§ MR. GODDARD (IpswichI beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to the discontent caused by the reduction of subsistence allowances granted to postal and telegraph clerks when absent from headquarters for the purpose of instructing or taking temporary charge of sub-offices; if so, will he say what steps he proposes to take in the matter, and will he state whether in these cases the time occupied in travelling counts towards the day's attendance; and whether, in the case of duty at town sub-offices, any monetary allowance is made for either subsistence or travelling.
§ THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Lord STANLEY,) Lancashire, WesthoughtonI am not aware of any general discontent in regard to subsistence allowances paid to officers when absent from headquarters for the purpose of instructing or taking temporary charge of sub-offices. If the hon. Member will give me particulars of the cases to which he refers I will inquire into the matter. In such cases as those mentioned the time occupied in travelling, if properly certified, is taken into consideration in fixing the subsistence allowance. In the case of duty at town sub-offices an officer is allowed any extra expense incurred for travelling. At town sub-offices in a town other than that where his headquarters are situate, an officer would receive allowance for subsistence, but he would not receive such an allowances if detached for duty at a town sub-office in his own town.