§ MR. HOGAN (Tipperary, Mid)I beg to ask the Postmaster General whether he has received a Memorial from firms in the United Kingdom interested in the regular arrival and prompt delivery of the mails from the British West Indies and South America; whether the incoming mail when it arrives at Plymouth, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., is detained for several hours owing to the discontinuance of provision for a special train, thereby delaying the delivery of letters in England and Scotland for a whole business day; and whether he will take such steps, by providing a special train when necessary, as will carry out the requirements of the contract, and ensure the earliest possible delivery of the West Indian and South American mails in the United Kingdom?
§ MR. A. MORLEYSuch a Memorial has been received and duly answered. When the mails in reaching Plymouth miss the night mail train to London, they have to be detained for some hours to go by the next ordinary train; and the use of a special train for them is not, in my opinion, warranted unless an interval for reply by the next outgoing mail is to be obtained by that means only. The delay does not amount to a whole business day. In London, Bir- 562 mingham, and other places it is only a few hours. In Scotland the letters, instead of being delivered late in the day after their arrival at Plymouth, are delivered the following morning. I am not aware of any provision in the Mail Contract requiring the use of special trains.