The Government of England (Vol. I)Lowell, A. Lawrence (Abbott Lawrence)
History
The Government of England (Vol. I)
Lowell, A. Lawrence (Abbott Lawrence)
Great Britain -- Politics and government
[140:1] Public non-technical education is directed by the Commissioners
of Irish National Education, and the Board of Intermediate Education.
These boards are not political, but the members, who must be partly
Protestant and partly Roman Catholic, are appointed by the Lord
Lieutenant, and the Chief Secretary has a certain measure of control
over them.
[140:2] The last of them, the Crimes Act of 1887, is a permanent
statute, but its provisions come into force only on a proclamation by
the Lord Lieutenant, which is revocable at any time.
[141:1] Com. Papers, 1839, XVII., 1, p. 8.
[142:1] The fact that improvements have been generally made by the
landlord in England, and by the tenant in Ireland, has much to do with
this feeling.
[143:1] The case for the landlords has been very strongly stated by Mr.
Lecky in his "Democracy and Liberty," I., 167-212.
[144:1] 3 Edw. VII., c. 37. The Act of 1903 was hailed with joy, but the
Irish members soon complained of its administration, and on July 20,
1905, they moved successfully to reduce by £100 the appropriation for
the Land Commission as an expression of dissatisfaction. Hans., Ser.
CXLIX., 1409-86.
CHAPTER VII
THE PERMANENT CIVIL SERVICE
[Sidenote: Sharp Distinction between Political and Non-Political
Officials.]
The history of the permanent civil service would be one of the most
instructive chapters in the long story of English constitutional
development, but unfortunately it has never been written. The nation has
been saved from a bureaucracy, such as prevails over the greater part of
Europe, on the one hand, and from the American spoils system on the
other, by the sharp distinction between political and non-political
officials. The former are trained in Parliament, not in administrative
routine. They direct the general policy of the government, or at least
they have the power to direct it, are entirely responsible for it, and
go out of office with the cabinet; while the non-political officials
remain at their posts without regard to party changes, are thoroughly
familiar with the whole field of administration, and carry out in detail
the policy adopted by the ministry of the day. The distinction has
arisen gradually with the growth of the parliamentary system.
[Sidenote: Exclusion of Non-Political Officials from Parliament.]
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