§ CAPTAIN NORTON (Newington, W.)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, how many clerks are paid out of the Votes for clerical assistance in the various departments; and, whether it is intended to place any of the clerks so employed on the permanent estab- 428 lishment of any Department; and, if so, whether they are to be granted certificates by the Civil Service Commission, and under what Order in Council they are to be promoted?
§ MR. HANBURYPersonal allowances for clerical assistance in the various departments are made to provide for work likely to vary in quantity from time to time, and the number of such persons is therefore continually changing. I cannot give the information asked for. Persons so employed are occasionally admitted to the establishment with certificates issued by the Civil Service Commissioners under Clause 7 of the Order in Council of June 4, 1870, but such admissions are only possible in the special circumstances stated in the Order. I am not aware of any proposal before the Treasury for placing such clerks on the establishment.