§ MR. BIGGAR (for Mr. T. P. O'CONNOR)asked the Postmaster General, Whether his attention has been called to the unsatisfactory state of the postal arrangements now existing in the district of Partry, Ballinrobe, county Mayo; whether it is a fact that there are only two sub-offices in the vicinity of Ballinrobe, one of them being four miles from the last-named place, and the other seven miles further on, viz. at Tourmakeady; whether it is a fact that there is no office between Tourmakeady and Maam, a distance of twenty to twenty-five miles; whether all the inhabitants of Maamtrasna, Derrypark, and the Partry Mountains, including the police of at least a dozen barracks, huts, and "protection posts," are compelled by the absence of postal accommodation to drive to the Tourmakeady office; whether it is a fact that there is no money order office at Tourmakeady, and that the poor people in that district, and to the west of it, who desire to change money orders are obliged to go into Ballinrobe, a distance in some instances of at least thirty Irish miles; whether it is a fact that only one postboy, at a salary of 18s. a-week, is employed in the delivery of letters and parcels between Ballinrobe and Tourmakeady, and is compelled to travel twenty-two Irish miles every day, on some days carrying a weight of nearly 56 pounds; whether the smallness of his salary precludes such postboy from obtaining assistance in the carry- 1786 ing of heavy parcels; whether the Postmaster General is aware of the inconvenience resulting to the inhabitants of the district of Partry, Ballinrobe, from the non-existence of a Sunday post, while Sunday postal services are in existence in the rural districts surrounding Partry; and, whether he will inquire into the grievances set forth in this Question, and will take steps to insure the speedy removal of such grievances?
§ MR. FAWCETTI have received no complaints as to the unsatisfactory state of the postal arrangements in the district of Partry, county Mayo. It is true there are only two sub-offices in the vicinity referred to—namely, at Partry and Tourmakeady; but the vicinity is very sparsely populated, and the amount of correspondence is very limited. It is a fact that there is no office between Tourmakeady and Maam in a direct line; still the sub-offices at Aasleagle, Leenane, Clonbur, and Curnamona supply parts of the district lying between the two places. As regards the want of postal accommodation felt by the inhabitants and the police at Maamtrasna, Derrypark, and the Partry Mountains, I must ask the hon. Member to be good enough to supply me with more definite information on this subject. A money order office has been authorized at Tourmakeady, which will be opened on the 1st of August. The wages of the rural postman between Ballinrobe and Tourmakeady have been raised to £1 a-week, and as he uses a horse the weight carried is not beyond his ability. In regard to the absence of a Sunday post to Tourmakeady, if a Memorial on the subject be forwarded, and it should be found that the Memorialists receive as much as two-thirds of the correspondence, the proportion required by the rule affecting the establishment of Sunday posts, I shall be happy to comply with their request.