§ MR. CLAUDE HAYTo ask the Postmaster General whether he will state the number of candidates who entered for the last open competition for male learners in London with the marks of the highest and lowest successful candidates, and the number of vacancies competed for; will he also state the number of vacancies filled by the last limited competition among messengers, with the marks of the highest and lowest successful candidates.
(Answered, by Mr. Austen Chamberlain.) One hundred and sixty-five candidates competed at the last open competition for male learners in London, held in February, 1903, for forty places. The highest successful candidate obtained 1,646 marks and the lowest 1,334. Fifteen places were reserved for the limited competition among messengers held on the same date, and the highest and lowest marks obtained by the successful candidates were 1,528 and 1,342 respectively.