§ MR. PHILIP STANHOPE (Wednesbury)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the general dissatisfaction existing amongst officers of the Crown in Ceylon at the manner in which appointments in the Public Service have been made by Sir Arthur Gordon, the present Governor, and whether instructions will be given to his successor to inquire into and remove any causes of just complaint?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Baron H. DE WORMS, Liverpool, East Toxteth)Permanent appointments, except to the smaller posts, in Ceylon are made not by the Governor but by the Secretary of State. There is no general dissatisfaction in Ceylon at the manner in which Sir A. Gordon has filled temporary, or acting appointments, which it is supposed are referred to in the question. As a rule the Secretary of State does not interfere with such appointments, but in certain cases the propriety of the Governor's selections has been questioned by or on behalf of officers who conceived themselves to have better claims than those actually selected; and after careful examination the Secretary of State has decided that the action of the Governor ought to be upheld, and that the complaints made were not well founded. In filling acting appointments, or in recommending officers for promotion, the Governor is required to give weight to other considerations than that of seniority.