DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68025#0011
ROYAL COMMISSION UPON DECENTRALIZATION.
5
The Hon.
Mr. E. A.
Gait.
Foreign Service, therefore lie could have no increase of
pay until the time came when he would get an increase
tinder the rule for officers not in Graded Services.
Obviously the reasonable interpretation of the rule
would have been that, having gone into a Graded
Service, he should have the benefit of the rule which
applied to Graded Services.
14252. Is that a case of too strict adherence to rule ?
—Too strict an interpretation. The Local Government
in a case of that sort should have power to say “ The
reasonable interpretation of the rule is this.”
14253. Suppose you pushed that to an extreme,
would not the provincial Government override the
Accountant-General?—No ; I would give the Ac-
countant-General power always to insist on a reference
to the Government of India, but I would lay down
certain principles for his guidance in deciding whether
he would do so or not.
14251. If he has the power always to say that a
reference must be made, how are you going to get over
his interference ?—I would tell him to exercise reason-
able latitude in interfering.
14255. You would get the Government of India to
give him that kind of instruction ?—-Exactly. I would
lay it down as the general rule that he should not
interfere if the order which the Local Government
proposed to pass was one which the Government of
India might reasonably be expected to pass if reference
was made to them.
14256. Would you have some sort of tabulated list
or form sent to the Government of India from time to
time showing the cases in which exceptions had been
made ?—That might be done as a safeguard ; I would
have no objection to that at all. Of course it would
increase work to a certain extent, but it might get over
the objection that the Government of India might
otherwise have to parting with their control.
14257. You tell us that really the difficulty at the
bottom of the present arrangement is that the District
Officer is overwhelmed with correspondence ?—-Yes.
14258. All of which is in English ?—It is all in
English now.
14259. Is that a good thing?—It would be very
difficult to go back now ; but I do not think it is a
good thing. Men know far less of the vernaculars now
because of this correspondence in English. When I
first came to India (Assam) all the revenue work was
done in the vernacular. The sub-divisional Peshkars
seldom knew English at all ; all the reports came in in
the vernacular, and all the investigation of cases was
done in the vernacular.
14260. Did that make for efficiency ?—It is of course
much easier to inspect an office if the records are kept
in English ; an Inspecting officer can see more easily
what is going on than if everything is in the vernacular.
On the other hand, our officers do not know the
vernacular nearly so well as they used to, when all the
reports, &c., were in the vernacular.
14261. If you had a perfectly free hand in the
matter, would you return to the old system ?—I think
it would be rather difficult to return to the old system
because we have gone so far in the other direction. In
some ways I would return to it. I would have police
reports again in the vernacular.
14262. Has the adoption of English led to a multi-
plication of correspondence ?—Correspondence has
always been in English ; it was the reports and the
returns from the subordinate staff which were in the
vernacular.
14263. Then has the adoption of English led to a
multiplication of reports and returns ?—No, I cannot
say that it has.
14264. Is not nearly everybody in agreement that
transfers are much too frequent?—Yes. Transfers
are very bad indeed ; the difficulty is to find a practical
remedy. It is a thing we have been seeking for many
years, and we have never yet succeeded in finding.
One great cause of transfers is that the cadre is so
weak ; there are practically no Joint Magistrates at
present. There are 33 collectors ; there are 18 to 20
appointments higher Ahan that of Collector ; every
vacancy in those apjyfintments has to be filled by
transferring a Collector and a selected man. We have
sent four men to the Government of India this year ;
this alone involves four transfers. Leave is much
more frequent than it was formerly.
14265. You can suggest no remedy except an increase
in the number of Joint Magistrates ?—The only remedy
is the strengthening of the cadre.
14266. You are responsible for all transfers and .27 Dec... 1907.
appointments ?—Yes. -
14267. Have any efforts been made in your depart-
ment to decrease the number of transfers ?—One thing
is that leave is not given unless it is convenient ; a
man has to wait till an opportunity occurs for relieving
him. But it is difficult to apply that rule in the case
of higher officers! Before I became Chief Secretary I
thought, as I have no doubt all my predecessors did,
that one of my first steps would be to stop transfers ;
I did not realise the enormous practical difficulties in
the way of stopping them. There is a case now of a
district in which several transfers have recently taken
place ; a man was sent with the intention of keeping
him in the place for a term of years ; a short time
afterwards he was found to be the only man suitable
for a particular appointment, and he was taken away ;
another man was sent there with the intention of
keeping him in the district; then the Director of Land
Records was taken up to the Government of India and
he had to be replaced, and the only man we could find
was a man from the same district. There you have
three transfers in 18 months, although we have
recognised all the time that it was most desirable that
there should be none at all.
