§ MR. SEXTON (Belfast, W.)I beg to defer until to-morrow a question of which I have given notice, to ask the Postmaster General whether seven members of the first class of clerks in the Telegraph Department of the Belfast Post Office hold the additional appointment of provincial clerks in charge; whether five of these had this appointment bestowed upon them in recognition of long service, and in consequence of their having been, at the time at which it was conferred, superseded in promotion to the first class; if so, upon what grounds were they permitted to retain this appointment, subsequently, on receiving promotion to the first class; whether the discharge of the duties incident to that of provincial clerks in charge obliges the holders of the position to be absent for long periods from Belfast; and, if so, have their duties during their absence to be discharged by members of the 1636 second class without any extra remuneration, and does their absence also cause present members of the first class, who are not provincial clerks in charge, to be more frequently employed upon night duty; and, if this be so, whether he will constitute the present holders of the position of provincial clerks in charge supernumeraries upon the staff of the Belfast office, and promote an equivalent number of the second class to be members of the first class, so that members of this class shall not be called upon to undertake responsible first class duties without the emoluments appertaining to the position?