§ MR. HENNIKER HEATON (Canterbury)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, (1) whether he is aware that some postmasters in the Metropolitan district insist on charging the word bonheur in a telegram as two words, and the word "alright" also as two words; (2) whether the contraction mp is in the body of a message charged as one word, but mp, whether written as one or two words in the address, and referring to a Member of Parliament, is charged as two words; (3) whether any instructions have been issued to the officials of the Department to prevent the conflicting charges now made for the names of racehorses and stocks, such as Le Var or West Australia; and, (4) whether he will direct that clear and definite rules, embodying one intelligible principle, shall be substituted for those on the subject in the Post Office Guide?
§ *MR. HANBURYThe Postmaster General is not aware that the word "bonheur" has been charged for as two words. If the hon Member will bring specific cases to the Postmaster General's notice he will cause inquiry to be made. The Postmaster General is also not aware that there is such a word as "alright." "All right" would properly be charged as two words. The answer to the second paragraph of the hon. Member's Question is in the affirmative. No such instructions as those referred to in the third paragraph have been issued. If the hon. Member will inform the Postmaster General of instances of conflicting charges being made, the matter will be inquired into. The Postmaster General is not aware that the rules in the "Post Office Guide" as to counting have not been found clear and sufficient for all practical purposes. The anomalies which the hon. Member so frequently points out are the result of concessions, and if a hard-and-fast rule were to be laid down, these concessions must be withdrawn. The result would be to increase the charges for telegrams, in which compound words and names, now accepted as one word, appear.
§ MR. HENNIKER HEATONasked the right hon. Gentleman whether he could explain why "Hyde Park" was charged as one word and "Charing-Cross" as two words [laughter]; and 61 further, on what ground the Department charged "father-in-law" as three word and "mother-in-law" as one? [Loud laughter.]
§ [No answer was given.]