§ MR. KING (Hull, Central)asked the Under Secretary of State for India, What steps are being taken by the Secretary of State in Council to carry out the reforms in the Regulations of the Indian Telegraph Department which have been repeatedly urged on his attention; whether the Indian Government has called the attention of the Secretary of State to the urgency of the case for reform; whether the Government of India is understood to have admitted the justice of the complaints of the members of the Indian Telegraph Service, and the necessity for a speedy redress of those grievances; and, if so, what reasons there are for delaying to remove these grievances; and when a decision may be expected?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JOHN GORST) (Chatham)A scheme relating to the Telegraph Department in India was prepared by the late Secretary of State in Council and transmitted to India on July 8, 1886. The Government of India was authorized to give effect to it if, after obtaining the views of the Commission which is now considering the possibility of effecting reductions in the public expenditure, they should think it right to do so. The Secretary of State has recently requested the Government of India to obtain a Report on the subject from the Commission. Until the decision of the Government of India has been received, it is impossible to give information to the House as to the nature of the communications that have taken place.