HC Deb 06 May 1856 vol 142 cc16-7
MR. LYONS MONTGOMERY

said, he would beg to ask the hon. Secretary to the Treasury if any steps had been taken to forward the night mail from Mullingar to Longford by rail instead of by coach, as at present carried; also, whether he would lay upon the table of the House any correspondence that might have passed on the subject between the Post Office authorities and the Midland Great Western Railway Company?

MR. WILSON

said, that in the particular case referred to, the sum demanded was so large, and the convenience offered so comparatively small, that the authorities at the Post Office did not feel themselves justified in acceding to such a demand. A correspondence had ensued between the Railway Company and the Post Office authorities, and there would be no objection to the production of it if the hon. Member would move for it. The fact was that very great difficulty had been experienced between the Post Office and Railway Companies in Ireland as to the service for carrying the mails, and it was therefore the intention of the Government, in the course of the present year, to bring in a measure placing more power in the hands of the Government to demand from the railways more accommodation than at present they were disposed to concede.