THE anomalies and injustice of the present system of "limited

competi- tion" have already been exposed in the columns of the Spectator. To "open competition," as generally understood, there are several objec- tions. If each vacancy in each department were thrown open to compe- tition, the number of competitors would make the expense formidable' even if there was only one place of examination—the metropolis itself. The injustice of giving Londoners the surpassing advantages of going in for the competition without expense, while candidates from the country are obliged to incur a larger loss of time' with travelling expenses and hotel expenses in town, might induce local examinations for eaci. competi- tion: in which case the expense of deciding on the best man for each clerkship would be still more considerable. It may be said that two or more vacancies might be combined in one competition ; but in that case how would you decide merit ? Would you give the vacancy to the man best in the one or two qualifications most required in the particular office ? or to the man best in general variety of knowledge ? Any at- tempt at combination of the examinations for different offices will raise this difficulty.

The best solution seems to us some plan that would combine all the advantages of open competition without any of its inconveniences, and secure at the same time the distinct qualifications for each office. The following plan is suggested :—

1. There should be instituted a system of local examinations, to take place in the central town of every county in the kingdom, or (where the counties are too small) two or more counties could combine to constitute an examination district.

2. The examinations to be under the control of the Committee of Privy Council for Education, aided by the voluntary efforts of local authorities and persons of eminent learning in each county. The aid of the Universities and of University men would doubtless be secured, for the national object of establishing in every county examinations similar in character and spirit to those already instituted by Oxford and Cam- bridge. The certificated schoolmasters in each county should be a kind of ready-organized staff, to collect and diffuse information as to the exami- nation throughout the localities. Local subscriptions for special prizes are to be encouraged and directed ; the Committee of Education apply- ing its agency mainly to organize and aid by central direction and expe- rience the voluntary exertions of local authorities and persons of influ- ence.

3. The examinations to be held every half-year, with due notice of the exact day, and as far as possible simultaneously all over the kingdom. 4. Each local examination to be directed by a chief examiner ap- pointed by the Privy Council, aided by local examiners suggested by the local committee and approved of by the Plivy Council. 6. The Committee of Privy Council to issue confidentially copious examination papers, from which the chief examiner in each locality should select the questions to be asked, adding to a limited extent such ques- tions as the local examiners might suggest. 6. No schoolmaster, or principal of any school, to be allowed to officiate as examiner. Men who have attained stated high position at any of the Universities, and whose academic ranks indicate capability, to be selected in preference to all others.

7. The examination to he in the following distinct classes :— 1. Arithmetic. 8. Language, literature, and his- 2. Penmanship. tory of Rome.

3. English composition. 9. France. 4, Algebra. 10. Germany. 5. Mathematics. 11. Italy.

6. Natural philosophy. 12. Geography.

7. Language, literature, and his- 13. English literature. tory of Greece.

8. One month before the examination, each person intending to pre- sent himself for examination should send in to the secretary of the local committee his name and address' and a statement of the subjects in which he wished to be examined. He should also forward an entrance fee of 108., and 10.8. additional for each subject in which he wished to be examined. These fees would help to defray the expenses of the examina- tion, and deter the entrance of those who had no reasonable hope of success. The separate fee for each subject would also help to make the entrance for each a matter of serious determination, not of idle attempt.

9. Each candidate successful in any subject should get a separate cer- tificate for that subject. The certificktes for languages to state the kind of proficiency shown by the holder, whether in speaking or merely in translation.

10. When the examiners found that a:candidate had evinced a fairknow- ledge of a subject, with a promise of intelligence and industry, but with- out any sign of remarkable ability, they should award the lowest certificate —a fourth class. The certificate to be simply confined to one subject, and its class simply to indicate the candidate's proficiency in that sub- ject. The higher kinds of proficiency to be indicated by the third, second, and first class certificates, limited as in the former case, to one subject.

