§ MR. HORNER (Lambeth, N.)To ask the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the counter clerks and telegraphists stationed at the Ludgate Circus Post Office were asked to volunteer for overtime from midnight until 3 a.m. as a temporary measure during the pressure occasioned by the South African War; and that since the conclusion of the war the men have still been kept on until 3 a.m. although they have asked to be relieved; and, if so, whether, in view of the fact that the inspector has now ordered the staff to perform 7.45 p.m. to 3 a.m. duty, he will investigate the circumstances of the case.
(Answered by Lord Stanley.) I am aware of the circumstances at the Ludgate Circus Office to which the Member for Lambeth refers. It is necessary for the office to be kept open for telegraph business until 3 a.m. on five nights a week, but arrangements are already being made for the overtime to be abolished, and for the additional attendance beyond midnight to form part of a regular and continuous duty.