§ MR. DELANY (Queen's County, Ossory)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury if seniority in the service and not in the department was held by 1425 the Board of Works to justify recent promotion, especially that of Mr. Sidwell in the Accountant's Branch of their office; if so, can he say why this principle was not applied by them in the case of a promotion in the Buildings Division of the Secretary's Branch made in the beginning of 1905, when a Second Division clerk of six years' service was promoted to a staff post, passing over a Second Division clerk in the same division of over twelve years' service; and whether the Board were aware when making this promotion that the promoted clerk was a Scottish Presbyterian while the clerk who was passed, over was an Irish Catholic.
§ MR. RUNCIMANThe promotions in both cases were made on grounds of merit and not of seniority as, in the case of Mr. Sidwell, I have already stated. I regret that the hon. Member should have thought fit, in view of my previous Answers, to put the last part of the Question.