§ MR. W. T. WILSON (Lancashire, Westhoughton)To ask the Postmaster-General whether the recent scheme for postal and telegraph officials has had the effect of raising the maximum wages of the indoor telegraph staff at Bristol; whether it is by his knowledge and authority that the telegraphists at Bristol who are in receipt of the old maximum wages have been compelled to undergo tests of a manipulative character previous to being awarded the higher wages; and whether he will explain the reason for this exceptional treatment at Bristol.
| NAVY. | ||||
| Statement showing the Total Estimated Gross Expenditure on the Navy, including Expenditure from Loans from each year, inclusive, from 190–6 to 1908–9. | ||||
| 1905–6. | 1906–7. | 1907–8. | 1908–9. | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Gross estimated expenditure (Navy Votes) | 35,078,287* | 33,573,302 | 32,911,046 | 33,942,003 |
| Abate: Annuity under Naval Works Acts, 1895 to 1905. | 1,015,812 | 1,094,309 | 1,214,402 | 1,264,032 |
| 34,062,475 | 32,478,993 | 31,696,644 | 32,677,971 | |
| Estimated expenditure from loans | 4,000,000† | 3,704,280† | 1,478,000‡ | 438,000‡ |
| Total | 38,062,475 | 36,183,273 | 33,174,644 | 33,115,971 |
| Value of stores drawn from stock, without replacement, in aid of cash expenditure | 768,850 | 1,024,200 | 1,241,800 | 500,150 |
| Expenditure on behalf of Naval Services from Votes of other departments | 372,695 | 354,084 | 370,360 | 382,742 |
| 39,204,020 | 37,561,557 | 34,786,804 | 33,998,863 | |
| * Includes Supplementary Estimate of £100. | ||||
| † Parliamentary Paper, No. 2470, of August 1905. | ||||
| ‡ Parliamentary Paper, No. 3384, of March 1907. |
§ (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) I have received, a communication from the Postal Telegraph Clerks' Association On this question.