§ MR. HENNIKER HEATON (Canterbury)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he is aware that a letter posted in the S.W. District of London at 10 p.m. on Sunday last was not delivered in the E.G. District until the afternoon of the following day; and will he explain why the letter took eleven hours and 510 fifteen minutes to go from the S.W. to the E.G. Post Office, and state whether any compensation will be given to the sender of the letter for the loss thus incurred.
§ THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN,) Worcestershire, E.As explained in a letter addressed to the hon. Member on the 2nd instant, the delay which occurred in the delivery of the letter in question is attributable, not to the length of time occupied in its transmission from the South-Western to the East-Central Post Office, but to a mistake on the part of the postman to whom it was entrusted for delivery. The Postmaster General regrets that the sender suffered loss through the delay of the letter, but he is unable to entertain any claim for compensation.
§ MR. HENNIKER HEATONIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that last year more than a thousand postmen were dismissed for carelessness, and will he—
§ *MR. SPEAKEROrder, order !