§ MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN (Kilkenny)To ask the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that some letter bags were, despatched unsealed from the Dublin sorting office on the 28th ultimo; and, if so, whether he has caused any investigation into this matter, and can he say who was responsible for the neglect; and what action has been taken to prevent such, a mistake occurring again.
(Answered by Lord Stanley.) It is not the case that any mail bags were on the night of the 28th ultimo despatched from the Dublin Post Office without being sealed. Two or three bags were allowed to leave the sorting room before they were sealed; but the omission was observed by the checking officer in the ordinary course of his duty, and rectified before the bags were despatched. Some carelessness was certainly shown by an officer in the sorting office, and, after some further necessary inquiry, proper notice will be taken of the irregularity. The fact that the omission was observed and remedied shows that the existing arrangements are sufficient to ensure that bags shall not be despatched unsealed.