§ SIR JOHN LENG (Dundee)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, if he can explain on what principle the maximum wages of the postmen's staff at Preston where there are 60 men, at Dundee where there are 74 men, and at Southampton where there are 85 men on the staff, is only 26s., while at Lincoln and Gateshead, much smaller places, where respectively only 31 and 32 men are required, the maximum wage is 28s.?
§ MR. HANBURYIt is true that some of the town postmen at Lincoln are in receipt of pay rising on scale to a maximum of 28s. a week; but there was no ground for retaining an exceptional scale there, and the postmen appointed since 1176 1891 are not entitled to a higher maximum than 26s. At Gateshead, on account of its close proximity to Newcastle, the postmen's force is practically on the same footing as that of the Newcastle Office. The scales at Preston, Dundee, and Southampton rise, as stated by the hon. Member, to 26s., a maximum which is based on the ordinary rates, which vary with the population of the district concerned.