§ Mr. FIELDasked the Secretary to the Treasury the number of supervising assistant clerks in the Statistical Office, Customs and Excise; the duties which are assigned to the grade; how many clerks of that grade are performing supervisory duties; if any of them were performing the same duties prior to promotion to supervising assistant clerk; what was then the official designation of these clerks; and what are the qualifications required by assistant clerks for checking allowances, supervising assistant clerkship, and second division clerkships?
§ Mr. MASTERMANThe answer to the first part of the question is twenty-two; to the second, to aid in the supervision and discipline of the office, and to perform work superior to that of the assistant clerks with checking allowances; to the third, all, regularly or on occasion; to the fourth, none of the existing supervising assistant clerks who were promoted to that position from the position of assistant clerk were before their promotion performing the full duties assigned to the grade of supervising assistant clerk, consequently, the fifth part does not arise. The three classes mentioned in the concluding part of the question are quite distinct from each other, and require varying degrees of intelligence and capacity.
§ Mr. FIELDasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the fact that no further special increments can at present be granted in the Statistical Office, he will state what is the proportion of £10 special increments granted to assistant clerks in various offices, and on what authority such a proportion is fixed?
Mr. MASTER MANIn fixing the number of special increments to be allotted, the Treasury has regard to the degree of special merit certified by the heads of the departments in which the assistant clerks 1233W recommended serve, and to the total number of such clerks qualified by service to receive a special increment. In so far as conditions admit, it is the practice to distribute the increments equitably over the service as a whole.