§ MR. CARLILEI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the fact that certain second division clerks in the Admiralty, promoted to the first division concurrently with the introduction of the new scale of pay for second division clerks under the Order in Council of 21st December, 1907, were given the benefit of the immediate increase of pay under that Order, he will say in what special circumstances the principle applying not only to the Estate Duty Office but to other offices was in this instance departed from.
§ MR. HOBHOUSEThe cases of second division clerks in the Admiralty were not parallel to the others mentioned, e.g., those in the Estate Duty Office. In the latter case the conditions of promotion were settled before the passing of the Order in Council of 21st December, 1907. The readjustment of salaries under Clause 6 of that Order was intended to apply to second division clerks remaining such and was given in consideration of their accepting the reduced maximum of salary also provided for in the same Order. It would have been unjustifiable to allow the clause to be used merely for the purpose of increasing initial salaries in the case of the Estate Duty Office and other Departments where not only is there no reduction of maximum but there are prospects of promotion to a higher class. The second division clerks in the Admiralty, on the other hand, elected to come under the new scale before the question of their promotion arose; and when they were afterwards promoted exceptionally for special merit, and not in accordance with any pre-determined scheme, it was not considered equitable to require them to enter at a salary less than their readjusted salaries.