The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-05 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLLUE

HOUSE OF LORDS---This Evening

The Lord Chancellor took his seat at the usual hour.
The Earl of POWIS presented a petition from the
clergy of Poole against the sale of intoxicating liquors on
Sunday.

PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The Rumsey and Brecon and Merthyr Tydvil Junction
Railway—Banff, Macduff, and Turriff Extension Railway
—Brecon and Merthyr Tydvil Railway—Peterborough
Cattle—Caledonian R,,ilway (Granton Branches)—New-
town—Mackynlleth Railway (Capital)—and Merthyr,
Tredegar, and Abergavenny Bills were read a third time
and passed.
VICE-ADMIRALTY COURTS BILL.
This bill was reported with amendments.
THE MAIL PACKET SERVICE,

Lord CHELMSFORD asked the Postmaster-Genera,
whether her Majesty's Government had accepted a tenier
trom the Belgian Government for the conveyance of the
English ma Is between Dover and Ostend, and whetherthey
contemplated any alt,ratiLn in the mail packet service be-
tween Dover and Calais; also, whether any failure in the
performance of the existing contract between her Majesty's
Government and Mr. Joseph Georee Churchward for the
mail service between Calais and Dover respectively had
occurred to render any change necessary The noble
and learned lord gave an outline of the arrange-
ments between her Majesty's Government and Mr.
Churchward, and said one of the contracts entered into
expired in the month of June next; but in 1859 an exten-
ion of the contract had been given up to the year 1870, with
an increased subsidy of £lB,OOO per annum. Into the
validity of that contract he would not enter; but having
heard that certain alterations were to take place in the mail
service, he wished for information on the subject.
Lord STANLEY of AL DERLEY said he would not
touch upon the preliminary observations of the noble lord,
as the matter would no doubt come before one of the
courts of law. With respect to the packet service between
Dover and Ostend, the English Government had entered
into a conditional arrangement with the Belgian Govern-
ment for conveying the mails at a considerably reduced
rate. If Parliament voted the money for the continuance
of the contract with Mr, Churchward, then that contract
would be carried on, but in the event of that not being the
case, then the arrangement with the Belgian Government
would come into operation. 'With respect to the loss that
would fall upon the Belgian Government by the
low rate at which they had agreed to perform
tha work, the Government had nothing to do with. All
they had to see to was that the service was efficiently per.
formed. 'With respect to the mail service between Dover
atd Calais, a proposal had been made to convey the mails
at a considerably reduced rate, and negotiations for that
purpose were in progress. The arrangement to stand in
precisely the same position as in the former, viz., Par-
liament not finding the money to carry on the contract
with M'. Churchward. Ihe Government had no fault to
find with the manner in which the work had hitherto been
performed, and it was not on that account that notice had
been given to Mr. Churchward of the termination of the
engagement. The discontinuance of it arose solely in con-
sequence of the vote of the other house of Parliament.