§ Mr. M. AUSTIN (Limerick, W.)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty, whether the scheme which has recently been applied to the clerical staff of the Accountant General's Department will be extended to all the other Departments of the Admiralty, and at what date; and, whether the 551 promotions to be made will be antedated so as to rank with those recently given?
§ MR. EDMUND ROBERTSONIt is intended to fix an establishment for each Department under the Admiralty, and the scheme lately applied to the Accountant General's Department will be accepted as a model. The needs of each Department have been received and are being considered, and, later on, a fixed normal Establishment will be submitted to the Treasury. The date cannot exactly be fixed, but it may be assumed that a settlement will be arrived at very shortly. Should any advantages accrue to individual members of the staff, the date from which such advantages will accrue will be a matter for consideration. It is very doubtful, however, whether any benefits will be antedated.