§ MR. FIELD (Dublin, St. Patrick)To ask the Prime Minister whether the system of recruiting clerks by means of the Class I. open competition is found to yield men fully qualified for the duties to be performed; and, if so, why it was found necessary, in the case of the Colonial Office, the Board of Trade, and the Post Office, to import over the heads of the existing clerks into the headships of those departments men who were not admitted by open competition.
686 (Answered by Mr. Asquith.) I have no doubt that my right hon. friends who were responsible for the appointments in question selected the gentlemen whom they considered to be best qualified to fill the vacant posts.