§ MR J. P. WILLIAMS (Birmingham, S.)I beg to ask the President of the Hoard of Trade whether the contract for the conveyance of a portion of the mails between London and Paris is about to be given to a French Company; whether, to enable them to fulfil the same, the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company are to transfer the most modern portion of their fleet to the French Flag; and, whether Board of Trade Inspectors will continue to certify to the seaworthiness of the vessels in question?
§ MR. BRYCEI am informed by the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company that the day service of mails between London and Paris is paid for by the French Government, and that the vessels employed have always sailed under the French Flag. It appears that the existing Contract with the French Post Office will terminate next year, and that 1084 the French Government have determined to give the new one to the Northern of France Railway Company, it being a condition that the vessels employed should be built in France and owned by a French Company. The Board of Trade have no power to survey foreign vessels for passenger certificates, unless it is intended to carry passengers between places in the United Kingdom.
§ MR. J. P. WILLIAMSDo I understand that the Board of Trade will have no power to examine the vessels by which these mails are to be conveyed?
§ MR. J. P. WILLIAMSMay I ask whether the Act of Parliament does not provide for a revision of the arrangements with the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company this year?
§ MR. BRYCEI cannot answer that, question without reference to the Statute, and in any case, it is a question for the Postmaster General.