e postal
service. During the same period 547 appointments were made from the
eligible lists to the departmental service, 641 to the customs service,
and 3,254 to the postal service.

Concerning separations from the classified service, the report only
informs us of such as have occurred among employees in the public
service who had been appointed from eligible lists under civil-service
rules. When these rules took effect, they did not apply to the persons
then in the service, comprising a full complement of employees, who
obtained their positions independently of the new law. The Commission
has no record of the separations in this numerous class. And the
discrepancy apparent in the report between the number of appointments
made in the respective branches of the service from the lists of the
Commission and the small number of separations mentioned is to a great
extent accounted for by vacancies, of which no report was made to the
Commission, occurring among those who held their places without
examination and certification, which vacancies were filled by
appointment from the eligible lists.

In the departmental service there occurred between the 16th day of
January, 1886, and the 30th day of June, 1887, among the employees
appointed from the eligible lists under civil-service rules, 17
removals, 36 resignations, and 5 deaths. This does not include 14
separations in the grade of special pension examiners--4 by removal,
5 by resignation, and 5 by death.

In the classified customs and postal services the number of separations
among those who received absolute appointments under civil-service rules
is given for the period between the 1st day of January, 1886, and the
30th day of June, 1887. It appears that such separations in the customs
service for the time mentioned embraced 21 removals, 5 deaths, and 18
resignations, and in the postal service 256 removals, 23 deaths, and 469
resignations.

More than a year has passed since the expiration of the period covered
by the report of the Commission. Within the time which has thus elapsed
many important changes have taken place in furtherance of a reform in
our civil service. The rules and regulations governing the execution of
the law upon the subject have been completely remodeled in such manner
as to render the enforcement of the statute more effective and greatly
increase its usefulness.

Among other things, the scope of the examinations prescribed for those
who seek to e