Professional \ PUBLIC SERVICE \ Vol. 39, No. 10 OCTOBER, 1960 AFRICA - The Girouard Story Bill C·77- Part One Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada • • Fttt�oitA 01C CANADIAN BUSINESS MONTH BY MONTH ... You can keep abreast of the Canadian economy by reading the B of M's Business Review. Only four pages, it combines detailed surveys of indus­ tries and regions, with over-all analyses of national business trends. Ask for your free copy at any of our 750 offices across Canada.Or simply write: Business Devel­ opment Department, Bank of Montreal, P.O. Box 6002, Montreal 3, P.Q., and have your name added to the permanent distribution list. BANK oF MoNTREAL �9�g'� There are more than 725 B of M BRANCHES across CANADA to serve yo" WORKING WITH CANADIANS IN EVERY WALK OF LIFE SINCE 1817 IBM ELECTRONIC DATA Quality Dairy Product• PROCESSING AND PUNCHED CARD MILK - CREAM - BUTTER ACCOUNTING MACHINES and ICE CREAM ELECTRIC TIME SYSTEMS ELECTRIC TYPEWRITERS The International Business Borden Company Limited Machines Co. Ltd. Ottawa Dairy Divlalon HEAD OFFICE: DoN MILLs RoAD 393 SoMERSET ST. w. PHONE CE 2-5741 ToRONTO 6, ONTARIO �1'11 '>1\TUTf OF IM PROFESSIONAL ======================== Jf':�.)i1� � A��:.:::1! • TI-lE LITA'T • t;:}ST.t.T[ �-, � � - � � PUBLIC SERVICE �� �..!-. ,§ 1920 <,'<.� �q1,..DU CAH�':l� Published by <SSfDHNl\.\\� the P•·ofessional Institute of the Public Service of Canada President, W. M. MARSHALL II onorary Secretary-Treasurer, DR. IMRE BERNOLAK VOL. 39, No. 10 OCTOBER, 1960 Executive Secretary, J. H. LEROUX Editor, W. S. DRINKWATER CO!'\'TENTS ----------------- - - 2 AFRICA - The Girouard Story - hy G. G. M. Carr-Harris - -- Bill C-77, An Act Reepecting the Civil Service of Canada, W. ----------------- --------- ----- ---- -------- ·----- Part One - hy L. C. S. Barnes - - - 17 - -- ------ --------- -------------------·- _______ __ _____ _ ________ _________ ____ __ __ 20 News a I a carte ____ - - --- -- - -----·----- ______ ------ ----- ________ ·--------------------- 20 New Men1hers ___________ ------------------ ____ -- - The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada is an organization of professional and scientific workers in the Federal Public Service devoted to enhancing the value of the Service to the public, maintaining high professional standards and promoting the welfare of its members. Address all correspondence, advertising, editorial or otherwise, to the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, 200 Cooper Street, Ottawa 4, Canada. Views expressed in articles and other contributions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Institute. Articles may be reproduced without permission provided a credit is given to the source. Authorized as second class mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa. 1 Professional Public Service at all times welcomes contributions describing the life and work of Canadian professional public servants. The article published here is the story of a Canadian professional public servant-a Canadian and a professional but not a member of the Canadian Public SeTvice. Its publication at this paTticular time is most appropriate, coinciding as it does with the attaining of independence by Nigeria, the country in which the subject of the article performed an outstanding job of public service. The author, G. G. M. Carr-Harris, M.M.E . (C ornell), F.l.Inf.Sc., A.M.!. Mech.E., Mem.A.S.M.E., is a member of the National Research Council Group of the PTofessional Institute, of which he was Ad­ visory Council Representative for 1957-58 and Chairman for two teTms , 1958-59 and 1959-60.-Editor. C.C.M. CARR-HARRIS AFRICA- Much has been said, and no doubt will continue to be said, with good reason about the late E.P.C. Girouard's connection with railways. Not enough, however, has been said about his success in the field of political administration, namely in Nigeria and Kenya. If somewhat more space is devoted here to this side of his career, it is because public attention has been focused lately on both these countries, particularly Nigeria, which has .iust assumed independent status within the Commonwealth. It was never my privilege to know Sir Percy GirouaTd but I can recall hearing of him as far back as I can remember. Unless otherwise mentioned, all quota­ tions in the notes that follow are taken from a "Memoir" written by a brother officer, Major-General H. L. Pritchard, C.B., C.M. G., D.S.O., a year after SiT Percy's death (R.E. Journal, June 1933).-Author. 