§ MR. THORNTON (Clapham)To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the fact that a number of unsuccessful competitors at the examination of second division clerkships, held in October, 1905, have been declared successful since the announcement of the result of the examination, due consideration has been given to the claims of 261 assistant clerks for promotion in those offices where second division vacancies exist; and whether, should a further number of second division clerks be required before the result of another, second division examination is known, he is prepared to grant the appointments to assistant clerks, under the provisions of the Order in Council of the 29th November, 1898, as amended by the Order in Council of 15th September, 1902.
(Answered by Mr. McKenna.) The Treasury can only approve such promotions on the recommendation of the head of a department. When such recommendations are made the Treasury give thorn every consideration, as may be seen from the Answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Fulham on the 26th March last.† The hon. Member is no doubt aware that the promotion of assistant clerks to the second division is intended to be exceptional and can only be made on the ground of special merit.
| Distribution of Vote. | Number of staff. | Amount allocated to each branch. |
| Indoor staff: | £ | |
| Superintending establishment | 316 | 73,350 |
| Port establishment | 579 | 120,670 |
| Total Indoor | 895 | 194,020 |
| Outdoor staff | ||
| Port establishment | 3,099 | 478,840 |
| Grand total | 3,994 | 672,860 |
| General charges not specifically allocated to either indoor or outdoor staffs, namely: | ||
| Non-Established Services, Travelling and Removal Expenses, Vessels, Instruments, Law Charges, Superannuation Allowances, &c. | — | 334,390 |
| Grand total of Customs Vote as shown above | — | £1,007,250 |
†See (4) Debates, cliv., 840.