§ MR. MAURICE HEALYI beg to ask the Postmaster General, with reference to the practice in cases where special mail trains with American mails are sent from Queenstown to Kingstown of keeping the special mails at Kings-bridge until the ordinary mail is being sent to Kingstown, whether on Friday, 630 the 11th instant, a special mail train carrying the mails landed at Queenstown by the Campania reached Kingsbridge at 6.7 p.m., and was kept there until the ordinary mail train left for Kingstown, with the result that on its arrival, in addition to the ordinary mail, 440 sacks of American mails had to be shipped, the mail boat being thus delayed 31 minutes in starting, and there being a general delay of half an hour all through up to London; and whether an arrangement will now be made to send forward such special mails to Kingstown at once without waiting for the ordinary mail, and thus delaying the whole service?
§ MR. A. MORLEYThe Campania arrived off Queenstown at 30 minutes after noon on Friday, the 11th instant; that is, before the hours fixed for employing the special service through to Loudon (2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday). The mails were in time for conveyance by the ordinary afternoon mail train from Queenstown, and they would, in the ordinary course, have been sent by that train. They wore, however, forwarded to Kingsbridge by a special passenger train run by the Great Southern and Western Railway Company for their own purposes. It was not considered necessary to run the mails on by special train from Kingsbridge to Kingstown Pier, whence the Irish Night Mail Packet started only 17 minutes—not 31 minutes —late for Holyhead. There were about 400 bags of American mails to be disembarked, and the train left Holyhead Pier 19 minutes late. Seven minutes more were lost on the journey to Euston, where the train arrived 26 minutes late. I am not prepared to lay down any general rule in the sense indicated in the second paragraph; but it is obvious that, in ordering special trains for postal purposes, regard must be had to the degree of advantage to be gained.
§ MR. MAURICE HEALYIs it the fact that in all cases where the special train was not run from Queenstown to Kingsbridge the mails were kept until the ordinary train?
§ MR. A. MORLEYI cannot say; but, if the hon. Member wishes, I will ascertain.
§ MR. MACARTNEY (Antrim, S.)What is the reason for stopping the special mail trains with American mails 631 for eight minutes at Westland Row? I believe it is constantly done.
§ MR. A. MORLEYI think it is the action of the Railway Company, and not of the Post Office.
§ MR. MAURICE HEALYHas the right hon. Gentleman entered into negotiations, as promised, with the Railway Company with a view to having the mails sent forward from Kingsbridge direct to Kingstown?
§ MR. A. MORLEYThe company appear to be averse to the proposal.