南京国民政府改良县长选任方式的尝试:河北省县长考试研究

Nanjing National Government’s Attempt to Improve the Way of Selecting County Magistrate: A Study on the County Magistrate Examination in Hebei Province

考试权是孙中山政治理论的重要组成部分,他借鉴中国古代的科举制,主张国家的大小官吏均应通过考试产生。南京国民政府成立后,继承了孙中山的理念,推行县长考试,以选拔合适的县政人才。河北长期是北洋军阀的势力范围,国民党河北省政府成立后,亟需树立新形象,与军阀政治划清界限,通过考试选任县长是改善吏治的良法,也是社会的共识。河北省政府制定了有关县长考试的法规,但首先采取了荐举的方式,在舆论和国民政府的压力下,第一次县长考试得以举行。从制度设计和实际施行看,此次县长考试非常规范,确实遴选出了一批人才。但训练时间过长、分发委任困难、任期短暂等因素限制了考试合格者施展才能的空间,也消弭了这次考试的积极意义。总之,河北省举行的县长考试是南京国民政府成立初期改良县长选任方式的一次有益尝试,但并未产生根本性影响,考试始终没能成为国民政府选拔官吏的主流途径。

The right of examination is an important part of Sun Yat Sen’s political theory. He advocated that all state officials should pass the examination. After the establishment of Nanjing National Government, the government inherited Sun Yat Sen’s idea and carried out County Magistrate Examination in order to select suitable county officials. It was also the consensus of the society. The government of Hebei Province formulated laws and regulations on the county head examination, but first of all, it adopted the way of recommendation. Under the pressure of public opinion and the national government, Hebei Province held the first county head examination. From the perspective of system design and actual implementation, the County Magistrate Examination was very standardized, reflecting fairness and preciseness, and a number of talents have indeed been selected. However, long training time, difficulty of distribution and appointment, short term of office and other factors limit the space for those who pass the examination to display their talent, and also eliminate the positive significance of the examination. In a word, the County Magistrate Examination held in Hebei Province was a positive attempt, but it did not have a fundamental impact.