§ MR. HENNIKER HEATONUnto ask the Postmaster General whether he is aware that in February last the vacancy in the Postmastership of Ledbury, Herefordshire, was announced in the Official Circular, applications being invited from officials of recognised merit; and that the post was bestowed on Mrs. J. L. Sargent, an "outsider," with no official experience whatever; and whether he will direct that these appointments shall, in future, be reserved for officials who have acquired experience of the Service, and who are otherwise deserving?
§ MR. A. MORLEYNo, Sir. It was not in February last that the vacancy in the Postmastership of Ledbury was announced in the Official Circular; nor were applications restricted to officials of recognised merit. Mrs. Sargent, the lady upon whom I conferred the appointment, is the widow of a highly respected Post Office servant of 38 years' service, who had died after a long illness, during which his small savings had been swallowed up. There is no reason to think that, with the assistance of her eldest daughter, who is 23 years of age, she will not be able to manage the Ledbury Post Office?