§ MR. C. SHAW (Stafford)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, whether the fee charged to candidates for prison clerkships has been reduced from £3 to £1 because it has been found that the former amount was fixed too high upon the scale published in the London Gazette of 9th September 1879; and, if so, how is it proposed to compensate those clerks who paid the higher fee for the loss of prospects held out to them as candidates.
§ SIR JOHN HIBBERTCandidates before 1891 paid a fee of £3 because there were posts in the Department of the maximum value of £400 and upwards to which they could be promoted without further certificate. This rule still holds good for such clerks. There has been no loss of prospects, and there can be no question of compensation. In 1891 the fee was reduced to £1, because clerks since appointed cannot be promoted to the higher posts without the issue of a fresh certificate and the payment of a fresh fee.