17. Vice-Admiral Taylorasked the Postmaster-General whether he has considered the granting of the same postal charge facilities to those serving in the Mercantile Marine as are given to those serving in His Majesty's Navy; and can he make a statement?
§ The Assistant Postmaster-General (Captain Waterhouse)My right hon. Friend regrets that the administrative difficulties involved have made it impracticable to grant such a concession.
Vice-Admiral TaylorWill my hon. and gallant Friend consider the reduction of the postage from 2½d. to 1½d. for the Mercantile Marine, as that would be a concession that would not offer administrative difficulty?
§ Captain WaterhouseMy hon. and gallant Friend will realise that sailors on His Majesty's ships post their mails in 1147 bags on the ships and that they are deposited at a comparatively small number of post offices, but as merchant ships call at smaller ports, it raises a difficulty which is not easy to overcome.
§ Captain WaterhouseThe difficulty is to be quite sure that letters stamped with a 1½d. stamp have in fact come from the Merchant Fleet.