§ Mr. JOHN WARDasked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that many of the men rejected under the engineering revision of 1911 are recognised by their colleagues and controlling officers in the engineering branch as engineers who are quite as efficient as many of those who have been promoted; whether he will explain why men who are acknowledged by the Postmaster-General himself to be suitable for promotion should be penalised by being repeatedly passed over by officers junior to them in age and experience to the detriment of their prospects in the service; whether he will arrange that no more appointments to the class of assistant engineers shall be made from any other source than that of the redundant officers until all whom the engineer-in-chief certifies as suitable are disposed of; and whether he will undertake that when these officers are promoted they shall be restored to the positions in regard to seniority which they would have occupied had they not been passed over?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSENo undertaking can be given that all future vacancies on the class of assistant engineers will be allotted to redundant second-class engineers, who were rejected in 1911 because they were not so well qualified as those who were promoted, but the claim of these rejected officers will continue to be considered as suitable vacancies arise. Any second-class engineer who may be selected for promotion must take his place at the foot of the class at the time of his promotion.