§ MR. THORNTON (Clapham)To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the fact that temporary clerks who were certificated by the Civil Service Commissioners and entered the service between the end of the year 1870 and August, 1871, and were afterwards promoted to permanent posts in the service, are allowed to reckon only half of their continuous temporary service for 837 pension, and that temporary registered writers who first came into the service between the same dates and were afterwards promoted to permanent posts are allowed to reckon all their continuous temporary service for pension, although the regulations with regard to pension under which each of the above classes entered the service were identical, he will, under these circumstances, take steps under Clause 3 of the Superannuation Act of 1887 to allow those who were formerly temporary clerks to reckon in like manner all their continuous service for pension.
(Answered by Mr. Victor Cavendish.) The rule which has been in force for the last fifteen years is that copyists or writers placed on the permanent establishment are allowed to count one-half of their previous service for pension. It is true that, under a special concession made twenty years ago, writers employed before 19th August, 1871, and after wards without interruption of service, transferred to the establishment, are allowed to reckon their whole service for pension; but I see no sufficient ground for extending this concession to other cases than those which it was intended to meet.