§ On the motion for adjournment,
§ MR. EGERTON (Cheshire, Knutsford)I beg to ask the right hon. Gentleman the Secretary to the Treasury a question of which I have given him private notice. I wish to ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he will take immediate steps to remedy the delays in the delivery of letters due to the absence of an adequate staff at the new offices at Mount Pleasant.
§ THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. HANBURY,) PrestonI am aware that there is considerable difficulty in connection with the transfer of certain duties to Mount Pleasant, but I thought they were confined to the newspaper post and the book post. I am sorry to hear that those difficulties apply to the letter post also. I think my hon. friend is wrong in saying that even if those difficulties have arisen they are due to an inadequate staff. I 736 have heard nothing of that, and no representations have been made to me on the subject. What has happened is this. Although the staff is adequate, they have been working at considerable inconvenience and under considerable difficulties owing to the fact that some 2,500 men have been transferred to the new office. Of course, it will take some short time for them to accommodate themselves to their new surroundings, and although they are working under difficulties which did not exist in the old office, I am assured that within a very few days those difficulties will be removed, and I hope my hon. friend will then have no cause to complain. I will communicate with the Postmaster-General to-morrow morning, and urge the Post Office officials to remove the difficulties as soon as possible.
§ MR. EGERTONI am advised that a bag of letters was sent to the North in mistake and was returned.
§ MR. LOUGH (Islington, W.)I should like to ask the right hon. Gentleman whether it was absolutely necessary to change the hours of posting. The change has caused the very greatest inconvenience to all classes of persons engaged in business not only in London but in every part of the country. I certainly think that if the change was not absolutely necessary, it was a very strong step to take to alter the hours of departure of the mails, which I believe have hardly been changed for a generation. If the right hon. Gentleman would extend his inquiries so far as to see whether it would be possible to resume the old hours, either by some arrangement in the office, or by some arrangement in connection with the railway companies, I am sure it would give the greatest satisfaction.
§ MR. HANBURYI will also make inquiries into that matter.
§ Adjourned at ten minutes after Twelve of the clock.