§ Mr. JOHN O'DONNELLasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, seeing that over 10,000 men leave the county Mayo annually in search of employment, most of whom have to walk hundreds of miles in England, Wales and Scotland before they succeed in obtaining work, he will consider the necessity of at once opening an exchange at Castlebar, the chief town in the county, By which means those in England who require labourers could communicate with the officials at Castlebar, who in turn could arrange with those in need of employment in that county, and thereby eave the misery, hardship, and sometimes loss of life which such a mode of looking for work in strange countries brings about; and whether, seeing that up to the present no Labour Exchange has been opened in any part of the province of Connaught, he will put the machinery of the Act in motion in the poorest of the Western Counties?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Buxton)I hope that before long one or more Labour Exchanges will be opened in the province of Connaught. I would, however, point out to the hon. Member that, in the meantime, the exchanges already opened in other parts of Ireland are available for the use of residents in Connaught. Applications for employment can be sent by post to any of the exchanges now open, and full information as to any available employment is on record at the Clearing House at Dublin, which is in constant communication with the other Clearing Houses in the United Kingdom. Applicants for positions for which no vacancies have been notified in Ireland would be given notice of situations available in other parts of the United Kingdom
§ Sir JOHN RANDLESMay I ask if it is generally understood that applicants for positions through Labour Exchanges may make those applications by post instead of by personal application. I am afraid it is thought they must apply personally.
§ Mr. BUXTONI should like it to be known that applicants living more than three miles from any Exchange can do whichever they like. We recognise that in many cases application must be made by post owing to the distance between the Exchanges, and we have consequently framed our Regulations so as to allow this facility.
§ Sir J. RANDLESWill the right hon. Gentleman take some steps to make that generally known?
§ Mr. BUXTONI will consider the matter.