§ MR. CONYBEAREI beg to ask the Postmaster General whether the invitation of a Member of Parliament by Post Office employés to assist them in their deliberations at a meeting other wise legitimate will constitute a breach of the Rules of the Service?
§ THE POSTMASTER GENERAL (Mr. RAIKES,) Cambridge UniversityAs I have stated more than once, one of the conditions on which I relaxed the Rule respecting meetings concerning official questions outside the Post Office buildings, was that they should be confined to Post Office servants, and to those Post Office servants only, who were directly interested in the matter or matters to be discussed. I must leave it to the hon. Member's own intelligence to decide for himself whether it would be in accordance with this condition to invite a Member of Parliament to attend.
§ MR. CONYBEAREAs the right hon. Gentlemen's answer precludes hon. Members from attending these meetings, I beg to ask whether he proposes to take any action against some two or three hundred Post Office officials, whom I had the honour of addressing at the Southwark Radical Club last night?
§ MR. RAIKESI must ask for notice of that question.
§ MR. CONYBEAREIs the right hon. Gentleman able to state what hon. Member or Members it was, and when he alleges that they at any meetings incited Post Office employás to contravene the Rules of the Service?
§ MR. RAIKESI do not remember making any such statement. I said that I hoped I might rely on the co-operation of hon. Members not to do such a thing.