MR ROLAND (Kerry, S.)To ask the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that Michael Shea, of Kenmare, who has been for twenty four and-a-half years in the service of the Post Office for ten years as sub-postmaster at Bonane, county Kerry, and for eleven years as an established postman, has been given the sum of £25 as a compassionate gratuity; and whether steps will be taken to give him an increased amount as a reward for services rendered during this long period.
(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) 4s I informed the hon. Member in a letter dated the 12th instant, Michael Shea, who was an unestablished, and not an established, postman at Kenmare, was not eligible for an award under the Superannuation Acts on his retirement, but a grant of £25 was made to him from
§ parative cost of patents in the United Kingdom and United States respectively—
§ a special fund at my disposal for the benefit of certain unestablished officers. I regret that it is not in my power to make any addition to the amount already awarded.