§ MR. M'FADDENI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, if he will I explain why the rural messenger between Crossroads branch post office, Killy-gordon, county Donegal, and the town-land of Sallywood, only delivers to a few houses in the townland of Ballinacor the letters in the morning delivery, and then proceeds to serve the townlands of Portobello, Kilcaddon, and Carrickshandrum; and, after serving these townlands, returns and serves the remaining portion of the townland of Ballinacor about ten o'clock in the morning; is he aware that the said townland of Ballinacor is only a few yards from the branch office at Crossroads, and is the first townland the messenger enters in the morning; and, seeing that representations have been made to the Secretary of the Post Office at Dublin complaining of the present 207 arrangements for delivery of letters in the townland of Ballinacor, and that school teachers have complained that they do not get delivery of their letters before ten o'clock, and are thus precluded from making returns by the next post to the Offices of National Education, and that the present postal arrangements in the district impose unnecessary labour on the messenger, whether directions could be given to him to proceed on his outward journey along the county road through the centre of the townland of Ballinacor.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINThe route followed by the postman from the Crossroads post office to Sallywood has been the subject of careful consideration, and the present arrangement, by which a large majority of the letters are delivered on the outward journey, is undoubtedly the best for the general convenience of the public. The postman is not overworked, and the circumstances do not justify an alteration of the post.