§ MR. J. M. ROBERTSONTo ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the fact that authority has been given for the appointment of 151 temporary hired accountant clerks in the Accountant-General's department of the Admiralty, for the performance of duties of a permanent nature, and that the work has previously been performed by established clerks, who have passed competitive and medical examinations and hold Civil Service certificates of competency, he will state what justification exists for this departure from the spirit of the Order in Council of the 4th June, 1870, which established open competition as the general rule for admission to His Majesty's Civil Service.
(Answered by Mr. McKenna.) As I explained in my Answer given to the hon. Member for the North Division of Camberwell on the 27th March last,† there are justifications of general expediency and precedent for these appointments, and power is given by Clause 8 of the Order in Council in question to withdraw appointments from the list of those filled by open competition.