§ MR. HAZLETON (Galway, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether it is intended to appoint this year an assistant clerk in charge of accounts under the Local Government Board for Ireland; whether this is a newly created office, and, if so, what is the ground for its creation; for how many years has the Board transacted its business without this office, and what have the disadvantages to its efficiency been in consequence; what are the conditions and qualifications necessary for the office; and who is it proposed to appoint.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe position in question is an existing position under a new title. Up till last year the post of assistant to the clerk in charge of accounts was described in the Estimates as a temporary staff post, and the salary was £200 a year. Last year, in consequence of the great increase of work under the Labourers' Act, the scale of salary for the post was fixed at £250 rising to £350 a year, and the title of the post was changed to that of assistant clerk in 83 charge of accounts. Mr. C. R. S. Monsell, who had been assistant to the clerk in charge of accounts for seven years, was continued in the post.