§ MR. MACALEESEI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, with reference to the recent, vacancy in the post-mastership of Monaghan, how many applications were received in reply to his invitation from applicants for this vacancy, of these how many were members of the First Class in the postal and telegraph branches of the Service, and of the aggregate number of applicants how many had a, service of from 15 to 20 years, what number had a service of 20 and under 25 years, and how many with a service of over 25 years; and whether the gentleman upon, whom the vacancy has been, conferred entered the Service and obtained the certificate of his appointment in May 1885, and that until the date of his present appointment was a, member of the Second Class of Sorting Clerks; if so, what particular qualifications did he possess that entitled him to this preferment over others his seniors and with a more diversified knowledge and experience of both postal and telegraph duties?
* MR. HANSBURYThe number of applications received for the Postmastership of Monaghan was 83. Of these, 22 were from members of the First Class; 17 candidates had service of from 15 to 20 years; 10 candidates had service of from 20 to 25 years; and five had over 25 years' service. The officer on whom the appointment was conferred entered the Service with a certificate in May 1885, and until the date of his present appointment was a Second Class Telegraphist or Sorting Clerk. Many of the candidates were from, offices not in Ireland. The Postmaster General decided, however, in this case to appoint from the Irish list, and to select the officer on that list whose claims and qualifications best entitled him, in his opinion, to the promotion. The particular qualifications possessed by the selected candidate included a good knowledge of both postal and telegraph, work, and experience in the duties of a head postmaster, gained during his service as a provincial clerk in charge, 935 in which capacity he had undertaken the full management of post offices during the absence of postmasters.