general improvement in the means of making a provision for their dependents as well as them- selves. At present the whole arrangement is on the most un- satisfactory footing. There is the Superannuation-tax, which goes in the larger proportion to those who pay less ; which never reaches numbers of those who contribute towards it—none who die in harness ; which affords nothing for dependents, and returns the most clear profit to Government at the expense of its subordi- nate clerks. Then there is in some few departments a "Widow's Fund," to which some of the clerks voluntarily subscribe, and others do not; and thus to that fund there is a supplement in the shape of casual subscriptions for unprovided widows, haunting the public offices—poor harmless ghosts that cannot be turned away, their needs met precisely by those men whose benevolence makes them already subscribers to the fund. For the orphans there is— nothing. And if we talk about the duty of making provision for offspring, at least by life-assurance, we may be fairly answered that it is absurd to talk of life-assurance by men the bulk of whom earn no more than many skilled artisans in Manchester or Birmingham, and who already pay that superannuation-tax which is seldom returned to themselves, to their widows and children never.

Of course, any improvement should repair that last omission ; but the difficulties in the way are more considerable than might at first be supposed. A superannuated clerk is a simple object : he

was at his desk—he is at home ; he was able—he is disabled ; and the rate of his dole is fixed. The messenger of the department can almost determine those facts. Nor is a widow a very complicated object. The man lived, and he is dead—the whole office pretty well knows both facts; here is a woman with black clothes, a white cap, and red eyes,—with that something of sad and helpless that

speaks the widow, and makes every manly man feel compelled to aid and shelter : the only evidence needed is to prove that she is his widow,—usually a very easy straightforward process. But the

children, where are they P Several perhaps ; perhaps scattered, and under different guardianships; with so many more proofs needed. Having hold of them firmly, what shall you do with them P Give the money to that little boy, seven years old, for the behoof of the younger ; or distribute it ; or hand it over in trust, and if so to whom P Orphanage is a complicated idea, and it re- quires a machinery to provide for it honestly and rightly.

But then rises the question, what shall be the machinery P At present, as we have seen, it lies partly with the Government and

partly with the clerks; which is not in all respects a bad arrange- ment. Greater confidence and affection for an institution exist where it is self-supported; and the largest contributions are thus obtained, with the most of cheerful willingness. But if the clerks were to take the matter entirely into their own hands, the fund contemplated would be liable to two serious abstractions : the con- tumacious clerks would refuse to contribute, either from sheer im- provident recklessness, or from a mean hope that, as at present, a post-mdrtem charity would supply their unjust omission; and the

machinery, would necessarily be expensive. It would be more so to the clerks than it would be to Government, because a special machinery would be needed, and a high price must be given for probity and skill.

There are two modes in which this machinery might be supplied at a minimum of cost. One would be, for the clerks to form an independent association, and then to ally themselves with some established assurance-office. They could effect an alliance thus in block on very advantageous terms ; and the machinery could be supplied entirely by the office, with a simple committee of the

service to watch over its interests. Or the clerks could form an independent fund, and Government could supply the machinery;

an arrangement for which approved precedents can be found in the Bank of England, in the office of a distinguished morning paper, and elsewhere. Here a machinery is provided with a mi- nimum of cost, because Government canprovide the requisite guarantees for character, the place of safe deposit, and so forth. • There are other advantages attending the affiance with Govern- ment : the contributions fixed by the majority could be enforced on the minority, and the injustice of evasion and supplemental charity would be extinguished. Government alone could unite the too widely severed departments of the Civil Service, by a ge- neral machinery and a general fund. And greater certainty, with a species of moral dignity, would attach to a pension secured by Government-regulation, than to a mere benefit allowance. On these grounds, the idea of a Government alliance for a general fund is in favour with the most'intelligent who take part in this still prolonged discussion. For this mixed plan there is both the

precedent and the successful experience of the civil service in France. Views on the whole question, however, have been laid before Parliament and the proper authorities : the documents which have emanated from the civil servants, so far as we can judge by what has been published, have been characterized by moderation, clearness, and ability ; and we doubt not that the subject has re- ceived the considerate attention which it merits. Justice has most to fear from stiffened routine and small " difficulties" ; but the pre- sent Ministry has shown that it can sometimes brave those tame lions of the path.