§ MR. NORMAN (Wolverhampton, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he will state what conditions govern the relations of the Post Office and the subsidised mail steamship lines in regard to the treatment of the mails on disabled steamships whose position is known; and whether his official reports show that it was unavoidable that the heavy mail of the "Etruria" should be slowly towed to the Azores.
§ THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN,) Worcestershire, E.The Postmaster General's contracts with Mail Steamship Companies contain no conditions relating specifically to disabled steamships. The general conditions bearing upon breaches of contract and penalties for non-performance are applied according to the merits of each particular case. The Mail Service from New York to this country is provided by the United States Government; and it was under arrangements with that Government and not the British that the "Etruria" was carrying the mail referred to. The Postmaster General has no reason for thinking that the best course was not pursued in having the "Etruria" towed to the Azores.