§ MR. J. L. CAREW (Dublin, College Green)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether it was with the consent of the Post Office authorities that the time of departure of the Irish day mail train was altered from 7.30 a.m. to 7.15, in order to allow a Scotch connection to be made; whether, since the establishment of the Irish mail service in 1860, the day and night trains to and from London have been run at the same rate of speed; whether, under the proposed new time table, the day mail service is to be run at a slower speed than the night train; and, whether he will endeavour to have the day service run at the same speed as the proposed accelerated night service, and thus convenience the public by an hour's later start at Euston and Dublin respectively?
§ MR. HANBURYThe dispatch of the Irish day mail train from Euston was altered from 7.30 a.m. to 7.15 a.m. in 1867, but it was not until 1872 that the Irish train was utilised for the conveyance of the Scotch bags. It is the case that the Irish day and night trains have since 1860 been run at practically the same rate of speed. Under the new time table the acceleration of the trains will be confined to the night mail. The acceleration of the day mail trains would be attended with considerable additional expense, which the advantage to the mail service is not held to justify. The convenience of half-an-hour's later start from Dublin has been conceded to passengers under the new time table, but 1056 in regard to the dispatch from London the postal advantage is entirely on the side of maintaining the present dispatch of 7.15 a.m.