§ MR. MARRIOTTasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, If he would state whether the prosperity of Cyprus has greatly increased under British rule; whether the Turkish tribute 633 of £95,000 a-year has been regularly paid, and half of this sum retained by England to meet her share of the interests of the war, guaranteed jointly by this Country with Prance; whether, notwithstanding this heavy tribute, the annual deficits have decreased from, in 1882, £92,000; in 1883, £30,000; and this year, £13,000; and, whether, in the face of this increasing prosperity, it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government, for the pupose of saving £7,000 a-year, to terminate the postal contract made with the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Company, and so deprive the inhabitants of their weekly mail service, and render even the fortnightly delivery dependent upon the Austrian Lloyd's Company steamers?
§ MR. EVELYN ASHLEYThe preamble contained in the first three paragraphs of the hon. and learned Member's Question is substantially correct. But the Imperial postal revenue has lost nearly £50,000 by the mail contract, the amount received for postage being only about £150 a-year, while the subsidy is £7,000. It has been decided to allow the mails to be carried by the Austrian Lloyd's Company as an experiment; but the Secretary of State, at the same time, has invited the opinion of the local Legislative Council on the subject, and on the question whether, assuming funds to be available from local revenue for the renewal of some subsidy, it would be desirable to do so.