A Treasury Committee, appointed last year in accordance with the
suggestion of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service, has reported in favour of a revolutionary change in the examination for Class L vacancies in Government offices. The Committee, of which Mr. Stanley Loathes was Chairman, with Sir Alfred Ewing, Sir Henry Miers, Professor Adams, and Dr. Hadow as his colleagues, has tried to devise a teat of general, rather than specialized, ability. The present scheme has always been denounced because it favoured classical honours men at the older Universities. The new scheme is devised, not " to put any handicap on the widest, the most systematic, and the most consistent humanistic education that at present exists in this country," but to put " similar and equivalent learning related to modern peoples" on an equal footing. A maximum of 800 marks is allotted for general knowledge, one modern language and a viva vote examination, to be taken by all candidates, and a maximum of 1,000 marks for a selection from all the subjects that could conceivably be offered, except, we regret to say, the history of the British Empire beyond the seas. In theory it is admirable, and it may work well in practice.
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