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435
Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
310
In
accordance
with
the
provisions
of
an
Act
passed
in
the
session
of
1859-1860,
the
general
control
of
the
British
packet
service
was
transferred
(on
the
1st
of
April,
1860)
to
the
Post-Office
authorities,
from
whom
it
ought
never
to
have
been
taken.
It
was
considered
that
the
Postmaster-General,
under
the
Treasury,
was
the
best
judge
of
the
requirements
of
the
service,
and
could
best
set
about
reducing
the
enormous
expenditure
arising
from
contracts,
which
the
Lords
of
the
Admiralty,
generally
from
political
motives,
had
entered
into.
That
this
judgment
was
the
correct
one,
three
years
have
amply
sufficed
to
prove.
Contracts
have
been
thrown
open
to
public
competition;
and
although
many
of
the
companies
which
had
previously
done
certain
services
re-secured
them,
it
was
found
that
they
had
to
engage
to
do
the
work
at
a
much
lower
figure--in
one
or
two
cases,
in
fact,
for
half
the
amount
they
had
been
wont
to
receive.
All
the
packet
contracts,
as
they
fall
vacant,
are
advertised
fully
by
the
Post-Office
authorities,
and
in
sufficient
time.
Printed
forms
are
issued,
and
intending
contractors
are
required
to
fill
them
up,
every
arrangement
being
made
to
secure
the
efficiency
of
the
work.
Nearly
all
the
contracts
are
now
made
terminable
on
twelve
months'
notice
being
given
by
the
Postmaster-General.
Another
change
which
the
Post-Office
authorities
have
made
is
a
radical
but
a
necessary
one,
and
bids
fair
to
make
the
mail-packet
service,
at
no
distant
date,
self-supporting,
so
far
as
the
mother-country
is
concerned.
Under
the
new
principle
already
applied
to
India
and
Australia,
the
British
colonies
are
required
to
pay
half
the
cost
of
their
respective
services,
the
English
Government
paying
the
remainder.
The
result
in
some
instances
has
been
an
increase
in
postage
rates,
but
we
hope
this
will
not
long
be
considered
necessary.
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