MR. PATRICK O'BRIENI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether an allowance is made to a number of head post offices for the purpose of enabling telegraph messengers to obtain bicycles, in order to aid in the expeditious delivery of telegrams; and, if so, whether the object of this grant is to cover the actual cost of hire for a specified time or to enable messengers attached to those offices to which this allowance is made to become the owners of cycles by obtaining them on the instalment principle; what is the amount of the grant made to the Enniskillen Post Office under this head; whether he is aware that the postmaster and senior clerk respectively of that office, on the allowance being authorised, provided two solid-tyred cycles of an old pattern, which they compel the messengers to use, and withhold the allowance on the ground of hiring those machines to the messengers' staff, and whether this is in accordance with the instructions relative to the expenditure of this allowance; and also that the senior clerk of this office compels messengers to use his solid-tyred cycle in the delivery of porterage messages, and for the use of which he obtains half of the porterage charges; and what notice he intends to take of the matter?
§ MR. HANBURYAllowances are made to a number of head post offices for the delivery of telegrams by cycle. In most cases the allowances are paid direct to messengers who have bicycles of their 414 own. Possibly some of these bicycles are purchased on the instalment principle, but the Department has no knowledge on this subject. The object of the grant is simply to remunerate the boys for placing the machines at the disposal of the Department. In other cases the allowances are given to postmasters. In the case of Enniskillen, two allowances of 3s. 6d. a week each have been made to the postmaster. The Postmaster General has received a report on the arrangements to which the hon. Member has called attention, but he has found it necessary to ask for further information. He will communicate with the hon. Member on the subject as soon as he is in a position to do so.