y assistants and
writers. The "temporary" assistant was not found to be advantageous to
the service. In December 1886 a new class of assistant clerks was formed
to replace the men copyists. In 1887 the Ridley Commission reported on
the civil service establishment. In 1890 two orders in council were
issued based on the reports of the Ridley Commission, which sat from
1886 to 1890. The first order constituted what is now known as the
second division of the civil service. The second order in council
concerned the officers of the 1st class; and provision was made for the
possible promotion of the second division clerks to the first division
after eight years' service.

The whole system is under the administration of the civil service
commissioners, and power is given to them, with the approval of the
treasury, to prescribe the subjects of examination, limits of age, &c.
The age is fixed for compulsory retirement at sixty-five. In exceptional
cases a prolongation of five years is within the powers of the civil
service commissioners. The examination for 1st class clerkships is held
concurrently with that of the civil service of India and Eastern
cadetships in the colonial service. Candidates can compete for all three
or for two. In addition to the intellectual test the candidate must
fulfil the conditions of age (22 to 24), must present recommendations as
to character, and pass a medical examination. This examination
approximates closely to the university type of education. Indeed, there
is little chance of success except for candidates who have had a
successful university career, and frequently, in addition, special
preparation by a private teacher. The subjects include the language and
literature of England, France, Germany, Italy, ancient Greece and Rome,
Sanskrit and Arabic, mathematics (pure and applied), natural science
(chemistry, physics, zoology, &c.), history (English, Greek, Roman and
general modern), political economy and economic history, mental and
moral philosophy, Roman and English law and political science. The
candidate is obliged to reach a certain standard of knowledge in each
subject before any marks at all are allowed him. This rule was made to
prevent success by mere cramming, and to ensure competent knowledge on
the basis of real study.

The maximum scale of the salaries of clerks of Class I. is as
follows:--3rd class, L200 a year, increasing by L20 a year to L500; 2nd
class, L600, increasing by L25