§ MR. LAINGasked the Postmaster General, What steps are being taken to restore telegraphic communication with Shetland, which has been for some time interrupted, to the serious detriment of the trade and fisheries of the district; and, whether, when the Post Office has undertaken to provide telegraphic communication for a considerable district, it is their duty to maintain such communication in a state of efficiency, and to restore it without delay if interrupted from unavoidable causes?
§ MR. FAWCETTSir, I regret as much as my hon. Friend that the cable to Shetland has not been restored. The delay has been occasioned by the impossibility, under existing arrangements, of obtaining a cable ship, as all the suitable cable ships are abroad. We have now secured one which is on its way home from the West Indies, and the moment it arrives it will be sent to Shetland.