§ Mr. OGDENasked the Postmaster-General whether his declared intention of taking over the whole of the staff of the National Telephone Company includes the senior officers of the company; and, if not, whether, in view of the admitted experience and ability of such officers and the importance in the public interest of continuing a satisfactory management of the telephone system, he is prepared to reconsider the matter?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELWhen I said that I would extend the promise which Lord Stanley read in the House of Commons, on 9th August, 1905, by agreeing to take over members of the National Telephone Company's staff, even although they had had less than two years' service with the company, it was not my intention to extend it also by promising to take over officers in receipt of £700 per annum and upwards who were specifically excluded from Lord Stanley's undertaking. No doubt among those officers there will be some not near the age of retirement whose services would be of value to the department, and I shall carefully consider any proposals they may make to me to enter the Post Office at salaries bearing proper relations to those drawn by senior officers already serving in the Department.