§ MR. MANSFIELD (Lincolnshire, Spalding)To ask the Postmaster-General whether it is proposed to appoint telegraph boys in all the rural postal telegraph offices; and, if so, whether, in view or the scale of remuneration received by rural postmasters, such appointments may either be made by the postmasters themselves or such messengers shall be selected from the postmaster's family wherever that is possible.
(Answered by Lord Stanley.) It is not proposed to appoint regular telegraph messengers at all rural telegraph offices, but only at offices where they are found to be warranted. At offices where regular telegraph messengers are employed the boys are selected by the postmasters, subject to the approval of the district surveyor. At offices at which regular messengers are not employed it is not unusual for the delivery of telegrams to be made by members of the sub-postmaster's family.