§ Mr. J. JONESasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that in 1920 the Treasury proposed that the commissionaires employed on warding duties in the British Museum should be given the grade of pensioner messenger on condition that the men severed their 261W connection with the Corps of Commissionaires; that the men concerned expressed their willingness to accept the proposal; that in January, 1921, instead of adopting the proposal, the Treasury came to an agreement with the Corps of Commissionaires without consulting the men concerned; that at a meeting of the Departmental Council held on the 4th October last the commissionaires put forward a claim for a recognised grade, either that of museum warder or of pensioner messenger, in order that the question of their position might be settled; and that the chairman of the Council promised that the matter would he considered, but subsequently informed the representatives of the men, privately, that nothing more would be done; and whether he will take steps to have the grade of these men properly specified in conformity with the recent system of grading?
§ Mr. BALDWIN:It is the case that the trustees of the British Museum at one time considered a proposal that the commissionaires should sever their connection with the Corps of Commissionaires, but on inquiring into the matter various difficulties were found to exist, one of the principal of which was that members of the corps who resign their membership whilst holding posts secured through the corps render themselves liable to certain penalties. The proposal was therefore dropped. It is also the case that the trustees (not the Treasury) subsequently came to an arrangement with the corps whereby the commissioners were relieved of the payment of certain subscriptions for which they were previously liable The question of grading was raised during last year and the commissionaires were informed that they constituted a separate Departmental class. There is nothing unusual or irregular about this arrangement and the trustees see no reason for altering it.