§ MR. RICHARD SMYTHasked the Secretary to the Treasury, Whether he can state to the House what progress has been made in carrying out the recommendations of the "Playfair Commission" in the case of the In-door Officers of Her Majesty's Customs?
§ MR. W. H. SMITH, in reply, was sorry to say that no great progress had been made in carrying out the recom- 90 mendations of the Commission. A memorial from the clerks of the Customs had been received, and had been reported on by the Commissioners of Customs; but the re-organization of great public Departments involved a large amount of labour, and gave rise to questions of considerable difficulty. There were other Departments, moreover, which had stronger claims for prior consideration.