§ LORD ALFRED CHURCHILLasked the Secretary to the Treasury, Whether the Government have re considered their plan for levying upon Newspapers to Australia an extra penny to meet the cost of transit through Egypt, and, if so, what course they propose to adopt; and whether, in any contemplated alteration, it would take effect previous to the departure of the Australian Mail on the 12th instant?
§ MR. LAINGsaid, he had had an opportunity of communicating upon that subject with gentlemen connected with the Australian colonies, and he had reason to believe that the inhabitants of those colonies would prefer paying their share of the extra charge for the transmission of newspapers through Egypt rather than that charge should be met by levying an additional penny upon the postage of those newspapers. Under these circumstances, the imposition of the additional penny had been withdrawn, and would not be again enforced if the Australian colonies would consent to defray their portion of the cost of transit.