§ MR. WEIRI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, if he will state on how many occasions between 1st April, 1901, and the 22nd June, inclusive, the Stornoway mail steamer has been late in her arrival at Stornoway and Mallaig respectively, and will he say how often the delay exceeded half an hour.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINThe mail steamer from Kyle during the period in question has frequently reached Stornoway a few minutes late, but this has been often due to the late arrival of the train at Kyle. During the same period the boat was more than half an hour late on twenty-nine occasions. In the reverse direction the contract service ends at Kyle, and the steamer reached that port late on four occasions only during the period in question, on three of which the lateness exceeded half an hour.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINI cannot give the exact number of times, but she has frequently been a few minutes late, and on twenty-nine occasions, as I have said, she was more than half an hour late.