§ MR. MACNEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask the Postmaster General whether his attention has been directed to the fact that, although the Donegal Railway 1120 Company have, since the narrow gauging of their line from Stranorlar to Strabane, re-arranged their train service, so that a train leaves Killybegs at 11.15 a.m. instead of 9.15 a.m., and Donegal at 12.35 p.m. instead of 11 a.m., to catch the limited mail train to Dublin at Strabane, the postal authorities continue to despatch the mails from Killybegs at 7.30 a.m., and from Donegal at 10.30 a.m., though the later train is available without any extra cost, thus depriving the public of several hours for writing letters; whether he is aware that all the mails for the district west of Donegal Town are carried by a train arriving at Killybegs several hours later than the mails were formerly delivered by car; whether this inconvenience arises from the refusal of the Treasury to approve of an offer of the Railway Company, for a very small additional cost, to run a special train conveying the mails several hours earlier than they had formerly been delivered by car; and whether, having regard to the grave inconvenience entailed on business men by the present system, steps will be taken for the acceleration of the delivery of the mails in this district?
§ THE POSTMASTER GENERAL (Mr. A. MORLEY,) Nottingham, E.I find that the alteration of train service referred to came into effect on the 16th instant, but the Railway Company have intimated that they will revert to the former arrangement on the 1st proximo. It is true that the night mails now arrive by railway at some places on the Killybegs line later than they used to arrive by car. There is compensation for this, however, in the later despatch from those places; and longer intervals for reply are now afforded. There has been no refusal of terms offered by the Company for an improved service, and negotiations to that end are pending which I hope may be brought to a successful issue.