§ MR. J. HENNIKER HEATON (Canterbury)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether a circular letter from the Postmaster General of Canada was sent to Great Britain and to the Colonial and Dependencies of the Empire announcing the intention of the Dominion Government to reduce their postal charges to three cents, or 1½d., per letter, for the purpose of encouraging trade and social relations; will he explain why the postal authorities of this country brought pressure to bear on Canada to withdraw their proposal for this reduction; whether England and the Colonies and Dependencies of the Empire would suffer any monetary loss whatever by the action of Canada; whether he is aware that several of the Colonies and Dependencies of the Empire had assented to Canada's action in reducing the postage; whether a dispatch was sent to Canada giving reasons for objecting to Canada reducing her postage rates; and whether the Postmaster General will take care to get the assent of the Cabinet before forcing Canada to adopt the higher rate?
§ MR. HANBURYThe Postmaster General received from the Canadian Post Office an announcement of its intention to reduce the letter postage to three cents—not per letter, but per ounce. He has no knowledge in what form that intention was communicated to the other Colonies and Dependencies of the Empire. The Postmaster General explained to the Canadian Post Office that the consent of this country and of the Colonies was necessary before Canada could properly reduce her postage on letters to them. There would be some loss of collections 1367 on unpaid and insufficiently paid letters which England and the Colonies would sustain by the reduction of the rate and the increase of the weight allowed for a single letter, and there might be heavy indirect losses arising from the pressure which the proposed action of Canada would bring to bear on the rest of the Empire to follow in her steps. The principal objection to the proposal, however, is that the isolated action of any one Colony must prejudice the consideration of a uniform system throughout the Empire. The Postmaster General is not aware that several Colonies and Dependencies of the Empire have assented to Canada's action, nor has he any reason to think that such is the case. There has been a good deal of correspondence between the Imperial and Canadian Post Offices on this subject, and on that of a conference which it is proposed to hold in London to discuss the question of postage rates within the Empire. The Postmaster General will continue to act in accordance with the decision of Her Majesty's Government on the subject.
§ MR. HENNIKER HEATONMay I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman has any objection to lay on the Table the dispatch of the Postmaster General to the Canadian Government?
§ MR. HANBURYI think that is a Question of which I had better have notice.