§ MR. BIGGARasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Whether, considering the promise of promotion to the lad who is said to have discovered the recent frauds in the Sasine Office, 13 Edinburgh, has not been carried out, and also, in view of the Treasury Minute of the 27th March 1881, which says—
That the selection of clerks for particular duties, and for promotion to the higher appointments, will depend solely upon experience, merit, and ability, as determined by the authorities of the department,my Lords will reward the discoverer out of the surplus drawings of the office, and not at the expense of his fellow clerks; and, whether the present practice of selling fee stamps on commission, in the lobby of the Sasine Office, entails a yearly loss to the Country of about £500?
§ MR. COURTNEYThe clerk referred to in the first part of this Question will be promoted on the occurrence of the next vacancy. The arrangement described in the second part is certainly not the most economical one that can be devised, and the Commissioners of Inland Revenue hope to make an appreciable saving here at a suitable opportunity.