§ MR. J. DEVLINI beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to the hardship involved in the case of telegraph messengers being discharged, on attaining the age of sixteen years, at Belfast and Derry; whether it is the case that at present in one or other of these offices some of the men are doing double work; and whether he will make inquiries with a view to finding other work for the boys so discharged.
§ MR. SYDNEY BUXTONUnfortunately, I cannot avoid the necessity of dispensing with the services of a number of telegraph messengers at the age of sixteen. Any overtime which is being worked at Belfast and Derry is of a temporary nature, and it is, in my opinion, undesirable to offer such work to messengers who have been dispensed with, as it would interfere with their opportunities of obtaining permanent situations outside the service. No suitable boys are discharged for whom there is a prospect of full-time adult employment being found within a reasonable time.