In 1887, one M'Dougall, a second class sorter in Liverpool, was made a first class sorter, being promoted over the heads of 14 men whom the Liverpool postmaster had reported to be "not qualified for the duties of the higher class." On March 31, 1887, Mr. Bradlaugh brought the matter up in the House of Commons, by means of a question addressed to the Postmaster General. He was not satisfied with the answer that the men passed over had been reported "not qualified for promotion."[298] Therefore, on June 6, 1887, in Committee of Supply, on the Post Office Vote, Mr. Bradlaugh again brought up the case of the 14 Liverpool sorters who had been passed over. He said he had personally investigated the qualifications of the men, and had found "that none of them warranted the answer given by the Postmaster General" [on March 31].[299] Mr. Bradlaugh also brought up the case of one Hegnett, who had been made assistant superintendent over the heads of 19 persons "who were his seniors by many years." Also the case of one Helsby, promoted over the heads of 11 persons. Also the case of one Miller, promoted over one Richardson, "who had been acting as assistant superintendent for years with the salary of a Supervising Clerk only." Mr. Bradlaugh spoke of the Committee of Supply as "the only tribunal that can overrule the Postmaster General." On June 17, Mr. Bradlaugh again intervened on behalf of the 14 men who had been passed over. Before the Tweedmouth Committee, Mr. F. T. Crosse, a sorting clerk at Bristol, and one of the spokesmen of the Post Office employees, said: "Macdougall, Liverpool, a second class sorting clerk, was promoted to the first class over the heads of 14 men, his seniors. Mr. Bradlaugh, M. P., brought the matter up in Parliament during the discussion on the Estimates. The result of Mr. Bradlaugh's intervention was that 11 of the 14 men passed over were promoted in a batch six months later." Mr. Joyce, Third Secretary to General Post Office, London, said it was true that "very soon afterward," 11 of the 14 men were promoted.[300] "A great point was stretched" in favor of 5 of the 11 men. Those 5 men were technically called single duty men, and since 1881 no sorting clerk had been promoted to the first class [at Liverpool] who could not perform dual duty. Although these five men were single duty men, and therefore unable to rotate with others, which was a "great disability," they were promoted by reason of Mr. Bradlaugh's intervention.