§ MR. HENNIKER HEATON (Canterbury)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether it has been the rule for clerks in post offices to refuse to give receipts for express letters and express parcels; and, whether any precaution is taken to guard against loss or theft of such letters or parcels, or to furnish the sender with means of proving that he dispatched the letter or parcel in case of loss or theft, with a view to the recovery of compensation?
§ MR. HANBURYIt has not been the practice hitherto to give receipts for express letters any more than for other letters, and experience has shown that there is no demand on the part of the public for them. Such receipts are in fact not necessary, because the Post Office keeps an accurate record or way bill of every express letter at every stage, which in itself would be a proof, for all purposes of compensation, of the posting of the letter, and also affords a sufficient guard against theft, by fixing the responsibility for the articles conveyed upon the messenger performing the service.