§ MR. PICTONI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether there is any intention to adopt the recommendation made in paragraph 25, page 9, of the Fourth Report of the Royal Commission on Civil Establishments, namely—
That there should be one Foreign Service, entered by limited competition, and on the same examination as that which now obtains for the Foreign Office;whether political economy is now excluded from the prescribed subjects in examinations for the Foreign Office; and whether, in view of the importance of the subject to members of the Diplomatic Services, from whom information is expected on the trade, commerce, and public economy of foreign countries, the Lords of the Treasury will insist that, if there is to be only one Foreign Service and one examination, political economy shall be an essential subject in that examination?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir J. FERGUSSON,) Manchester, N.E.There will in future be one examination qualifying for both the Foreign Office and the Diplomatic Services. Political economy will be omitted from the examination. The subjects of examination are settled by the Secretary of State.