§ MR. KILBRIDEI beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will explain the grounds on which, on the 1st of April last, of nine clerks in the Custom House who reached the limit of £250, one only was promoted, while 650 eight others got special promotions; and, why two who got promoted in the Long Room had their salaries raised from £180 to £250, and passed over the heads of twelve others, although several of those passed over were as efficient as the two promoted?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Sir MICHAEL HICKS BEACH, N.)On the 1st April last, nine clerks of the second division serving in the Customs Department reached a salary of £250 per annum, and, thereupon, under Clause 5 of the Order in Council of the 21st March, 1890, the Board became entitled to make an equal number of promotions to the higher grade. After thorough inquiry the Board decided that only one of these nine others was qualified for advancement to the higher grade, and the remaining eight places were awarded to the most deserving of the other second division clerks in the office. The two who were promoted in the Long Room were considered more suitable for promotion than any of those whom they passed over.