§ MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN (Kilkenny)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether the Postmaster General has yet considered the paper handed in on behalf of the Dublin sorting clerks; and, if so, can he say when those officers may expect to be relieved from the disabilities complained of under which they still labour; whether the Postmaster General has received several memorials from the Dublin sorting clerks during the past year; and, if so, when a reply may be expected; and whether the Dublin authorities are unable to carry out the recommendation of the Tweedmouth Committee that in all cases of "split duties" each officer should be allowed an uninterrupted period of nine hours in his own home, irrespective of the time occupied in proceeding from his home tithe office and the office to his home; if so, will the Postmaster General, having regard to the exceptional hours of attendance in the Dublin Sorting Office, allow that the morning and evening attendances be considered as night duty?
§ MR. HANBURYThe Postmaster General has considered the paper handed in on behalf of the Dublin sorting clerks in August last. The paper referred to almost every question which it is possible to raise, respecting the pay, position, duties, attendance, leave, and punishment of a large staff. The more important question, respecting the pay of these officers, was virtually dealt with in the circular which was issued by the Postmaster General and myself on the 10th August last. But the other questions raised in the paper have been duly considered, though the Postmaster General and I concluded that it was not necessary to give a distinct reply on points on which we are not prepared to make concessions. The Postmaster General has received several memorials from the staff during the past year; 145 some of them have been duly answered, but, for the most part, they had reference to points dealt with in the circular referred to, and called for no further reply. The Postmaster General is very anxious to carry out the recommendations of the Tweedmouth Committee in the matter of attendance, and he is glad to state that some improvement in this direction has already been made at Dublin, but he fears that it will not be practicable to give complete effect to the Committee's recommendations until a scheme which is being introduced for making the officers engaged on sorting and telegraph duties available to work on both sides is in full operation. To regard attendance between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. as night duty would be contrary to the rules of the service, and the Postmaster General is not prepared to make any exception in this respect in Dublin.