§ MR. HOUSTON (Liverpool, West Toxteth)To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that on the imposition of the sugar duties in 1901 a number of men who do not hold certificates from the Civil Service Commissioners were introduced temporarily into the Customs Branch of the Government Laboratory and have since been employed on duties directly connected with the assessment of revenue; whether these temporary chemical assistants are officers of Customs within the meaning 1148 of the Customs Consolidated Act and regulations of the Department; and whether he is prepared to state if and when their services can be dispensed with.
(Answered by Mr. McKenna.) On the imposition of the sugar duties in 1901 the Treasury, in order to meet the extreme pressure of analytical work, sanctioned the employment in the Customs Branch of the Government Laboratory of a number of non-pensionable chemical assistants. These assistants have not been employed on the duties of Customs officers under The Customs Consolidation Act, 1876, but have worked under the supervision of a superior established officer of the Government Laboratory, who has been responsible for the assessment of the duty. Though not holding certificates from the Civil Service Commissioners some of these non-pensionable chemical assistants are in possession of University degrees in science, and all are fully competent for the duties they are called upon to discharge. Six of them are now employed, and the number is in course of gradual reduction.