§ MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN (Kilkenny)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, seeing that undelivered postcards are returned to the senders only on the condition that a request for their return must be placed on the outside before posting, and on the payment of a return postage of one halfpenny on delivery, while undelivered letters are returned to the senders without any extra charge or request for their return, whether he can say why postcards are differently dealt with, and which side of a postcard the Post Office authorities describe as the inside.
§ THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. HANBURY,) PrestonThese postcards are treated differently from letters, because the half- 472 penny post is not in itself remunerative, and in the great majority of cases the return to the sender of undeliverable matter passing at the halfpenny rate is not desired and involves much useless labour. Such packets can be returned, if the sender so desires, by placing on the address side a request to that effect. The official regulations make no reference to the "inside" of a postcard.