HC Deb 24 April 1888 vol 325 cc325-6
MR. A. THOMAS (Glamorgan, E.)

asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether his attention has been called to an extract from a letter written by one of Her Majesty's Consular officers, and quoted in The Shipping World for April, in these words:— I should have stated: I have no allowance made to me for postage in this Vice Consulate; and as my correspondence (especially answering interrogations of a similar nature to yours) is at times heavy, I am compelled to post unstamped those letters for which postage has not been enclosed; whether the Regulation of the Foreign Office that no fixed allowances are made to cover postages, but accounts of expenditure on account of official postage are sent in periodically, and are paid when passed, applies to postage on Consular answers to merchants, manufacturers, shipowners, and traders of this country; whether the Foreign Office is aware that allowance is made by the American Government to her Consular Representatives abroad to cover postages upon all correspondence arising out of the Consular appointment, and embracing answers to American merchants, manufacturers, shipowners, and traders; and, whether the Foreign Office, or the Board of Trade, will undertake that Her Majesty's Consular officers shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in postage upon correspondence with manufacturers, merchants, shipowners, traders, and others, arising out of their official appointment, and intended to benefit the trade and commerce of this country, and will issue a Circular to the Consular corps giving instructions accordingly?

THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JAMES FERGUSSON) (Manchester, N.E.)

Officers in the Consular career are allowed to charge in their accounts with the Foreign Office the cost of official postage on answers addressed by them in their Consular capacity to merchants, manufacturers, shipowners, and traders of this country; but trading Consular officers are only reimbursed the postage on official letters or papers addressed to the Foreign Office or to their superintending Consuls on application being made by them for such reimbursements. Her Majesty's Government are not aware of the practice of the American Government in this respect; and the Secretary of State does not see any reason to alter the practice of this Service.