§ 11. Mr. T. LEWISasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will take steps to ensure that, in selecting ex-officers from the waiting list at the Admiralty, priority shall be given to suitable candidates who are not in receipt of large pensions?
Mr. ALEXANDERThe possibility of applying such a rule as that suggested does not, in practice, arise. The posts in which retired officers are employed are in the main posts demanding particular qualifications and experience for which only candidates possessed of such qualifications and experience can be considered. This necessity restricts the field of selection in a particular case to retired officers of approximately similar 2126 service and experience, whose pensions also will, as a rule, be approximately equal.