MR. LONSDALE (Armagh, Mid)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, what are the terms of the arrangement under which the mails to America viâ Queenstown are conveyed by the Wednesday "White Star" express service from Euston; will he state the length of time during which this arrangement is to continue in force; what is the cost of such service, and is the same provided for in the Postal Estimates, and under what head; and, whether such arrangement is in addition to, or in substitution for, contracts under which such mails were previously carried, or have the same been in any way varied in consequence of such arrangement.
§ MR. ANSTRUTHER (for Mr. HANBURY)The mails for America leaving London on Wednesday for conveyance from Queenstown by packets of the White Star Line are despatched from Euston in the afternoon. They are carried by the 4.15 p.m. passenger train to Chester, and from Chester they are conveyed by special train to Holyhead, and by special steamer to North Wall. No period has been fixed for the continuance of this arrangement. The payment for the service has not yet been settled, and it does not, therefore, appear in the Post Office Estimates. The contract for the mail service between London and Dublin remains unaltered, but the special service from Chester to North Wall has to be provided for by means of a new agreement with the London and North Western Railway Company.