§ MR. WALLACE (Edinburgh, E.)asked the Lord Advocate, Whether his attention has been directed to The Journal of Education, for May of this year, which states that Mr. T. A. Stewart, one of the junior Inspectors of Schools in Scotland, has been appointed to the office of Chief Inspector, on the vacancy caused by the death of the late Dr. Wilson; whether it is true, as stated in that journal, that nine senior and thoroughly qualified Inspectors were passed over by the appointment of Mr. Stewart; whether he will state the name and length of service of each of the nine Inspectors so passed over; whether promotion to senior Inspector-ships in Scotland has hitherto been strictly according to seniority; and, whether promotion to the rank of Chief Inspector is to be regulated by seniority or by other considerations, and, if the latter, what those considerations are?
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERAL FOR SCOTLAND (Mr. J. P. B. ROBERTSON) (Bute)(who replied) said: Mr. Stewart was appointed as Chief Inspector in room of the late Dr. Wilson. There 1823 were nine Inspectors whose appointments dated from six years to two months before that of Mr. Stewart, and the Lord Advocate will be glad to give the hon. Member privately the information he desires with regard to their names and length of service. As has frequently been stated before, seniority is one, but not the most important, of the elements taken into account in deciding promotion, special merits being the chief consideration. In the case of the small number of appointments which have previously been made, seniority and special merit were, in their Lordships' opinion, combined.