Abstract
ALTHOUGH the Civil Service in Great Britain has received a considerable amount of criticism in recent months, the basic qualities and technique which have won for it the admiration of the world cannot be discarded without imperilling the execution of that new conception of government which should inspire policy to-day. To develop and modify rather than to destroy tradition and technique should be the object, and while Lord Stamp may have been right as to the unsuitability for higher administration of the exactly trained Civil servant, given to the analytical application of a legislative programme in a statute, co-operating with other departments similarly bound, and working to the elaboration of a complete static programme to be generally applicable by principle and precedent, this is not to say that his essential qualities are not required. Thoroughness ; accuracy of statement and precision of reasoning ; a proper respect for precedent ; the capacity to get quickly at the real gist of a situation and to set out the points briefly and lucidly ; the power of writing for public consumption, both vigorously and cautiously ; a strong dislike of muddle and irregularity in procedure ; a wide acquaintance with the machinery of government and a close acquaintance with two or three parts of it ; and a subconscious instinct for what can be said and done and what cannot-these characteristics will be valuable and essential whatever changes in organization and outlook are introduced.
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FUTURE OF THE CIVIL SERVICE. Nature 149, 147–149 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/149147a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/149147a0