§ Mr. FARRELLasked the Postmaster-General whether he has sanctioned an 1682W arrangement by which the midland and western districts of Ireland will only have one mail train in the twenty-four hours after 15th April; whether this mail service is to be what was known as the limited mail day service and the night mail is to be cut off altogether, thereby utterly dislocating the cross - country deliveries; whether this has been done in consultation with the local authorities in Ireland; and, if not, will their opinion be asked before any further curtailment takes place?
§ Mr. LINDSAYasked the Postmaster-General if the night mail trains in Ireland are to be discontinued; and, if so, will he consider the possibility of having mails conveyed by goods trains when available?
§ Mr. ILLINGWORTHReductions of railway service in Ireland have become necessary in the national interest, and, much as I regret any dislocation of mail service occasioned thereby, I have had no alternative but to acquiesce in these reductions, which are expected to take effect, not, I believe, on the 15th, but on the 22nd instant. Night mail trains in Ireland are not to be discontinued altogether, if at all, and the questions asked upon that supposition do not, therefore, arise.