One Crompton, a letter sorting clerk at Liverpool, in his leisure moments had made himself a telegraph instrument, had taught himself to telegraph, and had acquired a considerable technical knowledge of electricity. He had attracted the attention of the superintending engineer at Liverpool; had been promoted, in 1886, to the office of the superintending engineer; and, by 1896, he had become one of the best engineers in the service. In 1896, Mr. Tipping, the accredited spokesman of the Postal Telegraphists' Association as well as of the Telegraph Clerks' Association, complained of the promotion of Crompton, which had occurred in 1886. He said: "It seems most unreasonable that men who have, in some cases, not the slightest acquaintance with telegraphic apparatus and methods of working, should be preferred to those whose whole period of service has been passed in immediate connection therewith. It is apparent that such an absence of method is open to very serious objections, and allows great freedom of choice to those upon whose recommendations the appointments are made. In order, therefore, to safeguard, on the one hand, the interests of the department, and, on the other, to encourage those members of the telegraph staff who desire, by energy and ability, to improve their official _status_, the following suggestions are humbly submitted: That vacancies for junior clerkships in the offices of the superintending engineers, and for clerks at relay stations, should be filled by open competitive examination, held under the control of the Civil Service Commissioners, and that telegraphists only be eligible."[310]