MR. MACDONALD CAMERON (Wick)I beg to ask the Postmaster General whether complaints have reached him that a parcel of winter underclothing was sent from the Strand to Upper Street, Islington, a distance of two miles, on the 20th December last, but was undelivered up to the 8th January; whether the Post Office Authorities refused to make any compensation, as other carriers must have done, for the loss caused by the delay; and if it be true that the Departmental excuse was that the parcel had no address on it; and, if so, how it found its way to the Northern District post office; and whether, prior to its delivery, its original wrapper had been removed and another substituted?
§ *THE POSTMASTER GENERAL (Mr. RAIKES,) University of CambridgeThe non-delivery in due course of the parcel referred to by the hon. Member arose from the absence of an address. How the address became detached in course of post is not known. It was apparently written on a label, which, presumably, was not firmly attached to the parcel. The enclosing of the parcel in a fresh cover was an act of grace on the part of the Post Office for the greater security of the parcel, and for enabling the address, when ultimately furnished by the sender, to be written upon it. No blame attaches to the Department, and no grounds for compensation exist.