§ MR. TALBOT (Oxford University)To ask the Postmaster-General whether he will consider the practicability of detaching the date postmark from the obliterating mark upon the face of letters (as is already done in London) so as to enable the time of posting, which is now often illegible, to be easily read.
1376 (Answered by Lord Stanley.) I fear that it is not possible to adopt the hon. Member's suggestion generally. The electrically-driven stamping machines, which are in use to some extent in London and elsewhere, separate the dated postmark from the obliterating stamp; but these machines can only be used with advantage at offices where the stamping to be done is great in amount and continuous. Double hand-stamps were tried at one time, but they were found to be too large and heavy for easy use.