§ MR. J. M. ROBERTSON (Northumberland, Tyneside)To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether, in view 618 of the fact that all of the redundant second division clerks now serving in the Admiralty have served in that department for periods varying from nearly four to seven and a half years, and of the effect upon their position of transfer to other offices, he will arrange that no further transfer shall take place, and that all the clerk in question shall be absorbed into the establishment as opportunity occurs.
(Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) By Clause 11 of the Order in Council, dated 29th November 1893, all redundant clerks are liable to be transferred without reference to their age or the amount of their salary. By Treasury circular, dated 27th August, 1896, No. 12,613, the seniority of a clerk of the second division depends on his length of service in the division as a whole, and not in any particular Department. The question of retaining such of the clerks as have a prospect of being absorbed within a reasonable time will be considered.