§ DR. CLARK (Caithness)asked the Postmaster General, Whether it is the case that the Post Office Authorities recently agreed to pay £2,600 per annum for running a branch mail from Aberdeen to Keith, in connection with the down London Day Mail; and, if so, on what grounds they refuse to accelerate the Day Mail from Perth to Wick and Thurso, which carries a heavier mail, and serves a much larger population?
§ THE POSTMASTER GENERAL (Mr. RAIKES) (Cambridge University)The train from Aberdeen to Keith was put on to secure two objects—the including of the night mails from Edinburgh and Glasgow in the first delivery of letters, and the establishing of a through post from Aberdeen to Inverness, so forming a connecting link with the far North. I have been unable to entertain the question of accelerating the Day Mail from Perth to Wick and Thurso, because the expense of serving the district is already so large in proportion to the revenue from the correspondence, that further outlay is not warranted. Every case of this kind must be dealt with on its merits; and, in any comparison, it is 502 necessary to take into account all the circumstances.