Post Office.

Part of Orders of the Day — Revenue Departments. – in the House of Commons am ar 25 Chwefror 1924.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Mr John Rawlinson Mr John Rawlinson , Cambridge University

I am disappointed with the right hon. Gentleman's account of this. I should like to have heard far more about this railway, which is probably about the most ridiculous enterprise that even the Post Office has ever entered into. It was a tube railway for the benefit of the Post Office, and the Post Office only, running between the Genera] Post Office in Newgate Street and Paddington Station. The cost of that was simply enormous. At that time they had the Great Western Railway goods depot within a few hundred yards of the Post Office, at Smithfield, and, if necessary, a small addition from there would have enabled the Post Office stuff to be put on trucks and carried down to the train for Paddington. As I understand it, what is done at present is that you put your mails into your own private train at the Post Office, take them to Paddington, carry them out one by one and put them into whatever train they have to go by. This is an extraordinarily expensive measure. I had not heard before of this extension of which the right hon. Gentleman has told us. Perhaps he will tell me how far the line is open at present. Is it open to Liverpool Street now?