§ MR. T. RICHARDSON (Hartlepool)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he can see his way to allow transactions of Scientific Institutions, sent out to the members thereof, to be sent through the post on the same favourable terms as newspapers?
§ MR. HANBURYThe newspaper rate is granted by the Act of 1870 to publications which fulfil certain conditions, the chief of which are that the publications should take place at intervals of not more than seven days, and that the contents consist wholly, or in great part, of political or other news, or of articles relating thereto, or to other current topics, with or without advertisements. The conditions could not be relaxed in favour merely of one particular class of the publications now excluded. It is estimated that the Department loses 1s. 1d. on each 100 newspapers passing through the post, and the loss on the 151,800,000 newspapers delivered in the United Kingdom last year was £82,225. Any general extension of the 200 newspaper privilege would involve so large a further loss of revenue that the Postmaster General does not see his way to comply with the request.