asked the Postmaster-General how many temporary assistants were employed in the Belfast General Post Office for the Christmas postal traffic in the years 1938 and 1939; and what percentages of the said numbers were ex-service men?

The numbers of temporary assistants employed at the Belfast Post Office during the period of Christmas pressure in 1938 and 1939 were 966 and 1,053, respectively, of whom 90 per cent. and 62 per cent., respectively, were ex-service men. On both occasions all suitable ex-service men, whose names were put forward by the Employment Exchange, were engaged. There were, of course, fewer ex-service men available last Christmas owing to the splendid contribution made to the fighting Forces by Northern Ireland.