§ Mr. SNOWDENasked the Postmaster-General if he will consider the Amendment of the regulations as to documents permitted by the halfpenny post in so far as to admit invoices and statements of accounts wholly written?
§ The POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Mr. Sydney Buxton)In 1906 the provisions of the halfpenny-packet post were carefully revised, and many documents which were previously excluded were admitted to the privilege. In order to simplify the regulations it was made an essential condition that all commercial documents of a formal character entitled to pass at the reduced rate should consist of appropriate printed forms. This arrangement appears generally to have proved satisfactory, and an exceptional concession in the case of invoices and statements of account would introduce undesirable complications. The difficulty of drawing an exact line between formal documents and documents of the nature of letters is, of course, not easy.