The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-28 00:00:00

POSTAL COMMUNICATION BE-
TWEEN LONDON. AND PAItIS.
The Selec: Committee appointed by the House of
Commons to ascertain the most expeditious and least
expensive mole of postal communication between
London and Paris and the Norfiern parts of Europe,
have presented-the following report :--
" Your Committee find that the postal cornmunica
tion between London and Paris has always passed
through Dover and Calais, with the exception of
a period of thirteen months,.commencing on the Ist
January, 1848. The Boulogne Railway being then
nearly completed, that port was substituted for
Calais on the establishment of an additional
and accelerated daily mail between the two
capitals. The experiment was also then made for
the first time of requiring packets to perform their
voyages between tidal harbours at fixed hours, with-
out reference to the state of the tide. The journey
from London to Paris, which had hitherto taken 314
hours, was performed in 144, the time being thus
apportioned :—London to Dover in 21 hours, Dover
to Boulogne in 5 hours, Boulogne to Paris in 7
hours ; total, 141 hours.
" From Jan: 1, 1848, to Jan. 31, 1849, there were
46 occasions in which the night mails did not reach
the Post-office at Boulogne within the period of five
heurs allowed from Dover, and on the return
voyage, when about six hours were allowed, they
reached the London Post-office too late 38 times.
But it was also in evidence that during a portion of
this period the boating service was extremely imper-
fect. From January 1, 1848, to January 31, 1849,
the mails were obliged to be embarked by boat in
Boulogne Roads 11.1 times • and' disembarked 102
times ; total, 213 times. And the cost of the boat
service during the same period was 799/. 17s. 5d., in-
clusive of 1511.163. for, the construction of new boats.
"During the following thirteen months, from
February 1, 1849, to February 28, 1850, there were
25 occasions in which the night mails were landed
from ,the packets at Calais after 2.30 A.M., or
in excess of 34 hours from the departure from
Dover, and 41 on which they were landed after two
A.M., or in excess of three hours from Dover, and
there were 26 in which they reached the London
Post-office too late. They were embarked in Calais
Roads 65 times, and disembarked ditto 18 times ;
total 83. ,The expense of the boat service during the,
same period was 1021. ls. ld.
"In considering the route by which the greatest
speed, combined with regularity, may be obtained for
this postal communication, your Committee find
the chief uncertainty to rest upon the amount of time
which must_ necessarily be allowed to include the
delays that may be expected from contrary wea-
ther and the detentions arising when the packets are
prevented by the falling of the tide from entering or
leaving the harbours. The witnesses examined upon
this point, on whose opinion with regard to such mat-
ters reliance may be most safely placed, concur in
stating, that punctuality cannot be reckoned upon, in
regard to the Boulogne voyage, under 4 hours and 30
minutes.
" Tne night mail is at present conveyed from
London to Paris, by Calais, in 12i hours. From
London to Dover in 24 hours, Dover to Calais 3
hours, Calais to Paris 7 hours : total 124 hours.
Three hours may, therefore, be taken as a sufficient
allowance of time from the railway station at Dover
to the station at Calais, though one of the witnesses
stated that 34 hours should be allowed to insure re-
gularity.
"It appears, therefore, from the evidence your
Committee have taken, that four and a half hours are
required between the stations at Dover and Boulogne,
and three hours between the stations at Dover and
Calais, the difference being attributable to the
following circumstances :—The sea passage to
Boulogne pier is on the average about twenty
minutes longer than to Calais pier. In Boulogne
harbour it is stated that there is depth of water
sufficient for the packets about seven hours out of
twelve, and in Calais generally with the exception
of about one hour and forty minutes at spring
tides. The boat service is snore liable to delay
and difficulty at Boulogne than at Calais. Boulogne
is more exposed to the prevailing gales, and more
difficult and dangerous of approach, particularly in
the dark, in bad weather. The manager of the Bou-
logne and Amiens Railway stated five honis to be the
shortest time in which the mail could be con-
veyed with regularity from Boulogne to Paris,
assuming that the best arrangement could be made
with the North of France Railway Company. A
superintendent of the North of France Railway
stated six hours and forty-five minutes to be the
average time actually occupied in the transmission of
the mails from Calais to Paris, though seven
hours are allowed to cover delays, and he
considered that rate of speed
,to be suscep-
tible .of acceleration. The time, therefore,
at which the mails may be conveyed by the two routes,
assuming an acceleration on the Boulogne line, ap-
pears to be.as follows :--,
h. h. /11.
London to Dover .. 2 30 London to Dover.... 2 30
Dover to Boulogne 4 30 Dover to Calais..... 3 0
BoulognetoParis ... 4 45',Calais to Paris .......6 45

