§ Mr. FETHERSTONHAUGHasked the Postmaster-General whether there is any regulation of the Department which provides that notes of the Royal Bank of Scotland are not to be accepted at [...]rish post offices except at a discount of 6d. in the [...]£; is there any similar rule as to notes of the Bank of Ireland at English or Scotch post offices; will he consider whether such vexatious regulations might be abolished in the interest of public convenience; and is he aware that notes of Scotch banks have a large circulation in the North-East of Ireland?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELThere is no regulation which precludes postmasters in Ireland, or elsewhere, from accepting bank notes which, like those issued by Scottish and Irish bankers, are not legal tender. It is left to their discretion to judge whether the local facilities for the negotiation of such notes justify their acceptance as cash. In Ireland the postmasters as a rule accept Scottish notes at their value or charge a commission, according to the practice of the local bank. I think this reasonable, and I am not prepared to lay down any rule in the matter.