MR. ASCEOFT (Oldham)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he is aware that, although the parish of Scawby, in Lincolnshire, is only 88 miles from Shaw and Oldham,, it takes two days for the delivery of a letter; and whether, considering that numerous complaints have been made in the past, and the difficulty from time to time removed by the postal authorities, and that it has been proved that the letters can be satisfactorily delivered in 24 hours, he will make inquiries with a view to the delivery being regularly carried out in the future?
§ MR. HANBURYLetters posted at Shaw before 8.12 p.m. and at Oldham before 9.30 p.m. should in the ordinary course be delivered at Scawby, in Lincolnshire, on the following morning. In the reverse direction letters posted at Scawby before 5.42 p.m. should be delivered at Oldham or at Shaw on the following morning. As the honourable Member was informed by a letter from the Post Office in November last, the delays which have occurred in the delivery of letters passing between the places in question have been mainly due to the late running of trains, and it is impossible to avoid occasional delay from this cause. It is found, however, that in one or two recent cases letters have unfortunately been mis-sorted in the Post Office, and the Postmaster General has caused proper notice to be taken of the errors.