§ MR. DALYI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he is aware that letters posted in Manchester and sent viâ Dublin reach Carrickmacross, Ballybay, and Castleblaney about 10 o'clock the following morning, and if sent via Belfast do not reach towns mentioned until about 6 p.m.; whether he i saware that the sending of letters viâ Belfast instead of Dublin is a great inconvenience to dealers; and, if he will direct that letters in future be sent viâ Dublin for above towns?
§ MR. HANBURYLetters for Carrickmacross, Ballybay, and Castleblaney posted at Manchester before 9.30 p.m. are forwarded viâ Dublin and reach their destination about 10 a.m. the following morning. It is only letters posted too late for the Dublin Mail which are forwarded viâ Stranraer and Belfast, and some of these, at any rate, obtain a distinct advantage, while none of them suffer any disadvantage from being so forwarded.
§ MR. HANBURYThat is no part of the hon. Member's question on the paper. If he will put his question upon the paper I will ascertain for him.
§ MR. D. MACALEESE (Monaghan, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, if it has been brought to his notice that recent changes made in the carriage of mails between Monaghan and Ballybay have worked out much to the disadvantage of residents in the sub-districts; is he aware that letters posted at Dunraymond remain 24 hours before being dispatched; and, will he either revert to the former practice or devise a new scheme by which letters may be 733 received and replied to within reasonable limits of time?
§ MR. HANBURYDunraymond, a small place for which there are on an average only six or seven letters a day, is on the route which was formerly taken by the mail car from Monaghan to Ballybay and Castleblaney, and in that position enjoyed the advantage of an early delivery in the morning and a late despatch at night. With a view to an acceleration of the service to Castleblaney and other places in the neighbourhood, a fresh route was recently adopted for the mail car, and Dunraymond lost the advantage which it had previously enjoyed from the fact of its being upon the road traversed by the mail car. The arrangement now made for Dunraymond provides for a delivery of the letters in the morning by a postman on foot, but the cost of maintaining a collection in the evening did not appear to be warranted. Further enquiry shall, however, be made in order to ascertain whether some interval for reply cannot be afforded.