§ MR. GRANTHAMasked the Secretary to the Treasury, Whether his attention has been called to the position of certain lower division clerks in the Education Department (and not third class clerks, as understood by him in a former answer) who entered that office as junior assistant clerks at the age of fourteen, under a signed agreement, with a pro- 223 mise of a nomination for a permanent clerkship if they had a good character and remained there till they were nineteen, but who were deprived of that nomination by the alteration subsequently made in the service; whether they are receiving now the very much smaller smaller salary of about £100 per annum instead of about £300 per annum; whether the yearly increase is much less than they otherwise would have received; whether the heads of the Department have recommended some compensation to be made to them; and, if the Government will now make them some compensation for the breach of the conditions on which they entered the service; and, if not, on what grounds such compensation is refused?
§ MR. COURTNEYSir, I have looked into the facts of the case referred to in the Question. There was no promise given of a nomination for a clerkship, only a chance of being allowed to compete for any vacancy that might be open. As a fact, there have been no vacancies, such as one or two of the men might possibly have filled, but all of them have been turned into lower division clerks. The Education Department recommended that they should reckon their pensionable service from the time they became writers; but the Treasury, upon careful consideration, and having regard to the precedent that would be created, decided that no case was made out for this concession.