§ Mr. Moyleasked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he is aware of the complaints made by wives and relatives of soldiers serving at St. Helena, against the postal services which take periods of 15 weeks; and if, in view of the importance of maintaining morale, he will arrange an air mail service and thus expedite postal deliveries.
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§ Mr. BurkeMails for St. Helena are despatched as frequently as possible, but surface outlets are irregular and do not occur more frequently than about once a month. The transmission time by sea averages about three weeks. There were six arrivals of mails in St. Helena from May to October inclusive, the longest interval between arrivals being six weeks. Unfortunately it was impracticable to embark mails on a recent sailing. There is no air service to St. Helena by which mails could be sent and I am advised by the appropriate authority that in all the circumstances an air service cannot be justified.