§ Mr. MACQUISTENasked the Post-master-General whether his attention has been called to a letter in the Press of 25th May, addressed to the chief engineer of the telephone service, narrating that 10 or 11 men were employed to instal one telephone in a house in Dalkeith and stating that under the regimés of the National Telephone Company one or two men would have made the installation in a forenoon instead of 10 men idling about it for a whole day; and will he bring these letters before the telephone inquiry at present sitting and investigate into the redundancy of staff and consider putting the inquiries department of the telegraphs and telephones under the control and orders of the commercial department (if any there be) in order that an attempt may be made to work these two departments upon commercial lines?
§ Mr. PEASEThe reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I shall be very pleased to bring these letters to the notice of the Select Committee on the telephone service now sitting. The allegations contained in these letters have been widely circulated in the Press although they are apparently based merely on hearsay and are found on investigation not to be in accord with the facts.