§ Mr. Saltasked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the time taken in the transit of letters sent by relatives to soldiers serving overseas, he will consider 434W permitting them to send one free cable each month similarly to the present arrangement for parents to their evacuated children in the Dominions?
§ Captain WaterhouseThe question of allowing free telegrams to and from members of His Majesty's Forces in the Middle East has been examined in consultation with all the interested Departments, and the unanimous conclusion has been reached that an entirely free service could not be justified. There are already telegraph services for messages to or from the Forces abroad at special rates which are substantially lower than the cheapest normal rate. The number of children evacuated overseas is extremely small in comparison with the numbers of the Forces serving abroad, and the problems of providing free telegraph service in the the two cases are not comparable.