The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-26 00:00:00

"I have the honour, &e.,

" J. RUSSELL."
Now he thought he had a right to ask in what way the
Admiralty were to keep up the harbours, and what ad-
ditional expense would arise from continuing the packets.
The Queen's subjects could not make the passage in
open boats, and after having, by a considerable expendi-
ture within the last two or three years, rendered the
harbour fit for steam-vessels, he asked why it should now
be abandoned, when the present voyage of three hours
could be reduced to one hour and a quarter? The very
small sum at which the mails could now to carried con-
stituted certainly a sufficient reason for a Parliamentary
inquiry into the subject, especially after tbey had ex-
pended nearly half a million on the harbour. He believed
that if the Government carried out its intentions in the
course of a year or two they would Snd out the impolicy
of carrying the mails 90 miles by sea from Greenock to
Belfast, instead of the short passage between these two
ports; and unless, in the meantime, they were attended
to, they would be found choked up, and requiring another
outlay to bring them into the efficient state in which
they now were. He did not think that for the miserable
saving of some three or four thousand pounds a year
the inhabitants of that part of the country—nay, of the
country at large—should be deprived of the benefit of
the existing postal arrangements, and he added, that
tke Noble Marquis (Chnricarde), as an Irish-
man, should not be a party to such a paltry saving, to
anything that would impoverish a district which, in ad-
dition to its former burdens, was now subject to a rate
in aid. In fact, such was the effect of the announcement

that the Government intended to abandon the mails, that
in one instance three houses, valued at 4501., had been
already put up at suction, and only 55/. offered for them,
the owner wishing to go to America. He regretted that
such a policy should be pursued, and still more that the
Government did not advise her Majesty to visit Ireland.
He was certain that the moment she set her foot on the
Emerald Isle she would be received with such a cry of
joy that she would forget, at least for the time, any other
psrt of her dominions. His fellow-countrymen were
more sinned against than sinning—and it would be the
happiest day they had ever seen if her Majesty's ad-
visers, overlookitg all the pretexts on which a royal
visit had been from time to time delayed, would counsel
her to go among her Irish subjects. This might be a di-
gression, but, returning to the motion for a Select Corn•
tnittee, he thought he had made out a sufficient case tor
inquiry, and in conclusion he begged to move the motion
of which he had given notice.

Lord CAWDOR approved of the motion, and merely
rose to move an addition to the inquiry proposed by the
Noble Marquis. Last year, suddenly and without any
reason being assigned for the change, the mail commu-
nication between Waterford and Milford Haven, a cum-
munication which had continued for fifty years, and
which was of great public utility, had been cut off.
Great dissatisfaction and inconvenience had been caused,
and he therefore wished to add words to the motion
which would bring this case also before the Select Com-
mittee.

The Earl of HADDINGTON said that when he was
in office the principle acted upon in ch-clding between a
long land passage and a short sea passage, and short
land passage and long sea passage, was to give the pre-
ference to the former. It was so long since his atten-
tion had been directed to the subject, that he did not
remember the facts, but he thought that the Noble Mar-
quis had made out a sufficient case for an inquiry, and
ho would add that ho had never heard of any ships
being lost.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said that in not
agreeing with the motion of his Noble Friend (the Mar-
quis of Londonderry), or to the amendment of the Noble
Earl opposite (the Earl of Cawdor), he had no desire to
withhold from their Lordships any intormati?n con-
nected with the proposed change of packet station, but
the subject was one which in no degree, he contended,
ought to be submitted to a Committee of Inquiry. There
were no theories in antagonism, nor was there
any new system to be adopted. The question was one
which could be at once decided on. He assured their
Lordships that the change of packet had not been
adopted on insufficient views of economy or ill-
judged parsimony, but after mature deliberation, and
with an anxious desire to promote the best interest
of the public service. There were circumstances
which, in the case of steam-packet communication,
bound the iovernment to look not only to the cost
and expenditure, but to the general benefit of the
country, but in the case of the Portpatrick and
Donaghadee steam-packet stations, they were in no
way bound to regard the personal opinion of interested
parties. He quite agreed, that as a general principle,
the shortest sea passage that could bo obtained was the
most desirable; tut the rule was liable to modification,
and there was another principle which could not be over
looked, namely, the observance of the routes which public
opinion and public experience pointed out as the best to
be adopted. The Noble Marquis then proceeded to
show that the effect of the change of postal communi-
cation, as proposed by the Government, %mild be most
bmeficial for the correspondence, and that the time oc-
cupied in the transit from Glasgow and Paisley to Bel-
fast, would be not only lessen: d four hours, but that the
letters would reach sufficiently early for the first deli-
very. If Portpatrick mere continued, an increase of ex
penditure would be required to keep up the proper means
of inter-communication, and that was a proceeding he
did not feel justified in recommending for the conveni, nee
of a small portion of the country.—(Hear, hear.‘
J Sir
John Rennie's opinion with regard to Portpatrick 11,
bt eurnotpeeocivil engineer.
bour was likely to be more o! h ss biassed by the p.arti-
cular circumstance of his having
of the works there; and it certainly
Lets, appointed to
the evidence ot. experienced naval Owns contradicted by
inquire into the subject. For the purpose of keeping up
the Post-office traffic, there Nyasa no
.necessity for the
continuance of those harbours
suppose that the withdrawal hnd lt was absurd to
riously aKet the north of t e grant could inju-
meat of the rate iu aid. and, SO US to prevent pay-
Atter sonic brief observations
GALLO WAY, from the Earl of