MR. MACDONALD CAMERON&c.) (Wick.asked the Lord Advocate, Whether it is a fact that the Regulations on page 4 of the Treasury Minute dated 27th March, 1881, anent the Register House, Edinburgh, have not been complied with—that is to say, that no First Class Clerk has been employed in the Central, Glasgow, Northern, or Southern Districts of the Sasine Office, as second in command to the Assistant Keepers; and, whether it is true that the Third Class Clerks of the Sasine Office do exactly the same kind of work as the Second Class Clerks—namely, drafting the Minutes, collating the record, and preparing the index; if so, will Her Majesty's Government consider the expediency of revising the Minutes of the 27th March, 1881, as promised therein, with a view to bettering the position of the inferior grades of clerks, who have been performing the duties of the superior grades during the past seven years'?
THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. JACKSON)(who replied) (Leeds, N.)said, he was not aware that the number of First Class Clerks on the 348 establishment of the Sasine Office, Edinburgh, was at present less than that fixed by the Treasury Minute of 1881. It was within the province of the Head of the Department, the Registrar of Sasines, to apportion the work of the Office among his staff as he might think best in the public interest. The Treasury was not at present prepared to make any alteration in the existing arrangements.