§ SIR JOHN LENG (Dundee)I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been directed to cases in provincial post offices in which young women, who have passed their examinations satisfactorily, have been retained from two to four years as learners, receiving only five shillings a week; and whether he has taken any action to diminish the number of such cases.
§ The POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Lord Stanley, Lancashire, Westhoughton.)I am aware that in some cases paid female learners have had to wait a considerable time before vacancies occurred to which they could be appointed, and, as I recently explained, wherever it is found that the number of vacancies on the establishment is not so great as was anticipated, steps are taken to diminish the number of learners.