§ MR. C. W. CAYZER (Barrow-in-Furness)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, if he is aware that Mr. Joseph Huartson and Mr. Walter Cooper, who have been for many years resident in Barrow-in-Furness, their residences being near the post office and the former being well-known as the secretary of the Agricultural Society, who are the only persons on the Burgess Roll holding their respective names, and who have for several years received telegrams 259 addressed "Joseph Huartson, Barrow-in-Furness," and "Walter Cooper, Barrow-in-Furness," have recently received notice from the Post Office that telegrams so addressed will not be delivered owing to insufficient address, the Post Office notice saying they cannot deliver the telegram owing to being insufficiently addressed with their names, designation, and correct address; will he explain why the Post Office are declining to deliver telegrams in which only the Christian name and surname of the addressee and the name of the town are given, with the object of securing payment of £1 1s. per annum for registering an address; and whether he will instruct the Post Office officials at Barrow-in-Furness to take the same steps to deliver telegrams as they do in the case of letters?
§ * THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr R. W. BANBURY,) PrestonThese gentlemen have for several years received telegrams addressed "Huartson, Barrow-in-Furness (not Joseph Huartson, Barrow-in-Furness), and "Walter Cooper, Barrow-in-Furness." This, however was done without the knowledge of the Department in London, and as soon as the attention of the London Office was drawn to it, directions were given to stop the practice. Mr. Huartson and Mr. Cooper accordingly received notice on the 1st October last, and were given until the 1st of January to effect registration. The Department takes some trouble to deliver telegrams the addresses of which appear to be defective by accident and not by design; but it would be contrary to the interests of the public that it should allow its officers' time to be spent in procuring the delivery of telegrams which are systematically sent with insufficient addresses. Mr. Joseph Huartson has a notification printed on his letter paper that his telegraphic address is "Huartson, Barrow-in-Furness," and Mr. Cooper has a notification that his telegraphic address is "Walter Cooper, Barrow." These eases, therefore, are not cases of addresses defective by any accident. These gentlemen seek to obtain for nothing the advantage of an abbreviated address, for which other people have to pay one guinea a year, and the Postmaster General does not think he would be acting fairly if he did not require them to pay the prescribed fee.