THE INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE AS A CAREER.
[To Ins EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] • SIR,—May I draw the attention of all clever young Britons to the changes recently announced by the India Office in the rules regarding pay, leave, and pension for the Indian Civil Service, which make it, even more than before, one of the finest careers in the world ? Under the new method of calculating salaries a man, who secures an appointment by taking a high place in the open competition in this country, will, during the first year of his service, receive a total pay of 600 rupees a month; and, whatever post he may hold, or whatever be the number of vacancies above him; his salary will rise year by year until in his sixteenth year he will be drawing at least 1,600 rupees a month. In ordinary course he will in time rise to one of the " superior " appointments according to the number of vacancies which may occur in those appointments; and so long as he holds, either temporarily or permanently, one of those superior posts, and therefore exercises greatei responsibility, he will draw pay at a higher rate, which again will vary according to his own length of service. For instance, if in his fifth year of service he officiates for a month or two as a Collector or a Judge, lie will draw 1,150 rupees a month instead of his own personal pay of 800; and if in his sixteenth year of service he is officiating more or less. permanently in one of those higher posts, his pay will be 2,050 rupees a month instead of his personal pay of 1,600. Every civilian who has not proved inefficient may reckon on holding one of those superior posts permanently by his twenty-third year of service, and on then drawing a salary of at least 2,500 rupees a month. Above those posts again there are higher appointments filled by selection of the best men, such as those of Commissioner, Chief Secretary, and Sessions Judge, and carrying pay varying from 3,000 to 3,750, rupees a month; and any good man, who stays on long enough, may reckon with some confidence on reaching one or other of those posts before he is compelled to retire after thirty-five years' service. He may retire at any time he chooses after twenty-five years' service with a pension of £1,000 a year.
Salaries in India are paid in rupees, and their value in British currency varies according to the exchange value of the rupee. If the new scale of salaries be turned into MIMI' currency at the present rate of 2s. 4d. to the rupee, it may be said that the young civilian of twenty-four will, in the first year of service in India, draw a pay in rupees equivalent to £840 a year in British currency; while the man who has risen to one of the appointments of which the pay is 3,000 rupees a month, is now drawing the equivalent of £4,200 a year. It seems very unlikely, however, that -the rupee will long remain at its present very high value in exchange; on the other hand, it is also unlikely that its value will for a number of years fall to anything like its pre-war rate of is. 4d. If it falls to is. 8d. (that is, 12 rupees to the pound), then the equivalent in sterling of the Indian salaries paid in rupees will be, in the civilian's first year of service, £600 a year, in his fifteenth year of service at least £1,600 a year, and in his twenty-third yeai of service almost certainly £2,500 a year. And if he is a good man and stays on after he has earned his pension, he will probably before he retires be drawing the equivalent, at ls. 8d. to the rupee, of £3,000 a year.
So much for the pecuniary advantages of obtaining an - appointment in. the Indian Civil Service. But they are of small account in comparison with the powers and opportuni- ties such an appointment gives. Even when engaged in the everyday work of administration, the civilian may feel that he is taking an important part in securing peace, justice, and prosperity to the people of India, and is exercising greater influence for good in his generation than falls to the lot of most men. He must be prepared to undertake serious responsi- bilities from time to time. He may, quite early in his service, not only have to try difficult cases as a Magistrate or Judge, but have to deal with an outbreak of crime, conduct a campaign against famine, cholera, or plague, or (most trying duty of all) have to give the order to fire on a riotous mo!) bent on massacre and plunder. Life in India, though some- times monotonous, has many compensations. There are plenty of opportunities for games and sport, and there is always the satisfaction of doing good work for one's fellow-men. There are of course drawbacks, the chief of which is that, if a man marries, lie must reckon on having to part from time to time from his wife and children.
There are likely to be in the future fewer vacancies avail- able for Europeans, as the present policy is to employ a considerably larger proportion of Indians in the Service, and therefore the competition in this country may be expected to be keener, although a number of possible competitors may be deterred from competing by doubts as to what effect the new Government of India Act will have on. the position of the European civilirm. Although, like many other men with Indian experience, I think that. the .change in the system of government made by the new Act may lead to serious trouble in some parts of India, and make the European civilian's position more difficult than before, he will still find that his powers are great, and that his vigilance is at least as necessary as before for the protection of the ignorant and helpless masses of the people. Britain will require more than ever to provide the very best intellect and character available in order to fulfil her duty to the millions of India, for whose welfare Parliament must continue to be responsible.—I am, Sir, (Sc.,
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