§ Lieutenant-Colonel ARCHER-SHEEasked the Postmaster-General whether the Union-Castle Line are in receipt of mail subsidies from the Government; and, if so, what steps are being taken to ensure more regular sailings to South Africa, in view of the fact that far more regular sailings are at present being dispatched to the Argentine?
§ Mr. ILLINGWORTHThe Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company is under contract with the Government of the Union of South Africa for the performance of a 2933W weekly service between this country and South Africa, and the payment in respect of this service—which is subject to deduction for omitted voyages—is made by the Union Government. The allocation of tonnage to the different trade routes is understood to be still under the direction of the Ministry of Shipping. Mails for South Africa are sent by all suitable opportunities; and, although not entirely regular, the dispatches of letters and parcels are now made at approximately weekly intervals.