LORD CLAUD JOHN HAMILTONsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, with reference to the 1944 Order in Council, dated 4th June, Upon what system the selection of the Government Offices to be thrown open to public competition has been made; and why certain Offices—viz., the Home and Foreign Offices have been omitted, whilst others such as the Treasury, Colonial Office, and Admiralty, have been included? He would further beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether, in his opinion, the duties of the clerks in the three last-mentioned Offices are of the same important and confidential character as that of the two others that have been omitted?
MR. GLADSTONESir, the Government has thought it to be its duty, and to be in accordance with sound policy, not to give at once an authoritative decision, binding the head of every Department in his separate capacity, but has considered that it would act more in the interests of this important question, and more to the satisfactory working of the system, if it allowed the heads of Departments to speak upon the applicability of the new system to their own Departments. It must be recollected that this is, to a considerable degree, an experimental matter, and cannot be treated as if all the questions connected with it had been completely solved by experience. Some have considered that the head of each Department is, in the main, the best judge of the advisability of immediately adopting the new question. The exception of the Foreign Office rests upon the peculiar nature of the duties of that Office. With regard to the Home Office, it is proposed by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary immediately to adopt the new system of open competitive examination in all the sub-departments that are placed under the Home Office—such as the Survey Board, the Police, and other Departments. As to the Home Office itself, it is the opinion of my right hon. Friend that, from the highly confidential and delicate nature of a large portion of the duties that are performed in that Office, it would not be wise, without further information and experience, to adopt the new system which is about to be put in operation in the other Departments of the State.