11 45

12 15

" The advantage of half an hour posssessed by the
Former route is, however, counterbalanced by the fol-
owing considerations :

"It shown by experience to be exposed to more
delay, even with the allowance of 4h. 30m. from
station to station, than the other route ; and it must
be remembered that nine times the packets were
unable to deliver their mails at Boulogne, and
to avoid further delay, proceeded to Calais. The
expense of the Boulogne line, for boat-service, coal,
stores, wear and tear, is estimated at one-third more
than the same service from Dover to Calais, and the
risk of serious accident to the packets is greater. Your
Committee have it also in evidence that the port of
Calais could not well be superseded, but would re-
main the port for letters for the north of Europe, and
that letters are sent twice a day at the present time
to Belgium and the Rhine by this route. Your
Committee are informed that the mail train from Dover
to London may be accelerated from fifteen to twenty
minutes by diminishing the number of stoppages and
one cause of delay will be considerably removed as
,the works at Dover advance and the mails landed at
the pier at -all hours. And your Committee have
been informed that the Minister who superintends
the postal department in France has intimated his
readiness to dispatch the night mail from Paris at
seven r.m.,as was the case in 1848.

" Your Committee; therefore, having reference to
general celerity, regularity, and economy, do not
recommend any change of route. But they recom-
mend that the night mail from Paris be so accelerated
as to reach London at such time in the morning as
is requisite for the dispatch by the morning mails of
the letters addressed to places beyond the metropolis,
and in the event of this object not being attained by
an improvement of the existing arrangements, your
Committee are of opinion that the importance of that
object is such as to render desirable an attempt to ac-.
complish it by any other means ;which may furnish a
prospect of success.

" Your Committee find that the day mails conveyed
under the terms of the convention in packets belong-
ing to the French Government, have been subject to
much delay. In the year ending 31st Jan., 1849,
the day mails from Paris failed to arrive in London
in due course 92 times, and in the 13 months ending
28th Feb., 1850, 74 times; and considering that 161
hours are allowed for the journey, your Committee
have not 'discovered any sufficient excuse for this
great irregularity.
" Your Committee have been informed that the net
cost, after deducting receipts, of the packet service to
and from Calais, is 6,2441. per annum, and that by
reductions consequent.' on 'the withdrawal of the
Ostend line it might be decreased to 4,981/. The
chairman of the South-Eastern Railway Company
stated, on behalf of his company, that they would
undertake the same service for 9,8251. per annum.
" Though your Committee do not see grounds for
expecting a reduction of expense from any transference
of the packet service to other hands, yet as a great
saving of expenditure would be effected by the aban-
donment of the Ostend line of packets, and as the
letters they at present convey could be car-
ried by the Calais packets, and the greater
portion reach their destination • with at least as
much speed and punctuality as at present, they ex-
press a hope that her Majesty's Government will take
into consideration the means of effecting this reduc-
tion, provided it can be secured without a correspond-
ing , increase in the rates of postage; and without
breach of engagement with foreign powers.
" Your Committee have further directed their at-
tention to n circumstance which occurred during their
deliberations, not only irregular in character, but
materially affecting the privileges of the House. Some
paragraphs of a draft report; printed for the purpose
of aiding the members of the Committee in the consi-
deration of the subject before them, were published in
an incomplete state in two newspapers, at a moment
when your Committee were still deliberating, and be-
fore they had agreed to their report; this publication
being followed by comments as premature as tilt.,
document to which they adverted was incomplete.
" Your Committee have thought it due to them-
selves and to the authority of the House, to endea-
vour to discover by whom this draft report was made
public. 'They have examined the publishers of the
two newspapers, and have traced the offence to the
correspondent of one of them. He stated that he had
not obtained the draft from any member of your
Committee, or from any one belonging to the offices
of the House, but declined to give up the name of
the person from whom he did obtain it. He, how-
ever, expressed his contrition, and assured your Com-
mittee that he ;was not aware of the confidential
character of the document. Your Committee having
proceeded to examine the persona employed in the
printing and distribution of the minutes and proceed-
ings of Committees, found a laxity of practice exist-