§ MR. MACVEAGHI beg to ask the Postmaster General, with reference to the vacancy which has recently existed in the postmastership of Edgeworthstown, whether he can state how many applications were received for this vacancy, and of these how many came from officials serving respectively in Ireland, England and Scotland; what is the salary attached to the office, and what is the length of service, salary, and official designation of the member of the Lanark staff appointed to this vacancy in the first instance; what was the length of service, salary, and position of the most senior applicant from Ireland, and to what office attached; and can lie say how" many members of the service holding appointments in Ireland have been appointed to postmasterhips in Scotland within the last twenty-five years; and, if any, to what offices they were appointed.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINI have already answered fully two somewhat similar Questions put by the lion. Member, but I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by giving all the particulars asked for in this Question, which could not lie collected without considerable labour. I accept of course full responsibility for the appointments which 1514 I make, but I deprecate any attempt to discuss the relative merits of different candidates by way of Question and Answer in this House. I may, however, say that the officer first appointed to this position declined the appointment. I then offered it to an officer in the Galway Post Office who, however, also declined it, and I have now offered it to a candidate from Castlebar.
§ MR. MACVEAGHIs it not the case that these appointments were only offered to Irishmen after Scotchmen had refused them?
§ [No answer was returned.]