Mr. Steadman’s Motion was lost by a vote of 159 to 91. Eighty-six members of the Opposition and two Government supporters voted for the Motion.[188]
Civil Servants have “Friends” in the Commons
On June 1, 1899, Mr. Steadman moved the reduction of the Postmaster General’s salary by $500, by way of asking the House of Commons to instruct the Government to appoint a Select Committee of the House of Commons to investigate the grievances of the Post Office employees.[189] He said: “It stands to reason that a Departmental Committee [Tweedmouth Committee] composed of officials, which contained only one impartial member—a Member of the House of Lords—could not be satisfactory to the 160,000 male and female employees in the Post Office service…. Every department of the Post Office service now has its organization. All these organizations right through the departments have their coaches and organizers; true, they are not yet directly represented here in this House, but they have friends here who are prepared to take up their quarrels.”
Captain Norton[190] seconded the Motion. He spoke of the fact that any telegraphist could obtain $30 a year extra pay by making himself competent to discharge the duties of a letter sorter, and another $30 by passing an examination on the technical questions of telegraphy. He asserted that it was a grievance that the men had to acquire, in their leisure hours, the additional proficiency in question; and that only 46 per cent. of the men were able to pass the examinations on the technical questions involved in telegraphy.
Mr. Maddison[191] supported Mr. Steadman’s Motion with the words: “For my part, I have always had some hesitation in taking up the cases of men employed by the State, because undoubtedly there is a sort of notion that, because they are employed by the State, they can make such demands as they like, because they are paid out of a very full Treasury. I know that every half penny of that money comes out of the general taxation of the country, and I agree that we are here as the guardians of the public purse. The Right Honorable Gentleman has never denied that we are here as the guardians of these men’s interest, and it has not been shown that the public interest is of greater importance than the interest of these men, who do so much for the prosperity of the Country…. In this case we want a non-official committee, although I confess that I do not think such an inquiry will put an end to disputes in the future.”
Mr. Hanbury, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said that if the Government yielded to the demand for a House of Commons Committee in this case, there would be a House of Commons Committee sitting practically every session of Parliament. The points now under discussion had been under agitation for four, five, or six years. Before the Tweedmouth Committee entered upon its duties, and before the Norfolk-Hanbury Conference with Members of the House of Commons, the Government had a distinct understanding with Members of the House that the decisions come to should be accepted. Mr. Hanbury continued: “It is somewhat difficult, no doubt, to draw a comparison between what the Post Office pays and what is paid by private firms. But I will give one comparison, at any rate, and I think it is the only one possible. A few years ago we took over from the National Telephone Company the employees, principally women, who were engaged on the [long-distance] trunk wires, and I venture to say that, counting in the pensions we pay, these people are receiving from 30 per cent. to 40 per cent. larger salaries than when they were in the employment of the company. Honorable Members who draw comparisons between servants of the State and others, are too apt to forget the great facilities Post Office servants get, such as constant employment, large pensions, good holidays, for which they are paid, and large sick-pay and sick-leave. If these are added together, it will be found that the Post Office is paying wages considerably above the level of those paid by outside employers. I should like to say one further word with regard to this application for a Committee of this House. Why should we have it at all? Let me speak with perfect frankness about this thing. We have already had two Committees; we have also had a great deal of pressure brought to bear upon Members; that pressure is becoming almost intolerable. The honorable Member for Newington posed as the just judge and said: ‘I am weary of all this agitation; let us try to put an end to it.’ Well I am not weary of the agitation; so long as I am satisfied, as I am now, that everything has been done that ought to be done for the men, I will not yield to agitation. I say at once that I do myself believe that, considering everything, and that full inquiry has already been held, the only advantage these men could derive from a House of Commons Committee would be that the agitation and pressure, now distributed over the whole House, would be focussed and concentrated upon the Select Committee. I, for one, am not prepared to grant a Committee of that kind.”
Mr. Steadman’s Motion was lost by a vote of 157 to 107; ninety-seven members of the Opposition and nine Government supporters voting for the Motion.[192]
Mr. Steadman’s third demand for a Select Committee