§ MR. FETHERSTONHAUGH (Fermanagh, N.)To ask the Postmaster-General, whether he is aware that a vacancy in the telegraph service at Dromod, County Leitrim, has recently been filled by the appointment of a person who had no previous Post Office experience, and was admitted as a learner at the age of thirty; were there any other, and how many, applications by qualified persons for the vacancy: is he aware that this applicant was, until shortly before his appointment, employed in commercial business in London; and whether he will take steps to prevent such appointments, seeing that they operate injuriously in causing stagnation in promotion of men in the Postal Telegraph Service.
(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The vacancy to which the hon. Member refers is apparently that for an assistant to the sub-postmistress of Dromod. It is not an established post. For that situation there were three candidates. One of these was only seventeen years of age and was considered unsuitable, as the position demanded the performance of night duty on alternate weeks. The appointment of another candidate was considered undesirable in view of his previous record in the Post Office. The remaining candidate who was selected is the husband of the sub-postmistress, and is considered the most suitable for the situation; his appointment 44 is, of course, subject to the attainment of full qualifications within a reasonable time.