Mr. MACLEANasked the Postmaster-General whether the overland mail from London to Constantinople takes six days; whether it is the case that deliveries of letters to the units representing His Majesty's Forces have to wait three to six weeks for their letters; what is the cause of the delay; and whether he is prepared to take steps to facilitate deliveries, and thereby enable the men on service to have more frequent and regular communication with their relatives in this country?
§ Mr. PEASEThe overland mail from London to Constantinople by the Simplon Orient Express takes approximately six days in transit. During the latter part of December and the first part of January last, as a result of a misunderstanding by the French authorities in Paris, British mails for Constantinople were forwardedviâ. Brindisi with an approximate delay of a fortnight in transit. The matter has now been remedied and, since the end of January, letter mails from this country have been reaching Constantinople in about six days. Army mails on arrival at Constantinople are transferred to the Army authorities for delivery, and I have no information as to the subsequent treatment of those mails.