§ MR. DANEI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Post master General, whether the postal authorities have communicated with the Great Northern Railway Company of Ireland respecting the carriage by rail of the mails to and from Bundoran and Ballyshannon, in the county of Donegal, and adjacent districts, now carried by car to the great inconvenience of the residents of those districts; and, if so, with what result; and whether these districts will receive from the 1st proximo the benefits of the accelerated mail system?
§ * MR. HANBURYThe Post Office has communicated with the Great Northern Railway Company of Ireland respecting the conveyance of the night mails to and from Bundoran and Hallyshannon by railway instead of by car, but it is found that the expense involved in the establishment of suitable trains would be altogether disproportionate to the revenue available. With regard to the accleration to take effect on the 1st proximo—that is of the day mail services in Ireland—the Department has nut yet received any definite reply from the railway company as to whether they can extend the benefits of the acceleration to the district, between Dundalk and Enniskillen, but there is, it is feared, little probability of including Ballyshannon and Bundoran and other places beyond Enniskillen in the arrangement.
§ MR. HORACE PLUNKETT (Dublin Co., S.)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he can state to 931 the House the reasons which caused the Postmaster General to refuse to grant the request of the deputation from the Association, of Chambers of Commerce of the United Kingdom, which, waited upon him on Tuesday the 6th instant, viz., that the whole of the two hours gained by the recent acceleration of the Irish mails might be devoted every day to increase the time in Ireland between the arrival and dispatch of the mails, so that merchants and others might have good time to answer their letters by return of post?
§ * MR. HANBURYThe reason was the practical impossibility of the proposal. The down night mails cannot all be ready before 8.30 at the earliest. At 8.30 the Scotch mail starts, and as an interval of at least 15 minutes is necessary for safely, the Irish, mail cannot start before 8.45. The up night mail leaves Dublin 50 minutes later than hitherto. This extension of time has been obtained by connecting the up night mail at Crewe with a later train than hitherto for the north of Scotland, which means some sacrifice of postal convenience. The severance of the connection with, the north which would follow any later dispatch from Dublin would be wholly without justification. Besides that, the arrival of the Irish mail in London would be later than formerly, and a smaller proportion of the letters would fall into the first, delivery. The time of departure from London of the night down train and the time of arrival at Crewe and London of the night up train are thus fixed conditions of the problem, and (with the contract margin of two hours and five minutes at Holyhead between the arrival of the up mail and the departure of the down mail) make a larger extension of time in Ireland impracticable.