§ The EARL of ELLENBOROUGH moved the appointment of a Select Committee on the Post Office Revenue, and in doing so observed that more than three months ago, upon his Motion, their Lordships ordered various returns relative to the Post Office. The order for those returns was dated the 12th of March, and they were not ready so as to be printed until the 1st of June; but notwithstanding so large a portion of time had been devoted by the Post Office to their preparation, they had been presented in a very unsatisfactory state. Not being practically acquainted with the Post Office, he had not, perhaps, framed the order for those returns in the best possible manner; but, at the same time, he had hoped that the returns which he moved for would have shown the total receipts and the total charge. In the case of a department of the public revenue, where the gross receipts were more than two millions sterling, it was a matter of very great importance that they should know how much of that was at the disposal of the Government for the general purposes of the State. Having remarked that he understood there was no intention on the part of the Government to oppose his Motion, the noble Earl proceeded to read extracts from the returns from which it would appear that in several of the departments of the Post Office there were deficits of revenue as compared with expenditure, and added that he believed the result of an inquiry would go to establish the fact that there had been the greatest extravagance in the formation of some of the contracts, particularly those for the conveyance of letters to the East and West Indies. He made this statement for the purpose of laying a Parliamentary ground for his Motion. The noble Earl then moved for a Committee.
The MARQUESS of CLANRICARDEsaid the Government had no objection to the appointment of the Committee moved for by the noble Earl. He could assure the noble Earl that there was nothing in the 471 accounts of the Post Office which the authorities were desirous of concealing; and the officers had endeavoured to make the returns to the Order of the House as correctly as possible.
§ Motion agreed to.
§ House adjourned.