§ MR. HEDDERWICK (Wick Burghs)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster-General, if he will consider whether a uniform halfpenny postage rate for all periodicals in this country, with some weight limit between two ounces and five pounds, might be adopted without loss to the revenues of the Post Office Department?
§ MR. HANBURYEven if a weight limit, say of eight ounces, could be imposed, the admission of all periodicals within that weight to the privilege of the halfpenny rate, irrespetcive of frequency of issue or of the nature of the contents, could not be conceded without extending the concession to books and publications of every kind, and the loss to the revenue which such a measure would involve would be enormous. The whole question was considered by the Postage Rates Committee, to whose report I referred the honourable Member in reply to his Question of Friday last.