HC Deb 24 November 1884 vol 294 cc247-8
SIR GEORGE CAMPBELL

asked the Under Secretary of State for India, Whether he will obviate misapprehension by ceasing to class as "uncovenanted" Indian servants officers sent out from this country, under covenants, contracts, or commissions from Her Majesty, to serve in the Public Works, Education Trust, or other Departments, or as Judges of the High Courts, and by confining the term "uncovenanted" to officers taken into employment by the Governments in India without such covenants or contracts; whether he will give a Return of Civil appointments of all kinds of 400 rupees per mensem, and upwards, held by uncovenanted servants in the above sense, and distinguishing Europeans from Natives, appointments held by Europeans to which, under existing Orders, Europeans may always be appointed in India, appointments ordinarily reserved for Natives, but now held by Europeans, on the ground of prior appointment to the service; also a Statement showing how far appointments to special Departments, to which Europeans are eligible, are made by pure patronage, or how far, and by what rules, patronage is limited and restricted; and, how many Natives have been appointed to "offices, places, and employments" ordinarily reserved for the Covenanted Civil Service, on the ground of "proved merit and ability," as provided by 33 Vic. c. 3, s. 6; how many of these are Natives who have been promoted on account of merit and ability proved in the public service; how many are young gentlemen appointed to the Civil Service generally without previous service; and, how the merit and ability of the latter class has been proved?

MR. J. K. CROSS

I conclude that the first paragraph of my hon. Friend's Question is based on an answer I recently gave to a Question asked by the right hon. and learned Member for the University of Dublin, in answering which I adopted his technical classification. As a matter of fact it has been decided that the term "uncovenanted" shall no longer be officially applied to the engineering staff of the Public Works Department. Before pledging myself that this term will be discontinued in the case of other Departments, or promising to furnish the Return asked for by my hon. Friend, it will be necessary to communicate with the Government of India, by whom alone such a Return could be prepared.