§ Mr. HURDasked the Secretary to the Treasury what sum was paid to Reuter's Agency in the last financial year and what sum is due in the current financial year in respect of Press cablegrams to Canada and other parts of the Empire, respectively; what are the exact services for which these payments are made; and what is the term of the contract with this agency?
§ Lieut.-Colonel AMERYI understand that in the last financial year a sum of £30,697 was paid to Reuter's agency by the Ministry of Information in respect of Press cablegrams to Canada and other parts of the Empire, and that this payment was made in consideration for the dispatch of special items of news of Imperial interest which would not have been cabled under ordinary commercial conditions. The ser vices to Canada and other parts of the British Empire are being carried on until 1st October, 1919, on a reduced scale; the estimated cost of these services for a whole year, on the present lines, is approximately £18,000. The question of the arrangements to be made after 1st October, 1919, is now under consideration.