§ MR. R. N. FOWLERasked the Postmaster General, Whether it is necessary to destroy newspapers insufficiently stamped, when directed to the Colonies; and, whether an alteration could not be made in the regulation which requires that they should be posted within eight days of publication?
§ MR. MONSELL,in reply, said, he wished to point out that no means had otherwise been discovered of dealing 1520 with such newspapers, for it was impossible to ascertain who the senders of them were. Experience had shown that insufficiently-paid newspapers, if forwarded to the Colonies, would not, in the great number of instances, be taken in by the persons to whom they were addressed, but would be returned to this country, so that the Post Office would have to carry them both ways without receiving anything for so doing. Moreover, in some instances where the papers passed through the United States, a charge would be made by that country. The Post Office took every means in its power to make proper regulations as to the proper posting of newspapers, and also to make these regulations known both at home and in the colonies, and the number of papers so insufficiently stamped was constantly decreasing. The reason why it was required that newspapers should be posted within eight days of publication was to prevent a vast number of newspapers being posted just before the despatch of the mail, which would have the effect of taxing the energies of the office to an undue extent. He could hold out no hope that this system would be changed.