§ Mr. REIDasked the Postmaster-General whether, in order to expedite the delivery of the English mail in Belfast, arrangements can be made for sorting on the train between Kingstown and Belfast?
§ Mr. LEES-SMITHJudging from Press reports which have been broughgt to my notice, the dissatisfaction in Belfast with the English mail service appears to arise from occasional failures to secure delivery in the morning rather than from the time at which the morning delivery is made. These failures are due to the mail missing the connection in Dublin, usually owing to the boat being late, and the attachment of a sorting carriage to the normal train would not provide a remedy. It would entail a special staff being sent the previous evening to Dublin to return by the mail train the next morning. The expenditure involved would be of the order of £6,000 a year, and the acceleration in delivery thereby obtained would be something less than half an hour. The question of adopting other means for improving the transmission of mails between Great Britain and Belfast is, however, at present under consideration, and I will communicate with the hon. Member.