Mr. KINGasked the Postmaster-Gneral if he will state what contracts are now in force for carrying mails from the United Kingdom to Canada and from Canada to the United Kingdom; when do those contracts expire; and what is the annual sum paid in respect of each of those contracts for the past year?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELThe direct mails between the United Kingdom and Canada are conveyed under three contracts:—
- (1) Between the British Post Office and. the Canadian-Pacific Railway Company.
- (2) Between the Canadian Government and the Allan Line Steamship Company, Limited.
- (3) Between the Canadian Government and the Canadian Northern Steamships, Limited (Royal Line).
Negotiations for a contract between the-British Post Office and the Canadian Northern Steamships, Limited, are approaching completion. Contract No. 1 will expire on 6th April, 1913, and No. 2 on 1st May, 1912. Contract No. 3 is not for a specified term. No specific payment is made under Contract No. 1 for the conveyance of mails between the United Kingdom and Canada. The contract provides for a fixed subsidy of £45,000 a year for a service between Liverpool and Hong-Kong, and mails from the United Kingdom 1527W for Canada are carried without any further payment. I am not in a position to inform the hon. Member what amounts Lave been paid by the Canadian Government to its contractors in respect of the mail services in question.