§ MR. MAURICE HEALYI beg to ask the Postmaster General if he can give any figures showing the comparative volume of the mails transmitted between Dublin and Belfast, as compared with the mails transmitted between Dublin and Cork, including in the latter the American mails?
§ SIR J. FERGUSSONI am unable to give the precise figures, but will have Returns made. I am sorry to find that I misled the hon. Member the other day in stating, in reply to his supplementary question, that the volume of mails on the Northern and Southern lines, of which I spoke, included all the through mails. I so read the information which I had received. The fact is, as I understand, that the volume of local mails carried by the two lines is not very different, while the American mails would render that over the Great Southern and Western much larger, and heavy mails are in addition carried to Belfast by the Stranraer route.
§ MR. MAURICE HEALYWhen will the right hon. Gentleman be prepared to give me the information?
§ SIR J. FERGUSSONI have directed that an account shall be kept. The letters are not weighed; they are only counted. After the holidays I shall be able to give the hon. Member the information.
§ DR. TANNERI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury if he can grant the Motion for to-day relating to the Irish Mail Service?
§ SIR J. FERGUSSONI will answer this question. I cannot give the Correspondence between the Post Office and a Railway Company. It is not usual to publish Correspondence relating to a 1114 Departmental arrangement, but the results are known to Parliament.
§ DR. TANNERSeeing that there is such a difference of opinion between the Treasury and the Post Office, will the right hon. Gentleman not afford us an opportunity of ascertaining where the blame lies?
§ SIR J. FERGUSSONI have already given the House all the information I have on the subject. The House knows quite as much as I do about it.