§ SIR J. LENG (Dundee)I beg to ask the Postmaster General whether, in view of the early termination of the American mail contracts, he will take into consideration that the route from New York to Liverpool, by way of Moville, is 62 knots shorter than the Summer route by Queenstown, thus saving three hours' steaming to the fastest steamers; that Moville is much nearer Belfast and Dublin than Queens-town; and that the frequent steamers between Belfast and Greenock and Ardrossan, Larue, and Stranraer, would enable the delivery of Scotch letters to be made on the average 12 hours earlier than by the existing arrangements?
§ * MR. A. MORLEY; The question seems to be based upon the assumption that the contract service viâ Queenstown is about to terminate; but such is not the case. If it were terminated the advantages of all available routes would, of course, be considered so far as the outward mails are concerned; but as regards the homeward mails, to which the question appears particularly to point, the service is not provided by the British Post Office, but by that of the United States.
§ CAPTAIN DONELAN (Cork, E)May I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman is aware that there is no direct railway communication between Moville and either Belfast or Dublin; that the quickest service between Moville and Dublin occupied six and a-half hours, whereas the service between Kingsbridge and Queenstown takes four and a-half hours; and that Queenstown is nearer to New York than Moville?
§ * MR. A. MORLEYIt is, I believe, the case that Queenstown is nearer New York by 10 miles. but the question does not arise, as the contract is not to be terminated.