§ MR. HENNIKER HEATON (Canterbury)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, will he explain why it is that a pattern or sample sent from one point to another within the United Kingdom is required to have the name, trade, and address of the sender printed or conspicuously stamped (not written) on the outside of the wrapper or label, on pain of a fine twice the deficient postage at the letter rate, whereas in the case of a pattern or sample sent to, or received from, a foreign country in the Postal Union it is not demanded or necessary that the trade of the sender should be printed, stamped, or written upon the wrapper or label, and the address and other particulars allowed may be in writing; and, whether he will modify in these respects the inland pattern post regulations, so as to place British traders on the same footing as their foreign competitors?
§ MR. HANBURYThe object of the inland regulation to which the him. Member refers, is to insure the sample post being used only by persons engaged in trade. In the case of foreign sample packets, it could not be adopted without the concurrence of the other countries 252 belonging to the Postal Union. The British trader is really not hampered by this difference of practice, as all he has to do is to buy an indiarubber stamp to use, which probably gives him much less trouble than writing his name and other particulars on every parcel.