§ MR. WALLACE (Perth)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he is aware that, although the 1218 Norfolk-Hanbury conference definitely stated that technical knowledge was not to be required of telegraphists before passing the efficiency barrier, operators in the Edinburgh telegraph office have been called upon to produce evidence of technical skill before being allowed to proceed beyond the barrier; and whether the Postmaster General can state the reasons for this departure from the pledge given to the men in August, 1897, by the Duke of Norfolk and the right hon. Member who was then Secretary to the Treasury.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINThe regulations do not prescribe that any technical examination must be passed before a telegraphist can pass the efficiency bar, and if it is found on inquiry that there has been any misapprehension on this subject in Edinburgh, steps will at once be taken to put the matter right.