MINUTE TO PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION 153 



It may be mentioned that the present system of grad- 

 ing officers at the Schools of Agriculture on £300-£400, 

 and officers in certain other branches of the Department 

 of Agricnlture on £3S0-£550, irrespective of academic 

 qualifications or severity of training, has been the cause 

 of intense bitterness even amongst members of our own 

 Society. This feeling of injustice is strongest amongst 

 the South African Government scholars sent overseas to 

 train, who leave with ideals of a scientific career in 

 which personal predilections can be harmonised with the 

 problem of the loaves and fishes, but w^ho return to find 

 that their salaries in the Service vary with the subject 

 they were sent away to study, rather than with the ex- 

 cellence of their qualifications, and the strenuousness of 

 their training. The bad blood in the matter arises not 

 only from considerations of varying financial reward, but 

 from the fact that status, dignity and public respect for 

 particular sciences, tend to follow financial grading in 

 the Civil Service. 



The case is eminently one for the future, and may be 

 pointed by referring to the twelve scholars sent oversea 

 by the Government this year. Of these twelve, four 

 already hold science degrees and on return will have 

 had a college training of from six to seven years. Under 

 prevailing conditions, how^ever, it happens that these four 

 would be graded lower than four others who proceed 

 oversea on simple matriculation, return with only a four 

 years' student course, but have had the good luck to be 

 appointed to a different subject. 



It must be remembered that a Man's market value in 

 the Government Service is quite different to his market 

 value in the Industries, and that a permanent Civil Ser- 

 vice should not be ruled by temporary fluctuations in 

 supply and demand of particular groups of scientific 

 workers- Thus amongst the scholars referred to, it may 

 happen that the student specialising in " Soil Bacteriol- 

 ogy " may prove more useful to the Government than one 



