§ MR. SCHWANN (Manchester, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether the organisation of the new Department, described as an Imperial Customs Service for India, has been adopted and finally sanctioned by the higher authorities in England, and do the proposals specifically exclude His Majesty's Indian subjects, also members of the Covenanted Civil Services, from the senior positions in India, and confine the Department to Europeans recruited in this country; and, if so, whether, in view of Clause 87 of the Act of William IV., 1833, and the Royal Proclamation of 1858, he proposes to take any action in the matter.
§ MR. JOHN MORLEYMy predecessor sanctioned the formation of an Indian Customs Service, to be officered partly by members of the Indian Civil Service, and partly by persons appointed direct by the Secretary of State, and to take the place of existing Customs Services in the several provinces. Three of the five collectorships and three assistant-collectorships are reserved for the Indian Civil Service. For the rest the Secretary of State selects and appoints probationers as vacancies occur. There is nothing in the regulations which specifically excludes the appointment of natives of India who are British subjects.