§ Mr. HORE-BELISHAasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware of the concern felt among the officers of the writer branch at Devonport of the Royal Navy by the non-filling of a vacancy for the rank of paymaster-lieutenant, which became due, owing to a retirement, on the 7th February last, and the consequent promotion of a warrant writer to commissioned writer and a chief petty officer writer to warrant writer; whether he is aware that this concern is all the more acute since, under the reduction scheme of August, 1922, officers of the writer branch were penalised owing to the fact that the number of officers authorised with this branch of the Service were not kept complete in April, 1921; and whether he will arrange that 1531W the vacancy be filled, seeing that if one promotion is dropped three persons are penalised?