§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask the Postmaster - General whether he will make inquiry into the system existing at many provincial head post offices whereby junior and unestablished officers are placed on counter duties in positions involving monetary responsibility; and whether, in view of the fact that all losses have to be made good, the staff shall have adequate opportunities for learning the work before being entrusted with the responsibility, and that only officers of experience shall in future be entrusted with counter duties.
§ THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Lord STANLEY, Lancashire, Westhoughton)If the hon. Member will furnish me with some concrete instances of the system to which he refers I will make inquiries; but I may say that it is the general practice to assign important counter duties, involving considerable monetary responsibility, to the more experienced officers as far as possible.
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLWhen I give the noble Lord information in a concrete case he answers me in the abstract.