14268. When you put an officer into a position such
as that of Inspector-General of Police or Director of
Public Instruction, do you make it a condition with
that officer that he shall not expect further promotion
or further transference even though it comes in
the way of promotion ?—-That is the condition
that is made or understood, but very often Govern-
ment itself has to break through it, either because
the man is most suitable for some other appoint-
ment or because he is wanted for the Government
of India. At present it is very possible that a
new Inspector-General of Police will be appointed,
and the man who will be selected for the post will be
told that he must not accept it unless he is prepared to
stay for at least three years, and that he must not
expect to get an acting or permanent Oommissionership
in the meantime.
14269. Do you not think that even at the risk of
some other Secretariat difficulties having put a man
into a responsible position such as that of Director of
Public Instruction or Inspector-General of Police, you
ought at all hazards to keep him ?—-It is very desirable
in theory, but sometimes in practice other consider-
ations arise.
14270. The promotion could be made] up to him
afterwards ?—As far as he is concerned I think he
ought to have no claim ; it may be that Government
wants him.
14271. You mean the Government of India?—Or
the Local Government possibly ; one has to weigh the
disadvantage of having a transfer with the disadvantage
of not getting the best man available for the other
appointment.
14272. Do you know whether these same difficulties
occur in the case of Crown Colonies ?—I am not able
to answer that. I believe in Colonial Governments
promotion goes more inside the Colony ; it is com-
paratively rare for a man to be transferred except at
regular intervals.
14273. One of the consequences of this system of
transfers, whether in the higher or the lower appoint-
ments, is that the man does not know his business, and
that the people who live in the district do not think it
worth while to get into touch with him ?—That is so.
14274. And that is a very serious drawback to good
government ?—Very.
14275. The Government of India itself have issued
some resolution upon this question of transfers ?—-It
was chiefly with regard to short leave vacancies, saying
that they were to be filled within the district. That
is being done. We can appoint a Deputy Magistrate,
for instance, to hold charge of a vacancy in the post
of District Magistrate for any period not exceeding
6 weeks ; for a longei’ period we have to go up for
sanction.
14276. When a Collector goes away for short leave
—say three months’ privilege- leave—do you fill his
5
The Hon.
Mr. E. A.
Gait.
Foreign Service, therefore lie could have no increase of
pay until the time came when he would get an increase
tinder the rule for officers not in Graded Services.
Obviously the reasonable interpretation of the rule
would have been that, having gone into a Graded
Service, he should have the benefit of the rule which
applied to Graded Services.
14252. Is that a case of too strict adherence to rule ?
—Too strict an interpretation. The Local Government
in a case of that sort should have power to say “ The
reasonable interpretation of the rule is this.”
14253. Suppose you pushed that to an extreme,
would not the provincial Government override the
Accountant-General?—No ; I would give the Ac-
countant-General power always to insist on a reference
to the Government of India, but I would lay down
certain principles for his guidance in deciding whether
he would do so or not.
14251. If he has the power always to say that a
reference must be made, how are you going to get over
his interference ?—I would tell him to exercise reason-
able latitude in interfering.
14255. You would get the Government of India to
give him that kind of instruction ?—-Exactly. I would
lay it down as the general rule that he should not
interfere if the order which the Local Government
proposed to pass was one which the Government of
India might reasonably be expected to pass if reference
was made to them.
14256. Would you have some sort of tabulated list
or form sent to the Government of India from time to
time showing the cases in which exceptions had been
made ?—That might be done as a safeguard ; I would
have no objection to that at all. Of course it would
increase work to a certain extent, but it might get over
the objection that the Government of India might
otherwise have to parting with their control.
14257. You tell us that really the difficulty at the
bottom of the present arrangement is that the District
Officer is overwhelmed with correspondence ?—-Yes.
14258. All of which is in English ?—It is all in
English now.
14259. Is that a good thing?—It would be very
difficult to go back now ; but I do not think it is a
good thing. Men know far less of the vernaculars now
because of this correspondence in English. When I
first came to India (Assam) all the revenue work was
done in the vernacular. The sub-divisional Peshkars
seldom knew English at all ; all the reports came in in
the vernacular, and all the investigation of cases was
done in the vernacular.
14260. Did that make for efficiency ?—It is of course
much easier to inspect an office if the records are kept
in English ; an Inspecting officer can see more easily
what is going on than if everything is in the vernacular.
