§ CAPTAIN DONELANOn behalf of the honourable Member for North Galway, I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is now in a position to give a reply to the memorandum prepared by the clerks of the second division of the Civil Service, calling the attention of the Government to the disabilities under which they suffered in consequence of the refusal of heads of Departments to exercise the powers conferred upon them by Order in Council of recommending meritorious clerks for promotion to the first division; and whether it is the intention of the Treasury to take into consideration the cases of those clerks before sanctioning the holding of further examinations for direct appointment to class I.?
§ MR. HANBURYThe Order in Council leaves it to heads of Departments, in the exercise of their discretion, to recom- 1230 mend promotions from the second to the higher division. They are not required to make such a recommendation in the case of every "meritorious" clerk. The Ridley Commission indicated their view of the conditions which might justify promotion by using the expressions, "exceptional fitness" and "very exceptional ability, merit, and diligence." Since the issue of the Order in Council of 21st March, 1890, 14 clerks of the second division have been promoted to the higher division, strictly so called—that is, to situations normally filled by the class I. examination; 84 have been promoted to situations not coming within that description, but which would ordinarily be filled by open competitive examinations of a higher standard than that for the second division; and 269 have been appointed to staff posts carrying improved salary. And there have been 90 cases of special promotion, on the ground of exceptional merit, from the lower to the higher grade of the second division. The Treasury see no reason to alter their practice with regard to holding examinations, when required, for direct appointments to the higher division.