2 FEW CANADIANS have taken a more active part in the development of Africa than the late E. P. C. Girouard. One of the very early graduates of the Royal Military College at Kingston, he chose an army career and became a legend­ ary figure in the Corps to which he belonged. His name appears repeatedly in four of the eight volumes covering the history of the Royal Engineers. It is not altogether without precedent that French speaking Canadians are in Africa today on communication work. More than fifty years ago Girouard, as a young man, was engaged in the same role. Time has not dealt too kindly with the memory of his generation, and many of the events about to be described have been forgotten in the wake of two world wars. Nevertheless, his early contribu­ tion to the welfare of certain African peoples calls for special recognition at this time. Consider only briefly the public appointments that he held up to the time of his retirement at the age of 45. From 1909-12 he was Governor of British East Africa (now Kenya). For two years previously he was High Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief of Northern Nigeria. Historians tell us that his wisdom in handling critical problems in both these areas earned him the respect of natives and . whites alike. From 1899-1904 he was m South Africa, first in a military capacity as THE GIROUARD STORY By G. G. M. Carr-Harris Director of Railways in the Boer War, and subsequently in a civilian capacity as Com­ missioner of Railways in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony. For his services in South Africa he was knighted at the age of 34. From 1896-98 he was in Egypt and, as Lieutenant Girouard, R.E., displayed such remarkable genius in building and op­ erating a railway through the desert that he has been credited very largely with the success of Kitchener's campaign in the Sou­ dan. Following this military assignment, he was appointed President of the Egyptian State Railways by the British Foreign Of­ fice. Here he was entrusted with the re­ sponsibility of putting a derelict railway system into workable shape, and to this day many of the financial benefits which that Sir Percy Girouard when Governor of what is now country enjoys are due to the engineering Kenya. and administrative policies that he initiated. Edouard Percy Cranwill Girouard was born in Montreal on January 26, 1867. He was the lineal descendent of Antoine Girouard, scion of a family from Auvergne in France who came to Canada in 1720 as Private Secretary to Governor de Ramezy. His father, Desire Girouard (1836-1911), was prominent in public life, being elected 3 THE GIROUARD SUMMER HOME, "QUATRE VENTS", DORVAL, LAC ST. LOUIS. a member of parliament in 1878, a post which he held for 17 years; subsequently he served for 16 years as one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Canada. His mother, Essie Cranwill, was the daughter of Joseph Cranwill of Ballynamoney, County Wexford, Ireland; she was brought out to the United States when she was six months old. His father, Judge Girouard, was the author of several books. The photograph reproduced here showing the family's summer home, "Quatre Vents," is taken from a book of his dealing with the history of the Girouard family•. Very little is known about Percy Girouard's early life. His mother died when he was twelve years old and he received his early education at a religious Seminary in Three Rivers. At the age of fifteen and a half, Percy entered the Royal Military College and it was undoubtedly his father's intention that this was pre­ liminary to his going into law. A cadet of the Royal Military College in those days would have attracted a good deal of attention in Montreal. Socially, young Girouard must have met many charming members of the fair sex, both French and English, anyone of whom might have persuaded him to follow in his father's footsteps and settle down to the legal profession in Montreal. However, we are toldt that his holidays at home were not always happy ones, especially when his father learned that he had no intention to become a lawyer. Whether it was at this time or at a later date thar he met Kathleen Gunn, daughter of Alexander Gunn of Kingstont, is not known. Certain it is that he fell in love with her, as an extract from a letter by one who knew much about him serves to show: "About Percy I know of his love for Kathleen Gunn who died. •L'Album de La Famille Girouard, 1651-1906, published privately in 1906. (Public Archives, Ottawa) tPritchard, RE Journal, 1933. tSaid to be the only MP who ever defeated Sir John A. Macdonald at the polls. 4 He always visited her grave when he came to Canada." Is it possible that this early tragedy in his life played a part in moulding his character and strengthening his determination to be master of his destiny? By one of those curious accidents of chance it so happened that, on the very day Girouard was attested and took the oath of allegiance at Kingston, the historic battle of Tel-el-Kebir was being fought in Egypt (13th September 1882).