§ MR. THOMAS O'DONNELL (Kerry, W.)To ask the Postmaster-General whether he will state the amounts paid by the Post Office to the various railways, in England, Ireland, and Scotland, respectively, for the carriage of mails, etc., in the year 1907; and the amounts paid by the various Government Departments in the three countries for the travelling expenses of officials.
(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) As regards the payment to the railway companies for the conveyance of the mails, I beg to refer the hon. Member to the details furnished on page 108 and 109 of the Revenue Department Estimates for the current year, which will, perhaps, suffice for his purpose. These figures do not include the payment for the parcel post, the total amount of which for the year 1907 was £1,014,215. This sum is distributed among the individual companies by the Railway Clearing House Committee, and I have no information as to the proportion received by the different companies. I regret that it is not possible without considerable labour to ascertain the amounts paid to the railway companies for the travelling expenses of Post Office officials, and I have of course no information in regard to the expenditure of other departments of the public service.