§ DR. TANNERI beg to ask the Postmaster General what increases of the pay attaching to positions in the Secretary's Department in the Dublin Post Office have been made since the recent appointment of a Secretary from England; whether any reductions have been made in the other branches of the Post Office in Dublin not immediately under the Secretary.; and, if so, what is the nature and amount of such reductions; and whether a Return will be given setting forth the reasons for the increases and reductions of pay and, in the case of reductions, the reasons for the higher pay previously given?
§ SIR J. FERGUSSONThe present Secretary to the Post Office in Dublin was appointed nearly seven years ago; and during the interval no salary in the Secretary's office has been increased, with the exception of the clerks of the second division, whose scale has been raised in accordance with a recent Order in Council. Those clerks belong to a general class which is common to the United Kingdom. During the same period the Sorting Office in Dublin has been revised so as to assimilate its rate of pay to that of similar offices elsewhere, and the consequence has in some cases been to reduce salaries prospectively, but without injury to present possessors; while, generally speaking, the staff have obtained considerable advantages in pay and prospects of promotion. No reduction has been made in the pay of any officers in consequence of these changes.