§ MR. WEIRI beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty, having regard to the fact that the clerks on the second division of the Accountant-General's Department of the Admiralty have been reduced from 120 to sixty-four, will he state whether any of these clerks have been drafted to other offices; and, if any, how many;. and, seeing that this Vote shows a new charge of £13,442 for salaries of 151 accountant clerks (hired), will he state from what source these hired clerks have been obtained; how many have been selected who have not passed a Civil Service examination; and why the examination rule has been departed from.
§ MR. EDMUND ROBERTSONThe authorised reduction of second division clerks is from 148 in the Estimates for 1905–6 to ninety in the Estimates for 1906–7. Of those thus rendered redundant eight have, up to the present, been transferred to other offices. The hired accountant clerks now serving have been obtained from various sources. None have passed a Civil Service examination for entry into this particular grade, 1157 but a certain number passed the examination for boy clerk. As the new class is not on the establishment, no examination is considered necessary.