§ MR. NANNETTITo ask the Postmaster General if he is aware that it was stated at the Tweedmouth Commission that a scheme was about to be brought into operation by which the clerical force in the secretary's and accountant's offices in Dublin would be recruited from the ranks of the sorting clerks and telegraphists in Dublin by means of competitve examination amongst the staff; and can he explain why this promise has not been fulfilled, and whether the Department has any intention of putting this scheme into operation in future.
(Anwered by Mr. Austen Chamberlain.) I am aware that it was stated in evidence before the Tweedmouth Committee that, as part of a larger scheme, it was proposed that the clerical force in the secretary's and accountant's offices in Dublin should be recruited by competition among persons already in the Post Office service, but it was not proposed to limit the competition to Diblin candidates only. I may state that, although the adoption of this part of the scheme was not proceeded with, Dublin sorting clerks and telegraphists between the ages of nineteen and twenty-six, if of good conduct and character, are 233 eligible, in common with other officers of this Department, to compete for clerkships in several of the London offices.