On the other hand, our officers do not know the
vernacular nearly so well as they used to, when all the
reports, &c., were in the vernacular.
14261. If you had a perfectly free hand in the
matter, would you return to the old system ?—I think
it would be rather difficult to return to the old system
because we have gone so far in the other direction. In
some ways I would return to it. I would have police
reports again in the vernacular.
14262. Has the adoption of English led to a multi-
plication of correspondence ?—Correspondence has
always been in English ; it was the reports and the
returns from the subordinate staff which were in the
vernacular.
14263. Then has the adoption of English led to a
multiplication of reports and returns ?—No, I cannot
say that it has.
14264. Is not nearly everybody in agreement that
transfers are much too frequent?—Yes. Transfers
are very bad indeed ; the difficulty is to find a practical
remedy. It is a thing we have been seeking for many
years, and we have never yet succeeded in finding.
One great cause of transfers is that the cadre is so
weak ; there are practically no Joint Magistrates at
present. There are 33 collectors ; there are 18 to 20
appointments higher Ahan that of Collector ; every
vacancy in those apjyfintments has to be filled by
transferring a Collector and a selected man. We have
sent four men to the Government of India this year ;
this alone involves four transfers. Leave is much
more frequent than it was formerly.
14265. You can suggest no remedy except an increase
in the number of Joint Magistrates ?—The only remedy
is the strengthening of the cadre.
14266. You are responsible for all transfers and .27 Dec... 1907.
appointments ?—Yes. -
14267. Have any efforts been made in your depart-
ment to decrease the number of transfers ?—One thing
is that leave is not given unless it is convenient ; a
man has to wait till an opportunity occurs for relieving
him. But it is difficult to apply that rule in the case
of higher officers! Before I became Chief Secretary I
thought, as I have no doubt all my predecessors did,
that one of my first steps would be to stop transfers ;
I did not realise the enormous practical difficulties in
the way of stopping them. There is a case now of a
district in which several transfers have recently taken
place ; a man was sent with the intention of keeping
him in the place for a term of years ; a short time
afterwards he was found to be the only man suitable
for a particular appointment, and he was taken away ;
another man was sent there with the intention of
keeping him in the district; then the Director of Land
Records was taken up to the Government of India and
he had to be replaced, and the only man we could find
was a man from the same district. There you have
three transfers in 18 months, although we have
recognised all the time that it was most desirable that
there should be none at all.
14268. When you put an officer into a position such
as that of Inspector-General of Police or Director of
Public Instruction, do you make it a condition with
that officer that he shall not expect further promotion
or further transference even though it comes in
the way of promotion ?—-That is the condition
that is made or understood, but very often Govern-
ment itself has to break through it, either because
the man is most suitable for some other appoint-
ment or because he is wanted for the Government
of India. At present it is very possible that a
new Inspector-General of Police will be appointed,
and the man who will be selected for the post will be
told that he must not accept it unless he is prepared to
stay for at least three years, and that he must not
expect to get an acting or permanent Oommissionership
in the meantime.
14269. Do you not think that even at the risk of
some other Secretariat difficulties having put a man
into a responsible position such as that of Director of
Public Instruction or Inspector-General of Police, you
ought at all hazards to keep him ?—-It is very desirable
in theory, but sometimes in practice other consider-
ations arise.
14270. The promotion could be made] up to him
afterwards ?—As far as he is concerned I think he
ought to have no claim ; it may be that Government
wants him.
14271. You mean the Government of India?—Or
the Local Government possibly ; one has to weigh the
disadvantage of having a transfer with the disadvantage
of not getting the best man available for the other
appointment.
14272. Do you know whether these same difficulties
occur in the case of Crown Colonies ?—I am not able
to answer that. I believe in Colonial Governments
promotion goes more inside the Colony ; it is com-
paratively rare for a man to be transferred except at
regular intervals.
14273. One of the consequences of this system of
transfers, whether in the higher or the lower appoint-
ments, is that the man does not know his business, and
that the people who live in the district do not think it
worth while to get into touch with him ?—That is so.
14274. And that is a very serious drawback to good
government ?—Very.
14275. The Government of India itself have issued
some resolution upon this question of transfers ?—-It
was chiefly with regard to short leave vacancies, saying
that they were to be filled within the district. That
is being done. We can appoint a Deputy Magistrate,
for instance, to hold charge of a vacancy in the post
of District Magistrate for any period not exceeding
6 weeks ; for a longei’ period we have to go up for
sanction.
14276. When a Collector goes away for short leave
—say three months’ privilege- leave—do you fill his