asked the Postmaster-General why a charge of 5s. 9d. is being made for the first day covers service by the Philatelic Bureau for the International Geographic Congress special issue of postage stamps when the value of the stamps is only 2s. 8½d., in view of the fact that the recent similar service for the Shakespeare Festival cost only 7s. 2d. for stamps to the value of 6s.

Because the standard of service we gave for the Shakespeare first-day cover was not as good as our customers wanted and what we should have liked to have given. With the new charge we expect, this time, to give them the service they want. For people who do not wish to pay the new charge, we are making the official envelope available unstamped at the price of 6d. so that they can prepare their own first-day cover.

Is it not the case that if postage stamps are bought from the Philatelic Bureau, the Postmaster-General is content to receive payment amounting only to the face value of the stamps, plus 3d. for postage, whereas if stamps of the forthcoming special issue, together with envelopes and the first-day-issue postmark, are bought, the charge for the envelope and servicing appears to be exorbitant? Is it not the case that the Postmaster-General is turning this very useful service into a profiteering racket?

No, Sir. As the hon. Gentleman knows, this was the first time we issued a full first-day cover where we were prepared to type the address and do the whole service, and all we endeavoured to do was to get a return that would cover our costs. In fact, with the demand there was for this new issue, the return did not cover our costs. This new figure we are now charging will, we hope, just about cover the costs on a normal issue.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Russians have a far better stamp than ours and do Shakespeare far more justice? Why is that?

I do not know