§ MR. PETER M'DONALD (Sligo, N.)asked the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, What was the result of the Memorial, having 900 signatures, recently sent to the Postmaster General from the clergy and people of Gurteen, county Sligo, calling attention to the fact that the letters for Gurteen arriving at Bally-mote 642 by the mid-day mail from Dublin, are detained there for twenty-one hours; and, whether the Postmaster General will make arrangements for a mid-day delivery in the western towns off the line of Railway; as, if not, the acceleration of the mails will be of no advantage to the people in these places?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. HENRY H. FOWLER) (Wolverhampton, E.)There is only one post a day from Ballymote to Gurteen which carries the night mail letters, the letters brought by day mail not being numerous enough to warrant a second post. The Memorial referred to, which has received careful consideration, prays that the night mail messenger may be kept back at Ballymote for the day mail letters; but it was found on inquiry that a very large proportion of the letters for Gurteen are brought by night mail, and that such letters would be delayed between four and five hours if the post were not despatched from Ballymote until after the arrival of the day mail, and for that reason no change has been made. A day mail delivery in the rural districts far removed from the line of railway in the county of Sligo would, I regret to state, entail much greater expense than the correspondence would warrant.