asked the Postmaster-General (1) whether it is his policy to discontinue the provision of halfpenny stamp machines;(2) how many fourpenny stamp machines have been installed; and how many of these machines he intends to provide.

The policy is to discontinue the halfpenny machines.The 4d. demand is already catered for in many cases by the combination of 3d. and 1d. machines. I am planning to increase as rapidly as possible the number of points where both these machines are available.