The advantages of this classification of certificates and their limitation to one subject are obvious. At present, a lad competing at the local ex- aminations may distinguish himself in one subject, but through failure in another he loses the prize. He thus gets no credit for his proficiency in one department, and in fact has acquired no conviction that he has made any progress in any branch of learning. The student also may have made considerable progress in one department, but not having attained the requisite amount of general knowledge for a prize, does not acquire any information as to what progress he has made. The classed certifi- cates would however admit of the examiners stamping with the seal of their authority the exact progress made by the pupil, and thus giving him a marked encouragement to future exertions. 11. When the award of the Examiners was made, the results would be announced with all possible ceremony and eclat in the presence of local authorities.

THE VALVE OF THE CERTIFICATES.

12. The Order of Privy Council regulating admission to the Civil Ser- vice to be altered so as to decree that, instead of passing an examination before the Civil Service Commissioners, every person should previous to his nomination to any junior clerkship in the Civil Service, have ob- tained certificates of a certain class in certain subjects in the local exa- minations conducted by the Privy Council—the requirement of certificates to be regulated according to the kind and degrees of qualifications now required by each department of the service. By this means the Foreign Office would require a first class certificate in French but not a first class certificate in arithmetic, while the Audit Office would require a first class in arithmetic and no cer- tificate in French. At present, through the chances of competition, the clerk in the Treasury, where French is not requisite for office busi- ness, may have had to pass a more severe examination in French against able competitors, than the clerk in the Foreign Office where French is often required. But by:the new system, each office would state the standard it required, and the youth who felt he could reach that standard, would ask to be examined in the local examinations in that particular subject, and would strive hard fox the class of certificates required. The successful and certificated candidates at the local examinations would thus form a class scattered all over the country, who would be in fact the elite of the educated young men of England. They would have voluntarily sought distinction—have voluntarily submitted their merits and acquirements to a fair test—and they would issue from the examina- tions classed according to merit. The examination would be in no sense compulsory, but it would have several advantages. 1. It would give the young men themselves fair renown in their native places—renown amongst their friends, relatives, and companions. 2. It would give their parents an opportunity of ascertaining their actual progress in studies, and many parents who do not seek situations for their sons would be glad to learn whether they were getting on with their studies. 3. It would give school- masters a means of showing the success of their exertions, and 4. It would point out to the public the best schools. But beyond those local advantages —giving a new life to education in each county—the certificated class would rise to the proud position of a privileged class, with privileges earned by their own exertions, privileges which the humblest lad in the land could hope to attain. They would be a privileged class on account of the simple fact that from them alone could the Civil Servants of the country be selected. No person could obtain a nomination to any de- partment of the Civil Service, unless he had previously obtained the certificates qualifying him for that department.

Its effect upon political patronage would be very beneficial. When Sir Charles Trevelyan and Sir Stafford Northcote first suggested that the situations in the Civil Service should be opened to competition, they in- dicated as one of the indirect and desirable results, the removal of the political corruption involved in the promising and giving away appoint- ments. The examination following nominations is a kind of scheme for retaining political patronage, with of course all its incidental corrup- tion, but of neutralizing any harm it may do the Service, by ascertain- ing that all the favourites of the Patronage Secretary and of his friends, the Members of Parliament, are fit for the place. The system of nomi- nation followed by limited competition, trebles the political patronage and so widens the corruption, neutralizes also any harm to the State from bad clerks, but adds the bad element of chance to the interest of a nomi- nation and to the excitement of an examination. Formerly, a Member of Parliament dealing with a constituency he wished to coax or to cor- rupt, had a limited number of positive appointments to give away, and selecting among his chief adherents, he gave his first favour to Brown, as more zealous than Jones or Robinson. Now, he cannot give any such positive favour (nor, indeed, can his rival, so he has not lost much by it) but he can give to Brown a nomination and a chance—to Jones a nomi- nation and a chance, and to Robinson a nomination and a chance. This it seems to us increases the political corruption inseparable from the dis- tribution of patronage.

