The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-06 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 6, 1859

because there ought to have been some proper test of the
value of the service to be performed, and such a test would
have been best afforded by competition. (Hear, hear.) He
thought the Government were also reprehensible for perse •
vering in their intention to sign the contract without giving
the House of Commons an opportunity of ascertaining
the facts of the case, and considering whether, on the
whole, the arrangement proposed was the best that could
be made, not only in the matter of economy, but with refe-
rence to the interests of Ireland. He thought the house
ought to require some explanation why a very large expen-
diture was at all necessary fer the conveyance of letters be-
tween Ireland and Newfoundland. The house had been
in the habit of voting a sum of about £7,000 a-year for the
conveyan se of letters by mail-packet between Halifax and
Newfoundland, and if £78,000 was applied merely to the
conveyance of letters to the United States through New-
foundland, he thought it would be difficult to justify such
an expenditure, because £176,000 a-year was already de-
voted to the maintenance of a weekly service between Eng-
land and New York; and England and Boston and Halifax
alternately. He did not mean to deny that it might be ad-
visable to make arrangements for despatching a mail to
North America from some Irish port alternately with Liver-
pool—(hear, hear)—but he thought it an extravagant pro-
position that, in addition to the weekly service from Eng-
land, another and a totally distinct service should be esta-
blished from Ireland. Letters could be collected from the
greater part of Ireland and despatched to North America
from Liverpool as conveniently as from Galway. It was im-
possible, however, to suppose that this expenditure was in-
tended merely for the conveyance of letters. Its object was,
no doubt, to benefit Ireland by promoting emigration. The
Secretary to the Treasury had admitted that it was intended
to facilitate emigration by establishing a frequent commu-
nication between Ireland and Newfoundland. It was right
that any fair sum of money should be devoted to such a pur-
pose, but if this were the object, why should the Govern-
ment take credit upon their own responsibility for advanc-
ing the public money to promote this intercourse ? The
proper course would, in his opinion, have been for the Secre-
tary to the Treasury to have submitted to the house a vote
for the necessary sum, stating the purpose for which it was
required ; but why did the Governmentt take credit for a
measure which was said to be popular in Ireland, without
allowing the House of Commons to express their opinion on
the subject ? He thought the Government had pursued a
most improper, unusual, and unprecedented course in hav-
ing secretly, upon their own authority, without laying any
papers upon the table or proposing a vote, granted a sum of
money to a particular company without permitting any com-
petition. He thought this conduct was the more strange as
Parliament was near its close. He hoped there was yet time
for the Government to reconsider the course they were
about to take, and that they would think it more consistent
with their duty not to sign any contract at present, but to
leave the subject to be brought before the future Parliament
in a regular manner by an estimate, accompanied by an ex-
planation of the purposes to which the amount was to be
applied. He would be most happy, if the Government could
make out a fair case, to concur in granting any sum that
might be necessary; but he thought the house ought to
know what was the exact character of the contract, how
long it was to last, and the specific object with which it was
entered into, and the Government would then be relieved
from many suspicions and rumours that had been spread
abroad on this subject, which he thought could only be
fairly met by their establishing a clear case for the grant.
He must, under the circumstances, enter his protest against
the course which the Government proposed to pursue in 1
relation to this matter.
Mr. P. O'BRIEN was astonished to hear the hon. mem-
ber for Mallow (Sir D. Norreys), protest against this grant,
which was regarded in Ireland—except perhaps by persons
who were interested in particulor ports—as a great boon,
very gracefully conceded by the Government. He believed
Irish members were almost unanimously of opinion that
the establishment of the proposed communication would be
attended with immense advantage to Ireland. The Secre-
tary to the Treasury had, he thought, properly treated this
as an exceptional case. If Cork, or Limerick, or any other
Irish port had entered the field in competition with Gal-
way, he could have understood the objections which were
made to the course adopted by the Government, but no such
movement had taken place. Some four years back it was
stated by the hon. member for South Lancashire (Mr. W.
Brown), one of the leading merchants engaged in the Ameri-
can trade, that two-thirds:of the letters which were received
by his house in Liverpool from America were from emi-
grants who had gone out from Ireland, and who had sent
remittances to their friends in that country. He thought,
therefore, it was fair to infer that increased facilities for
postal communication between North America and Ireland
were required.
Mr. SPAIGHT seconded the motion, and observed that
the Government had entiled themselves to the gratitude of
the Irish people by acknowledging that, from its geo-
graphical position, Ireland was the high road between
this country and her colonies in the West; but he en-
tertained some doubt whether the course pursued by
the Government was the best calulated to attain the ob-
ject they had in view. If they deemed it right that a sub-
sidy should be given to establish postal commmunication
between Ireland and America, he thought they should have
studied the interests of the public by adopting the route
which ensures the greatest convenience, safety, and eco-
nomy. The subject of this communication had been under
the consideration of Parliament since 1831; four commis-
sions had inquired into the matter, and an opinion had
been expressed that Galway was not the most convenient
port on the western coast of Ireland as a station for trans-
atlantic communication. He deplored that the Govern-
ment had gone so far in this particular instance. They
would have better consulted the public interest if they had
reserved their decision until the whole matter had been
made the subject of a public inquiry. Whatever might be
the merits of the Galway line, he greatly doubted whether
it had been proved that it had any claims upon that house
and the country. Certainly the passage to Newfoundland
had been successful. It was well known that owing to the
fogs and the ice it was impossible for six months in the
year to carry en a communication of this kind with New-
foundland. He entreated the Government, therefore, to
stay any proceeding until the question had been fully
brought before the house. The interests of the Shannon
were entitled to equal consideration, and all he asked for
was a fair and open investigation. The highest naval
authorities had declared that Galway in its present state
was totally unfitted for an efficient packet station.
Mr. RICHARDSON said it was natural that the hon.
member for Liverpool should dislike competition, but that
Irish members should do the same excited his astonishment
and was not patriotic. He thanked the Government for
what they had done. It was stated that Galway was a dan-
gerous port to enter, but so was Liverpool itself; and,
moreover, the former place could easily be made a first-rate
port and transatlantic station at an exceedingly moderate
expense. Enormous sums had been laid out upon English
harbours. At Holyhead, for example, the cost of the
works was about a million sterling ; whereas to render
Galway a port which the Great Eastern might enter at
low water, the entire expenditure required would be only
£150,000. Even upon the right hon. member for Hertford's
own showing, the present Government must have entered
into a very good bargain withthe Galway line, because they
had agreed upon a less sum by £3OO per voyage than was
paid to the Cunard line. The opposition offered in this
case reminded one of the ancient state of Ireland, when
Limerick fought against Galway and Galway against Lime-
rick. (A laugh.) If the Limerick gentlemen had shown
their patriotism by starting a line from their own port for
the accommodation of the country, not one word would
have been said against them; but having done nothing of
the kind, it certainly seemed rather like sour grapes for
them now to unite with the Liverpool men against their
own fellow countrymen in Galway. (Laughter.) The in-
terests of the north of Ireland, as well as of England and
Scotland, ought to be considered in connexion with this
question, because the direct line of postal service between
Ireland and America and our own colonies in the west
would lie by way of Belfast and the railroad now in course
of formation to Galway. Dependent as it was kipon Liver-
pool for its postal communication, the trade of Ireland was
in a position in which no public-spirited Irish member
should wish to see it placed.

