§ MR. BYRNEI beg to ask the Postmaster General whether he can state the exact financial position of the post office at Knockananna, County Wicklow; the amount of income accruing from its working; the weekly wages paid to the messenger; and if it is working at a loss, what guarantee would be required from the residents of Knockananna to save the Department from loss and pay the messenger seven shillings a week for calling every day at 5 p.m. and carrying the mails to meet the 6 p.m. post at Hacketstown?
§ SIR J. FERGUSSONThere is no post office at Knockananna, but a wall box is provided in which letters can be posted for despatch to Hacketstown in the morning. The messenger who delivers the letters receives 5s. a week, or £13 a year, and the revenue falls short of this expense by £1 11s. a year. Assuming that the messenger would be willing to make a collection of letters at Knockananna at 5 p.m. for wages of seven shillings instead of five shillings a week—which is very doubtful—the payment to be made under a guarantee would be £5 4s. 3d. for the first year.