§ MR. MADDISONI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster-General, whether, on 19th August, 1897, the staff of the Eastern Central District, London, submitted a petition, part of which drew attention to the insanitary nature of the post office buildings in that district. Whether he is aware that the staff are now compelled to eat their food in underground cellars, and in some cases the conveniences are practically in the same compartment; and whether a searching inquiry will be made into the sanitary arrangements at Grace-church Street, Great Tower Street, and Lombard Street Post Offices.
§ MR. HANBURYThe petition referred to was dated the 19th of August, 1898, not 1897. A branch post office in the City or Eastern Central District usually consists of a ground floor and basement, the cloak and dining rooms being on the basement. Necessarily these are sometimes nearer to the lavoratory than can be arranged in less crowded localities. The office in Gracechurch Street is being enlarged and the sanitary arrangements improved. There is no good ground for complaint against the office in Great Tower Street; and the sanitary arrangements at the Lombard Street office are about to be improved. The branch post offices in the City are under constant inspection, and any complaint affecting ventilation or sanitation would receive attention at once.