§ 81. Mr. HANCOCKasked the Postmaster-General, with reference to the engineering revision of 1911, if he is aware that the selected officers included men concerning whom it has recently been admitted that they have not come up to anticipations; that the rejected officers included men who were subsequently admitted to have been wrongly passed over and who were fully reinstated, as well as many others who are now admitted to be suitable for promotion; that some of the officers rejected on the score of alleged inefficiency have been performing in a satisfactory manner the duties of assistant engineer ever since the revision; and whether, in view of these facts, he will cause steps to be taken to remedy the grievance of the men who suffered from the revision?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEThe officers originally selected for advancement to the class of assistant engineers under the revision of 1911 have not proved unsatisfactory. Subsequent to the original selection a number of officers who in the first instance had not been regarded as fully qualified were promoted to the class of assistant engineers, their promotion taking effect from the date of the revision. The claims of other officers, who were reported to be qualified for promotion, are considered as vacancies occur, and a certain number of those officers have already been promoted. It is true that there has been some overlapping of duties as between second-class engineers and assistant engineers; but the circumstances are not such as to justify promotions in advance of vacancies.