§ MR. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster-General, if he will state when the contract with the Highland Railway Company, for the conveyance of Her Majesty's mails to and from Kyle of Lochalsh, will expire; and, in view of the serious delay which has for some time past occurred in the transit of the Stornoway mail, will he consider the expediency of conveying the mails to the west coast by way of Mallaig as soon as the Mallaig extension is completed.
§ MR. HANBURYThe contract with the Highland Railway Company is terminable by six months' notice on either side. The Postmaster-General has been sorry to observe that there has been considerable delay in the transit of the Stornoway mail during the past summer, due to loss of time on the railway and on the sea voyage. The punctuality of the railway service has been interfered with by the extensive season traffic which the railway companies had to deal with, and on many occasions there have been adverse conditions at sea. When the railway to Mallaig is open the Postmaster-General will consider what advantage to the mail service generally could be obtained by using it.