§ MR. WHITMORE (Chelsea)asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, as the anticipated inquiry by the Royal Commission on Civil Service Establishments into the Science and Art Department, and the alleged grievances of the messengers and attendants at the South Kensington Museum had been abandoned, or indefinitely postponed, he will now take steps to remedy their grievances, and to admit them to the benefits of superannuation and sick pay which are enjoyed by all permanent Civil Servants?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. JACKSON,) Leeds, N.In answer to my hon. Friend, I have to say that these attendants and messengers were engaged and are paid by the hour. They were engaged on the understanding that all payments are for the full value of the services performed, and that no officer has any future claim on the Department. Persons so employed are not permanent Civil Servants of the State, and are not qualified for superannuation on retirement. By the Act of 1887, however, they, in common with all other persons employed on similar conditions in a public Department, become qualified after a service of not less than 15 years for the grant of a gratuity of one week's pay for each year of service. The case of these men has been considered by the Treasury on several occasions, and I regret that I do not feel that I can reverse the decision arrived at by my predecessors.