§ MR. HENNIKER HEATON (Canterbury)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he can state the objections to the proposal of the Australasian Postmasters General for an exchange of postal orders between this country and their respective colonies; whether the risk of forgery is the sole objection; whether he has made inquiries as to the possibility of avoiding such risk by the means adopted in the case of bank notes and other securities; whether the Australasian Ministers are willing cheerfully to run the risk referred to; and, whether 1223 he will try the experiment of exchanging postal orders between this country and Australia for one year?
§ MR. HANBURYThe Postmaster General is not aware that any proposal has been made by the Australasian colonies generally for an exchange of postal orders between this country and the respective colonies, though two of these colonies—South Australia and Queensland—have made such proposals. The Postmaster General, therefore, has no knowledge that the Australasian colonies generally would be willing to run the risks which it is thought here might arise from the cashing of forged or stolen orders. In addition to the risk of forgery, there is the risk of theft. If postal orders were stolen here there might not be the same means of stopping payment in Australia as there is here. The cases of forged bank notes and forged postal orders are very different. The former are not, as a rule, negotiated by presentation to an agent of the bank, but to some private individual. The latter would be presented for payment at one of the thousands of local post offices, and the loss would thus probably fall on the post office either of the colony or of this country, as the case might be. The subject, however, is engaging the Postmaster General's attention, though he cannot at the present time hold out any hopes that he will be able to overcome the difficulties to which I have alluded.