§ MR. JOHN WARDI beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to the fact that while some Government Departments are discharging workmen other Departments are working numbers of their workmen long hours; and whether, under these circumstances, he will ask for a conference of the heads of the great employing Departments, such as the War Office, Admiralty, and Office of Works, with a view to devising means for automatically reducing the hours of labour in cases of general shortage of work, or the exchange of suitable 1314 workmen from one Department to another as occasion requires, and so prevent the unnecessary discharge of Government workmen.
§ MR. JOHN BURNSMy hon. friend has called my attention to the replies given by the Secretary of State for War and the Secretary to the Admiralty respectively, to Questions put to them with regard to the discharge of men at Woolwich, and the working of men overtime at Devonport. I cannot say how far the suggestion which he makes would be found to be feasible, but I will bring it under the notice of the head of each of the Departments mentioned by him.