§ MR. HAROLD COX (Preston)To ask the Postmaster-General what are the steamship subsidies paid for the conveyance of mails from this country to Jamaica and other West Indian Islands; and what is the annual sum received for postage in each case.
(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The only subsidy at present paid for the conveyance of mails from this country to the West Indies is† that received by Messrs. Elder, Dempster, and Company, under a contract with the Crown Agents for the Colonies, which provides for a service to and from Jamaica for commercial as well as postal purposes. The postage on mails sent from this country by this service may be estimated at about £4,000 a year.