§ 49. Major Wyattasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will take steps to speed up the delivery of mails from Germany to this country; and why the cost of such mails is greatly in excess of prewar rates.
Mr. HyndThe British authorities in Germany are now reviewing arrangements for the delivery of mail in the hope that they can be improved. My hon. and gallant Friend will appreciate, however, that the slowness of communications in Germany, the limitations of the German internal postal service and the necessity for maintaining censorship on outgoing mail make it impossible to restore the prewar standard of service at the present time. The postal rates must be regarded as provisional. In fixing them, the Control Council found it necessary, in the absence of a fixed rate of exchange for the mark, to leave a margin of safety in order to ensure that the cost of the postal service was fully covered.