§ THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGHpresented two Petitions, one from Bankers, Merchants, and others of London, and the other from the General Association of the Australian colonies, praying that a steam postal communication might be immediately re-established with Australia. Such a communication had already existed, but was suddenly discontinued in November, 1854, owing to the demand for steamships consequent upon the war. The petitioners complained that postal communication with Australia alone had been discontinued, such communication having 1689 been maintained with all the other colonies; and they expressed their sense of the importance of regular postal communication with the Australian colonies, inasmuch as British goods had been imported into those colonies in the course of a year to the value of £14,500,000, and last year the exports of gold from the colonies to this country amounted to £14,000,000. He (the Earl of Ellenborough) had read a Treasury Minute, which required that the colonies should bear half the expense of the undertaking, and that he considered a reasonable demand. On their side, the colonies had expressed their readiness to contribute to the expense of postal communication in proportion to the number of letters sent in and received from each colony. They were most desirous that an independent line of communication should be established between this country and Australia, that it should be conducted by the shortest route, and that the average speed of the vessels employed should be ten knots an hour, and that no time should be lost in commencing the communication. He (the Earl of Ellenborough) certainly thought that these were very fair demands on the part of the colonists. It was most reasonable that the colonies should contribute in equal proportions to the expense of this communication; and, indeed, two of the largest of them had already intimated their willingness to bear their share of the burden. At present a heavy loss was sustained by the Treasury of this country in carrying on the postal communications with our Colonies; and the last Return published on the subject showed the annual loss on the North American line to amount to £67,000; that on the East Indian line to £70,000; and that on the line to the West Indies, Mexico, and Brazil, to £185,000. The latter item amounted to very nearly 3½ per cent of the total value of the exports from this country to the West Indies, Mexico, and the Brazils. However important our postal communications with these colonies and foreign Powers, it was a question for the serious consideration of the Government whether the expense to this country ought not to be materially diminished.
THE DUKE OF ARGYLLsaid, that the enormous loss to this country in respect of the packet service to different parts of the world had attracted the serious attention of the Government, and still engaged its consideration. He was glad to find that the noble Earl gave the sanction of his 1690 high authority to the justice of calling on the Australian colonies to bear half the expense of their postal communication with this country; but in regard to those colonies it was not necessary to make any such demand, because they had spontaneously evinced a liberal disposition to contribute towards this object. The prayer of the memorialists to which the noble Earl referred had received the most favourable consideration from the Government, and steps were being taken, as far as possible, to meet their views. It might not, however, be possible to obtain vessels for the service of the power which the noble Earl desired; yet he could only say that he hoped it would. He fully agreed that the line of communication should be a main, and not a branch one; but as regarded the route, he did not think it mattered much whether it was 300 miles longer or shorter.