21. Mr. TYSON WILSONasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the Land Valuation Department has been taking on, as temporary clerks, men over thirty-five years of age at a wage of £1 per week; if so, whether he will state the duties of these men; and whether he is aware that the customary rate for a qualified adult clerk is considerably more than £1 per week?
§ Mr. MONTAGUMen above the age limit of thirty-five are, wherever possible, given the opportunity of acting as substitutes for junior temporary clerks in the Valuation Office who have enlisted or been called up. There is no change either in the duties, which are of a purely routine clerical character, or in the rates of remuneration. The wages vary according to the value of the work and the wage-standard of the particular locality, the general limits being 20s. to 30s. per week.