§ MR. T. DUNCOMBEsaid, he begged to ask the hon. Secretary to the Treasury a question of which he had given him notice. He (Mr. Duncombe) had brought under the notice of the House on former occasions the grievances of the letter carriers, and presented petitions containing statements of the grievances under which they laboured. Upon the last occasion the answer given was, that the subject was under the consideration, and it was understood under the favourable consideration, of the Postmaster General. He now asked his hon. Friend what steps the Postmaster General had taken towards removing the grievances of the letter carriers of the metropolis, as well as throughout the United Kingdom?
§ MR. J. WILSONsaid, the questions formerly put by the hon. Member related to three points—the prohibition of Christmas boxes, the subject of allowances, and the inequality of the pay. With regard to the first question, he was glad to inform him that the Postmaster General had already issued a circular withdrawing the prohibition of last year as to Christmas boxes. As to the second, relating to allowances, a more just and liberal scale had been prepared by the Postmaster General, and sent to the Treasury for approval. Then, with reference to the unequal amount of pay in the different parts of the country, 157 he had to state that his noble Friend (Viscount Canning) had taken great pains to investigate that matter, and the conclusion he had arrived at was that equality of pay-was impossible, and that the more he had investigated the case the more was he convinced of that fact; but he had received numerous applications for increased pay in individual cases, and, having taken all these into consideration, he had increased the pay in many cases where the complaints were, in his judgment, well founded.
§ MR. T. DUNCOMBEDo these new regulations apply to Ireland?
§ MR. J. WILSONYes, to every part of the United Kingdom.