§ 41. Mr. G. Longdenasked the Assistant Postmaster-General what happens to telegrams which are received after the hour for general telegraphic delivery; and whether he is satisfied that adequate steps are taken to inform senders.
§ Mr. GammansSuch telegrams are delivered by telephone wherever possible, otherwise they are delivered early the following morning. Special steps are taken to deliver telegrams of vital urgency at all times. Staff accepting telegrams are instructed to warn anyone handing in a telegram in the late afternoon of the possibility of non-delivery that day if a telephone address is not used. If my hon. Friend has a particular case in mind, I should be pleased to make inquiries.
§ Mr. LongdenI thank my hon. Friend for that answer, but does he not agree that it is not very satisfactory to the sender of a telegram if it is not delivered until the following morning with the mail, because that is a much more expensive and less capacious manner of sending information? Will it be possible for the receiving office to be asked, even where a telephone number is not included in the message, to look up the number in the directory and telephone the message?
§ Mr. GammansA quick delivery at all hours of the day and night, except in urgent cases, would require a great increase in staff, and the telegraph services are losing quite enough money already. I can assure my hon. Friend that wherever possible the telephone number is looked up, if the recipient is on the telephone.