The advantage of the scheme of standard local examinations suggested, is that it would purify political patronage and remove the occasions of corruption. Members (through their agent the Secretary of the Trea- sury) would recover their old power of positive nomination—but they would not he able to give nominations and chances to the Browns, Jones, and Robinsons. They would be pestered at first with the usual shower of applications for situations ; but the Member would reply to his election friends, "Has your son, or nephew obtained a certificate at the last half-yearly examination for the county ? If he has obtained first-class certificates in handwriting and arithmetic, second class in English composition, and third class in history and geography, I can get him a post in the Customs, but not otherwise." The besieged Member would thus reply to all applicants, and his correspondents and visitors would retire to urge their proteges to prepare for the next half-yearly examination, and thus make the essential first step to any situation under the Crown. The Member thus left to himself, may think, "Of those who have interest with me, none are qualified ; let me take some interest in those who are qualified." He finds that twenty boys of the town he represents obtained the required certificates ; one of these lathe son of a poor widow, is her only support ; freed from political friends, he can bestow his patronage on him, exercising his own power purely and well and directly rewarding merit. It would soon resolve itself into this, that no one would apply for a situation excepting a youth who had already passed an examination ; Members of Parliament would find their corre- spondence considerably diminished, and the Secretary of the Treasury and the Civil Service Commissioners would find a stop put to their present fruitless task of recording and registering, and receiving and testing a number of persons having political friends, but not intelligence enough to stand the ordeal of an examination.

The examinations proposed would have no direct connexion with the Civil Service. The certificated class would have the exclusive privi- lege of eligibility for the Civil Service, but their selection would as now depend on the Crown. A man obtaining a certificate will not ne- cessarily look to the Civil Service ; he may be intent on a mercantile career, or on a profession, or he may be the son of a gentleman of pro- perty going in for a high certificate in his county examination as he would go in for a degree. The certificate would be a distinct and great boon not alone to those seeking places under Government; it would be worth much to any young man seeking a situation. Coming to Man- chester or to London, or to Liverpool seeking a situation, he would say, "Here are certificates which I have obtained in my native county ; un- mistakeable testimonies that I have mastered certain branches of know- ledge." What a satisfaction to the seeker for employment, and to the employers, to have such documents to deal with, instead of the loose "testimonials," and flattering letters given by weak or well-meaning pa- trons, which'even if quite deserved, are so depreciated in value by the gene- ral worthlessness of these papers that the value is rarely accepted without doubt. By instituting these Examinations, Government woeld powerfully aid the employment of the well-deserving, and generally assist the worthy labourer to a fitting hire. As the mint stamp gives gold and sil- ver their easily recognized value, and thus facilitates their employment, so the Government certificate would give to the worthy labourer a cer- tificate of his merit, serving as a passport to a place.

If properly organized, these proposed local examinations would tend to replace many other separate Examinations. For instance, various Corporations now having staffs of examiners, might instead require certificates of certai't classes of merit obtained at the county ex- aminations.

People may say, "Do you wish to subject the whole population to a system of schooling and examination ?" Certainly not ; the whole proposed scheme is voluntary ; no one would be asked to come forward; and no examination would be held in any locality unless sufficient sums were subscribed either in fees or donations to pay the expenses. But by these examinations, the Government and other employers would ascertain beyond a doubt who were the well-taught, energetic, and intelligent boys and young men of the kingdom, and from these, and these only, our Civil servants and clerks would be selected. Also young men in all parts of the kingdom would be able at little expense to prove to themselves and to their friends—what progress they had actually made in their acquirements— what things they had solidly acquired. They might say, "I may never want this certificate, but it will gratify my friends ; it will be a badge of honour, and in after years I can appeal to it. In short, the proposed system of examinations would be a great uni- versity for all classes, not with "a local habitation and a name," but national in the widest sense of the word. Through its portals all could enter ; to its hierarchy of merit all might aspire ; and from its aristocracy of educated young men the servants of the state and the best agents of industry and commerce would finally be selected.