§ 19. Captain P. MACDONALDasked the Postmaster-General whether he will issue fresh instructions in order to mitigate the frequent inconvenience caused to the public through the obligation to place five impressions of a private seal on any parcel accepted for the registered post, especially in view of the fact that there is no adequate definition of what constitutes a private seal, and that the general public cannot ascertain whether their seals are in order until their parcels are submitted at the Post Office?
§ Sir K. WOODI think my hon. and gallant Friend may be under some misapprehension as registered parcels in the inland post of this country need not be sealed at all if they are otherwise so secured that they cannot be opened without 805 leaving traces of tampering. If, however, he is referring to the insurance service in the parcel post to places abroad, international regulations come into question to which this country must necessarily conform. These regulations do not say what number of seals must be used, and it is not necessary to affix five if a parcel can be effectively sealed with less.
§ Captain MACDONALDIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is a difficulty about interpreting the regulation, that different Post Offices lay down different regulations, and that sometimes it takes a whole day to get a parcel off?
§ Sir K. WOODI am not aware of that fact. If my hon. and gallant Friend has any personal difficulty, perhaps he will speak to me, and I will see what can be done in the matter.