§ MR. NANNETTII beg to ask the Postmaster-General if he is aware that the Telegraph School in Dublin is overcrowded owing to the presence there of several ladies who have passed no examination, and that as a consequence the learners who have every right to preferential treatment are placed at a disadvantage in the manner of attaining proficiency in the telegraph service; and can he say what object the Department has in view in so training these ladies, or if it is his intention to give them appointments in the instrument room.
§ THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Lord STANLEY.) Lancashire, WesthoughtonThe hon. Member appears to be under a misapprehension, as out of the sixty-three persons who are receiving instruction in the Telegraph School in Dublin, not more than twenty-nine attend at the same time, whereas there is accommodation for forty-eight. The attendance of certain assistants and others—chiefly for the purpose of improving the working at sub-offices—does not in any way place the learners as a disadvantage.
§ MR. NANNETTIIs there any chance of employment for these girls?
§ LORD STANLEYYes, for the learners. Those who are not learners in the technical sense of the word are connected with other post offices which will get the advantage of the experience they are gaining in the working of the instruments, etc.