§ * MR. CHARLES M'ARTHUR () Liverpool, ExchangeI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether, in view of the hindrance to business experienced by merchants, especially in the American trade, from the postal regulations which prohibit the cables companies from telephoning cablegrams received after business hours to the addresses, though requested by them to do so, and which equally prohibit the latter from telephoning direct replies for transmission by cable, he has now made arrangements whereby the use of the telephone may no longer be denied to subscribers; and whether, if he has any fear that the revenue may suffer in consequence of such permission, he will communicate with the cable companies, the National Telephone Company, and the merchants interested, with a view to safeguarding any rights which the Post Office may possess in the matter.
§ MR. HANBURYAs I promised the hon. Member last week, the Postmaster General is considering the whole question. The matter is, however, not free from difficulty, and an immediate decision is not practicable.