§ Sir R. Inglis,seeing the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his place, wished to ask him a question respecting a memorial presented by 1,600 solicitors against the proposed plan of opening the Post Office on Sundays. As the receipt of that memorial had not been acknowledged, the memorialists were anxious to have a statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the views of the Government on the subject.
The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, that the memorial to which the right hon. Baronet had alluded, was received on the 22d of January, 1839, and an answer returned to it on the day following but one. In consequence of some error it came back returned to the Treasury. No disrespect whatever was intended towards the memorialists. With respect to any intention on the part of the Government of opening the Post Office on Sundays there was not the slightest possible shadow of a ground for supposing that they had ever entertained the idea of opening the Post Office for the receipt and delivery of letters on Sundays, though that idea had been entertained by others. But with respect to delivering letters to those parties who might apply for them, that was a question that, perhaps, might be entertained; but on that he begged to reserve his opinion.
§ Subject dropped.