§ MR. KELLEY (Manchester, S.W.)To ask the Postmaster-General whether 1258 the use of metric weights is allowed by the Post Office for letters addressed to Foreign countries within the Postal Union; and, if so, will he take steps to notify the public that such is the case.
(Answered by Mr. Sidney Buxton.) The legal unit of weight for letters from this country to Foreign countries is at present half an ounce. It has been the custom for many years not to surcharge letters found in the post which, though exceeding half an ounce, are under the Postal Union unit weight of fifteen grammes. I do not propose to withdraw this concession, oven though it is without legal sanction, but I see no reason for any fresh notification. When the increased weight for Foreign postage comes into force, as the ounce will exceed the equivalent twenty grammes, no allowance for the metric system will be necessary.