§ Mr. J. P. FARRELLasked the Postmaster-General whether it is now an official crime, for which a servant of the General Post Office can be visited with dismissal or suspension, to lay before him any complaint as to overwork, underpay, or matters affecting their health in the Service; and whether any Member of this House is to be debarred from the exercise of an old privilege in these cases, that of championing the cases of persons so aggrieved, by reason of the fact that if they do so the victim will be at once visited with dismissal or so harassed by officials as to render their position untenable?
§ Mr. BUXTONThe answer to the first part of the question is an emphatic negative. I am always willing to consider any complaint or alleged grievance, and the fact of making a representation locally, or to headquarters, or to myself personally, in no way prejudices the officer who makes it. As regards the second part of the question, the rule of the, Service is that until an appeal on any matter has been made to the Postmaster-General and been decided by him, an officer is strictly forbidden to approach him through a Member of Parliament or other person in regard to it; and should an irregular application be received, the officer on whose behalf it is made will be liable to censure or punishment. This regulation is well known in the Service, and I am confident that Members approve of it. It is obviously in their interest, as well as in that of the Post Office Service.