New-York tribune., 1869-04-17
v informant to regard the conversation as conf

remarkable character may say in genera
way that it confirms and moro than cohHin0
nv own statements made at considerable lens'h
in former letter. The evidence mosI u
aging to the Cunard Company is that gwen W III.
Burns, one Of the partners and managers VI 'A"
company. Lin. !;
Mr.. Bnrns commenced his testimony by stating IN
majestic way that he did not intend TO come oeiio
the Committee at all but finally, out OF respect "
tbor had consented TO appear. This effort TO put
the Copmittee under a sense of obligation, dld hot'
| borever succeed The Chairman replied quietly
thouoh his reply is not in the printed eVuence-'hV
| the Committee desired Mr.. Burnss evidence ana
that if he had refused to come they shouu na'o so'
for him fbelieye he did not say SEND the Sergeant
alarms; but Mr.. Burns like all others present.
understood what was meant ana ne oecaiho ooiii
parativey docile The incident IS only worth iheh-
tionino as an illustration of what an Engllshman
,o,,ld coli tho very swell style in which the Cunard
peone treat the Government and their other patrons
Mr. Burns then proceeded to testify that this Cunard
Companv consisted of Sir Edward and Mr.. William
Cunard Messrs MacIver. his brother, and hlmsei-
that these six or seven individuals were the sole
mariners. Doubtless the Committee felt sense OF
relief on discovering that tins assOclatlon
heretofore surrounded with a kind OF awful
mystery. was only human. Then came an
account of the new "alliance' entered into
between the Cunard and Inman Companies, which,
said Mr.. Burns had been fighting" each other Tor
twenty years. The Cunards had all along had enor-
nous subsidies Inman had had none, but old arrange
ments were broken up. the Post Office in 1865 showed
a disposition to treat with the Inman Company on
the same terms rs the Cunard, and then a flow OF
light broke in upon the mind of Mr.. Burns. If, ho
said to himself we cannot have q contract by our
selves let MS have it with InmaD. and with him
alone In that way we can at least keep out those
dreadful foreign" companies. For it appears that
spite of subsidies and jobs the Cunard Company was
in a bad way Foreign competitors had come In
being under no British rules, and had so eaten IN
upOn our service that we were obliged for our COM
mon preservation to make common cause" 30
Cunard and Inman struck hands. They made JOINT
offer to carry the mails for $4,000 year. Inc
Government declined. Then MIR. Burns went 10
London to see what could be done. and he finally
assented TO the offer of fl05 900 because there was
greater advantage than the money in that contract
which was that was enabled by this negotiation 10
cement a commercial friendship with Mr. lnman,
which consider of more value to him and TO US
meaning, of course, that they hoped by coailtloh
TO drive tho Foreigners out of the kingdom
Mr. Burns was then asked as to the Tuesday
service which formed part of their tender. At
first he protested against the Tuesday boats being
called "sow cargo boats. but in the end he had TO
admit that they deserved that name. The Tuesday
service" he said " was never contemplated to be a
service of such great excellence such great speed as
the Saturday service" Asked whether even now
in the event Of the ratification Of this very contract
procured on the strength of an offer to carry the
Tuesday mails he meant 10 make the Tuesday ser
vice as good as the Saturday, Mr.. Burns said No.
The Tuesday mails are to be carried for eight years
apparently in such tubs as the Tarfa the Siberia,
and the Samaria. He justified the payment on the
ground Of the extra expense incurred by calling at
Queenstown but presently had to admit that the ex
pense of calling at Queenstown would not exceed
$4,000 year, while he received fS5OD for IT. and
moreover that these Tuesday vessels had called and
would call at Queenstown for passengers. whether
they took the mails or not AS a specimen Of the
way in which Nr. Burns sought to fence with the
questions of the Committee, take the following da-
logue:
O. DO you not send boats so Queenstown that do not
carry masl A. All the ships that go to America now
O. DO all your ships call Queenstown, them A. Yes.
all Of them, because they all carry mails. .,-,
@ Every ship that you send to America carries mai'
O. Did all your ships call at Queenstown in the year
@ Did they ali then carry mailsi A. No, the tslow
cargo ships did not carry malls; nsv oou.o o,
Queenstown.
OF frst-class vessels Mr.. Burns admitted they had
but SIX in their whole feet, yet he testified also
that TO keep up one efficient mail service weekly
eight or nine required. He swore that their in
structons 10 commanders enjoined upon them always
to study safety before speed but did not say whether
this Injunction had applied to the recent race be-
tween the Russia and the City of Paris. The contra
dctioHs in his extraordinary testimony so
numerous that | can only select here and there
sample. Mr.. seeey asks If. without subsidy, the
Company would not still dispatch their ships at fixed
ID n Mr. M
pends entirely on trade requirements" few min
utes later the question Is repeated: "Supposing you
had no subsidy, should you run steamers regularly
to the United States throughout the year if you did
not carry the mail bagsp Answer-"I hope soI
"You intend to do 30, do your Answer" Yes,
fully"
The Committee were naturally interested TO dis
cover how it was that foreign companies which had
no subsidy should be able to "get into" the Cunard
so as to drive it into alliance with Inman for self
preservation. Even the ingenuity Of Mr. Burns was
taxed to supply reasons He talked vaguely about
Board Of Trade restrictions to which English COM
panies were subject, and from which foreign COM
panies were exempt Then came this dialogue:
O. I think understood you to say that 1t would
scarcely BIO possible for you TO 90 on as you are without
'D1s q, And Mr. Inmsn was Of your opiniona A. Yes
And therefore @ you cSslesced together a. Yes
not against the other steamship companies.
O. But in order preserve your position A. Yes. be-
cause found that own country was not supporting
us against foreign aggression
Because, in other words the Government doubted
whether to go on paying enormous subsidies to en-
able the Cunard Company to compete with fort ign"
lines, which. without any subsidies wero building
better and faster ships and so naturally attracting
every year passengers. The colloquy proceeds:
O. You that they getting the goods andPas,
sengers A. Not so much goods as passengers Ihat
was one OF the great causes which brought Mr. 1nman
and myself together.
O. Then, what simply your motive for coalescng
with Mr. Inman A. 1t simply u mailer OF SER
nrSR