MR. MACDONALD CAMERON&c.) (Wick,asked the Postmaster General, Whether his attention has been called to a paragraph in The John O' Groat Journal, of the 3rd instant, drawing attention to the seriously defective nature of the Northern Mail service between Inverness and Wick, and that on the 27th ultimo the mail train was; 35 minutes late, on the 28th ultimo 15 minutes late, on the 29th ultimo eight hours late, on the 30th ultimo 10 minutes late, on the 1st instant 20 minutes late, and on the 2nd instant upwards of an hour late, and that on the 29th ultimo, although the connection was made by special train, yet the usual evening delivery of letters did not take place till the next morning; and, whether he will arrange for the more regular and rapid despatch of mails from Inverness to, Wick?
§ THE POSTMASTER GENERAL (Mr. RAIKES) (Cambridge University)In reply to the Question of the hon. Member, I have to state that my attention has not been called to the paragraph referred to; but the facts are simply as follow:—The mails to Wick are conveyed over a single line 305 miles long; and I am unable to admit that delays of a few minutes, such as occurred on the 27th, 28th, and 30th ultimo, and 1st instant, amount to a seriously defective service. Moreover, apart from the difficulties of maintaining exact punctuality on a single line of this great length, the service of trains from Perth to Inverness and Wick is dependent on the punctual arrival at Perth, during the busiest season of the year, of the mail train from Euston Square, running at high speed throughout the night, over a journey of 450 miles. In the delivery of mails at a point 757 miles from London, within a few minutes of the appointed time, there is—I think the House will agree with me in the opinion—very little to complain of the delay which occurred on the 29th ultimo was due to an accident on the Caledonian Railway, which blocked the main line for a considerable period. Such letters as could be sent forward from Perth, in advance of the delayed train, were duly delivered at Wick the same evening, while the letters which were not delivered until the next morning only reached Wick at 2 a.m. The delay of an hour on the 2nd instant appears to have been occasioned by the increase of traffic due to Bank Holiday movements, and a part only of the delay occurred on the Highland line.