§ MR. JOSEPH WALTON (Yorkshire, W.R., Barnsley)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether a retired member of the diplomatic service is to be appointed Consul-General in Crete; and, if so, whether this course is in accordance with the promises and inducements held out to the British consular officials in the Levant on entering the service.
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Lord CRANBORNE,) RochesterIt is the fact that a former member of the diplomatic service has been appointed Consul-General in Crete. I am not aware of any promises or inducements held out to the Levant service which interfere with the right of the Secretary of State to use his own discretion in filling up any particular post, having regard to the special circumstances of the case. The functions of the Consul-General in Crete are of a very special kind, and are, in fact, mainly of a diplomatic character.