HC Deb 02 August 1907 vol 179 cc1377-9
MR. HAROLD COX (Preston)

To ask the Postmaster-General, assuming the total charge for the conveyance of British mails to Shanghai to be 4s. 3d. per lb. by French packet and 4s. 10d. per lb. by German packet, what proportion of each charge is represented by the cost of conveyance from London to Brindisi; and whether he can assign any reason for the difference in the charges.

(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The mails in question are not conveyed by way of Brindisi. Those conveyed by French packet are embarked at Marseilles, and those conveyed by German packet are embarked at Naples. The cost of the conveyance through France to Marseilles is about 7d. per lb., and that of the conveyance through France and Italy to Naples is about 1s. 2d. per lb.

MR. HAROLD COX

To ask the Postmaster-General whether any British mails are sent to London from Hong Kong via the Trans Siberian Railway; if so, what is the time taken in transmission; and, if not, what would be the time on the assumption that the time taken from Shanghai to London is twenty days.

(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) No direct mails are sent to London from Hong Kong by the Trans-Siberian route, but correspondence from that Colony arrives in the mails from Shanghai. The usual time of transit from Hong Kong to Shanghai is about three days; and the transit from Hong Kong to London by way of Shanghai and the Trans-Siberian Railway would thus be about twenty-three days, if no break occurred in the connection.

MR. HAROLD COX

To ask the Postmaster-General what is the packet company which is responsible for the conveyance of letters from this country to Shanghai via Vancouver; what is the total subsidy paid to this company, and what is the total number of pounds of letters carried per annum to all destinations comprised within the terms of the contract; and whether the company performs any other services in return for the subsidy paid to it.

(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The mail service from this country to Shanghai via Vancouver is performed by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. The subsidy paid to the company is £60,000 per annum, which covers the conveyance of mails by rail across Canada as well as the conveyance by sea across the Atlantic and the Pacific. The weight of correspondence sent in mails made up in this country and conveyed to Japan and China during the year 1906 by this service was 187,100 pounds, as stated in the reply to the hon. Member's Question of 23rd March last. The weight of mails since the new subsidised boats began to run shows a very large and substantial increase. In addition the company conveyed (a) mails exchanged with Canada, (b) mails from Japan and China for the United Kingdom, and (c) certain mails from and for the Continent of Europe. The company also conveyed parcel mails. The weight of these mails is not recorded. In addition to the mail service the company undertakes the conveyance of Government passengers and stores and is under special obligations in regard to the sale or hire of ships of the Crown. The hon. Member will find the particulars of these responsibilities set out in Clauses 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the contract.

MR. HAROLD COX

To ask the Postmaster-General what is the packet company that conveys letters from this country to Hong Kong via Suez; what is the total subsidy paid to this company, and what is the total number of pounds of letters carried per annum to all destinations comprised within the terms of the contract; and whether the company performs any other services in return for the subsidy paid to it.

(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The hon. Member presumably refers to the British packet service, which is performed by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. The total subsidy at present paid to the company is £340,000 per annum. Under the new contract which has just been signed this will be reduced to £305,000. The total weight of the correspondence contained in the letter mails conveyed by the company on behalf of the United Kingdom to all destinations, and on behalf of India and British Colonies to the United Kingdom, in 1906 was 6,865,000 pounds. The weight of foreign mails and of intermediate Colonial mails conveyed by the company at the present time cannot be stated, as the statistics on which payment

Number sentenced to death. Number of eases in which application has been made to the Home Office. Number respited.
England, 1906 27 23 18
England, 1907 † 9 8 6
Wales, 1906 None None None
Wales, 1907†
Scotland, 1906 None None None
Scotland, 1907† 1 1 1
† To end of June, 1907.