§ MR. PICKERSGILL (Bethnal Green, S.W.)asked the Secretary to the Treasury, Whether he will now fulfil his promise to state to the House the decision of the Treasury with regard to the promotion of meritorious writers to Lower Division Clerkships, in accordance with the Minute of December last?
§ THE SECRETARY (Mr. JACKSON) (Leeds, N.),in reply, said, that, as he had already stated, he was very anxious to make these promotions; but he had not yet the whole information necessary to enable him to do so, and therefore he was not in a position to give the information.
§ MR. PICKERSGILLreminded the hon. Gentleman that on the 20th of July he said he would be able to make a definite statement in a day or two on the subject; and asked what had happened 364 since which could not then be foreseen to cause a delay of about three weeks?
§ MR. JACKSONsaid, the hon. Member could have very little knowledge of the enormous amount of work which had been imposed on the officials of the Treasury during the last three months. The delay in making the promotions had been caused entirely by want of time to go through the whole of the examination papers sent in. He very much regretted the delay; but it was unavoidable.
§ MR. PICKERSGILLasked, whether the hon. Gentleman could now state definitively when he would be able to give the information?
§ MR. JACKSONsaid, that if he could state the time definitively he would have already have stated it; but the hon. Member had already called his attention to the fact that he was rash enough to say that "in a few days" he would be able to give a definite answer; and it would be very undesirable again to give a pledge which it might not be in his power to fulfil.