Mr. ROEBUCK hoped the house would excuse him if he
addressed it for a few moments on this matter, in which he
certainly had a personal interest. Regarding Ireland as
one limb of this great empire, ho had always desired to
bring her, if possible, up to the standard of England.
(Hear, hear.) He saw an attempt made on the part of cer-
tain enterprising men in London to open a direct communi-
cation between Ireland and America, and by thus affording
mercantile advantages to Ireland to benefit that country
without doing injury to anybody ; and though an English-
man, yet, wishing well to the sister island, he had taken
part in this adventure. Now, he was very much—he was
about to say astonished, only he had ceased to be
astonished at anything—(a laugh)—but he admired
this wondrous outburst of patriotism on the part of the
front Opposition bench. (Laughter.) The right hon.
member for Hertford (Mr. Cowper) appeared very much
shocked at the idea of this contract being entered into by
his political opponents with the Galway Company without
the papers being laid before the House of Commons. But
had that never been done before ? Had it never been done
by the immaculate body whose hard fate it now was to
occupy the Opposition benches ? (Hear, hear, and
laughter.) What was lately done with Mr. Cunard ? And
when the right hon. gentleman told them that no appeal had
been made on that occasion to that house he told them
nothing to the purpose. The last contract with Mr. Cunard
was made by the late Government upon stipulations which
were entered into by the present Government, because they
had been left them as a legacy by their predecessors. Of
that the House of Commons knew absolutely nothing,
though that house was bound by the contract made by the
late Government and carried out through the medium of
their successors. (Hear.) What, however, had the present
Government done with regard to the Galway Company ? It
was found that letters could be transmitted from London to
New York, through Galway, in 24 hours less time than via
Liverpool ; and tenders were accordingly sent in to the Go-
vernment offering to conduct the mercantile communication
between England, Ireland, and America by that shorter
route. The Government, looking at the proposal from an
imperial point of view, considered it in the light of a ques-
tion of what they could do for Ireland, and, indeed, for the
whole mercantile community of the united kingdom, by
means of a new postal line by way of Galway. Following
previous examples, the Government investigated the mat-
ter and judged for itself. It had taken proper precau-

tions to secure good ships, and to have the service done
in the specified time. There was no harm or injury in-
flicted on any port in England by this. The hon. member
for Liverpool (Mr. Horsfall) told them he was not an enemy
to Galway—the chief opposition to the enterprise appeared
to come from Ireland. There was always something going
on against the Galway Company among persons connected
with Limerick. The Honse of Commons, which was su-
perior to all local and personal considerations, would, he
hoped, judge as he had done himself. He found that
various persons perfectly conversant with mercantile and
marine affairs had selected Galway from among the dif-
ferent ports on the Irish coast. There was no competition
either from Limerick or Valentia • the company was estab-
lished at Galway ; and the opposition was very like the old
Irish quarrels ; the dissensions among the Irish themselves
utterly destroyed their own interests. No sooner was a
good thing proposed to be done for Ireland than the most

fierce opposition to it came from Ireland itself. Several
Englishmen had selected Galway as the fittest port for the
enterprise; they came to the Government, offered to do
certain things, and bound themselves to do them ; and
when the house was told that Mr. Cunard had astonished
the Government by the lowness of his tender he could
assure it that the tender of the Galway Company was
lower than that of Mr. Cunard. They should leek at this
enterprise as an Imperial matter—not as a mere postal ar-
rangement. He thought the establishment of the Galway
Company a great step in the mercantile improvement of
Ireland. That improvement depended on English capital
flowing into It, and yet when Englishmen did what every
good Irishman admitted ought to be done, by whom were
they most opposed ? By Irishmen. It told badly for
them ; they should merge their small, petty, and local
feelings in the great consideration of the Imperial interests
of Ireland ; they should forget Limerick and Galway, and
think of it only as an Imperial question.
Mr. P. W. RUSSELL had always approved the principle
laid down by the Government, that the line of Atlantic
communication should have its point of departure on the
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