§ MR. CROMBIE (Kincardineshire)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster-General, whether the British Post Office Authorities have been returning to their senders registered packages of flowers from the Continent; and what is the reason of the recent difficulties which the British Post Office have thrown in the way of the postage of flowers?
§ THE FIRST COMMISSIONER OF WORKS (for Mr. HANBURY)As already explained in this House, the Post Office does not refuse to accept boxes of flowers sent from abroad when the proper channel—the letter post or parcel post—is used. It is only when they are irregularly sent by sample post that they are stopped and sent back. The transmission of consignments of cut flowers by sample post has never been provided for by the Postal Union, though the post offices of 456 some Continental countries have been in the habit of allowing packages of flowers to be sent to this country by sample post, though not bond fide trade samples. An endeavour was made at the Washington Congress of 1897 to alter the regulations of the Postal Union so as to establish the practice, but the Union decided that no exception could be made in favour of cut flowers; and after due notice to the post offices concerned, the Postmaster-General ordered that such packets when erroneously sent into this country by sample post should be returned as prescribed by the Regulations of the Postal Union. It may be added that a protest has been made on behalf of flower-growers in this country against flowers from abroad being allowed to pass by sample post into England.