§ MR. DUNCOMBEI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he will assent to the appointment of a Select Committee of this House to inquire into the grievances and causes of discontent 1227 amongst the major establishment of the Post Office, especially as to promotion?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. R. W. HANBURY, Preston)There is no information at the Post Office as to the existence of the grievances and causes of discontent referred to by the hon. Member. The great bulk of the major establishment—by which I presume is meant the clerical establishment—consists of officers of the first and second divisions who enter the service on terms common to the other Departments, and the conditions of their service were dealt with by a Royal Commission only a few years ago. If anything, the conditions of the Second Division are more favourable in a rapidly-growing Department like the Post Office than in others, and promotion is more rapid. Perhaps the hon. Member will explain to me privately what are the precise grounds of the alleged complaints, and I shall then be in a better position to judge how far any further inquiry is necessary.