§ MR. M'CARTAN (Down, South)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether Mr. Johnson, who was formerly employed as sub-agent in a landlord's office where Mr. Commissioner Wrench was then the landlord's rent agent, has been promoted to an important office in the Land Commission at a salary of £500 a year; whether Mr. Johnson some time ago appeared before the Sub-Commission, instructing the landlord's solicitor against the fair rent applications of the tenants; whether he is now, or was lately, in charge of that department of the Land Commission which has custody of and control over the lists of prices and the reports furnished by the scrutineers, &c., for the purpose of altering or revising the judicial rents; and, why Mr. Johnson was promoted over the heads of the four Registrars appointed in 1881, and in preference to them and to others in the Land Commission, who were led to believe that they would be treated as Civil Service officials?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURHe was employed in the office; I do not know whether as a sub-agent. He has not been appointed to a place of £500 a year. He gets £1 1s. a week, and his place is temporary. The answer to the second and third paragraph is in the 1277 negative. His duties are confined to clerical and arithmetical work. He has not been promoted over the head of anyone. The Registrars alluded to have much better places. No officials of the Land Commission have been given to understand that they will be treated as Civil Servants.