SIR RICHARD GREEN PRICEasked the First Lord of the Treasury, If the reorganization of the Customs Department is yet complete, and have "the Customs Treasury Extra Clerks" been placed upon the establishment; if so, has any compensation been offered them in consideration of their 1082 past services and the anomalous position in which some of them were placed by the retrospective operation of the Treasury Order issued in 1856 with regard to age of admission to the Civil Service; and, if not, is the Government prepared to afford their favourable consideration to the matter?
§ LORD FREDERICK CAVENDISHThe re-organization of the London Customs Establishment is now complete, and all the Treasury extra clerks who were recommended as thoroughly qualified have been placed upon the establishment as clerks of the lower division. The question of the salaries to be assigned to these clerks is still under the consideration of the Treasury; but the Board of Customs have, by their Report dated the 14th of April 1880, No. 144, recommended to their Lordships special initial rates of salary for all those who were employed before the dates of the Treasury Order of the 17th of April, 1856, on the ground of the exceptionally long service of these extra clerks. Certain of these were prejudiced by the Treasury Order in 1856, whereby they ceased to be eligible for appointment to the establishment, unless at the time of their first employment they were under 25 years of age, which limit was formerly 30 years of age. The Board's Report to the Treasury does not provide for any exceptional treatment of these extra clerks other than in common with the rest, on the ground of length of service, as they did not appear to have any direct claim; for although the limit of age was altered by the Order of 1856, it cannot be said that if that Order had not been issued they would have had any claim to be placed on the establishment.