§ MR. HENNIKER HEATON (Canterbury)I beg to ask the Postmaster General what is the cause of the delay in submitting to the House the contract for the conveyance of the Australian mails; and, at what date were the terms, of the contract arranged?
§ * MR. RAIKESThe terms of the Australian Mail Contracts were arranged in 1887. The Governments of New-South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia have formally confirmed them, but a question is still pending respecting the time tables framed under these Contracts, and I have found it necessary to take the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown before I can submit the contracts for the approval of the House.