MR. JUSTIN M'CARTHYI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received Memorials from certain second-class clerks in the Prison Department, acting as delegates for the majority of the clerical staff; and, if so, whether he will consent to receive the deputation offered in the Memorial, and on what date?
§ MR. MATTHEWSYes, Sir; I have received the Memorials referred to in the question. In reply to them, I requested to be informed of the matters which the proposed deputation desired to bring under my notice. With this request the memorialists complied, but their written statements do not contain any matters which had not been fully considered by me when the recent recommendations were made to the Treasury for the improvement of the position of these clerks. Under these circumstances, to receive a deputation would excite hopes which cannot be realised, and I cannot, therefore, comply with the memorialists' request.