Mr. T. F. RICHARDSasked the Postmaster-General whether anything has been done or attempted to improve, on lines similar to those adopted for London, the pay and conditions of mail-cart drivers employed in the provinces; and can he inform the House of any important improvements?
§ Mr. BUXTONI have made inquiry respecting the wages and hours of duty of provincial mail-cart drivers in a number of cases to which my attention has been drawn; and I have arranged with the contractors to improve the conditions of employment in those cases in which an improvement seemed necessary. The principal towns in which the wages of the mail-cart drivers have been increased are Dub- 2032 lin, Liverpool, Manchester, Belfast, Sheffield, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Exeter, Plymouth, Bournemouth, and Peterborough.