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it is only to be expected that the standard of officers is comparatively higher in some Departments than in others. In some Departments the staff was found to be of the highest efficiency, while in others, the deadliness of routine work did not appear to make for the best results. In some small Departments there is no need to train cadets in any special way, with the result that routine has had time to do its worst before the officer is appointed to any position of control. While some of such men may rise to the occasion, the majority necessarily take a narrower view of the affairs of life than is desirable. This matter will be taken in hand, and an endeavour will be made to render the stay of promising lads as short a one as practicable where the field of operations is of a routine or limited nature. Again, in some Departments the discipline has been excellent, with the result that the esprit de corps in those Departments is strong, to the benefit of the Departments and officers alike. In other Departments the discipline has not been so good. This came forcibly under notice in reviewing the reports of permanent heads on officers of their Departments, when it was discovered that a number of cases existed in which officers were not performing their duties to the satisfaction of the permanent head; but, unfortunately, for some reason unexplained so far, the opportunity had not been taken to make the officer aware of any such dissatisfaction, and it only came under the notice of the officer concerned when questioned during a personal interview by the Commissioners. It is considered that when an officer is regarded by the permanent head as not fulfilling his duty in every respect he should be immediately made aware of what is standing to his discredit, and thus have an opportunity of rectifying any failure on his part. There is reason to suppose that in some cases care is not taken to consider office arrangements from a sufficiently wide point of view to determine whether it would not be possible to reorganize the work in such a way as to avoid making application for additional assistance. As in most other matters, Departments have treated this vital question in different ways. In some Departments no foresight appears to have been exercised by training cadets. The line of least resistance has often been to obtain temporary assistance, which in some way has gradually become permanent. This process of absorption is the most costly method that can be devised to recruit the staff of an expanding Department, and it is not possible to calculate the additional expense which has been thrown on Departments by unsatisfactory methods of the kind. There are three or four large Departments which have strenuously resisted this, with the result that their staffs consist almost entirely of men who have been trained from youth in the Departments themselves. This is the only way to build up a Service. By it selection can so easily be made in the early stages of a young man's career as to ensure only qualified officers proceeding to the higher positions in the Service. The principle of placing men of short service in positions in which they superseded trained young men who were working up from small salaries has been a distinctly bad one, inasmuch as it has created anomalies which it will take years to correct. To maintain the loyal and highly trained staff of officers which the Public Service has a right to expect, it is imperative that in future all entrants to the Service, with the exception of professional or expert officers, must work up from the bottom. At the same time, now that the case has been stated, it is desirable that no more shall be heard of the matter, and that all officers shall make the best of the position, relying upon future treatment, which will endeavour to do justice to all. Officers are now working under the Public Service Act, which is, I believe, one of the most liberal of its kind in the world, particularly in giving officers a right of appeal to a Board whose decision is final, and to which they are privileged to elect members. In the great press of work which the Commissioners have had to undertake during the short time of their existence it has not been possible for them to investigate requisitions for increase of staff so closely as might be desired. At the same time, the oversight which has been possible has had an appreciable effect upon requisitions received from permanent heads for additional staff, as indicated by the following case : — A requisition was received from a Department for additional staff involving an annual expenditure of £2,000. As the result of suggestions made by the Commissioners for reducing the clerical work by the adoption of modern methods, the