§ MR. O'SULLIVANasked the Postmaster General, If it is a fact that postmasters, letter carriers, and post runners in Dublin, and all other parts in Ireland, are compelled to work on Sundays as well as week days, and from which work the postmasters and letter carriers of London are exempt; and, if so, will he inform the House what grounds there are for the non-observance of the Sabbath day in Ireland more than that of the English metropolis?
§ LORD JOHN MANNERS, in reply, said, that postmasters, letter carriers, and post runners in Dublin and in other parts of Ireland had to do some work on Sundays. That rule was not confined to Ireland; it prevailed throughout the United Kingdom, with the exception of London, where, from time immemorial, no letters were despatched on Sunday. In accordance with the Report of the Commission of 1871, Sunday labour in the rural districts was dispensed with on the application of two-thirds of the recipients of letters, and in towns at the request of the inhabitants through their local authorities. The reason why there was a Sunday delivery in Dublin was that no such application had been made by the Corporation.