As the circumstances connected with the origin and progress of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, and particularly with its employment in the Contract Mail Packet Service, are but imperfectly known to a great proportion of the present Proprietors; for their better information it has been deemed advisable by the Directors to authorise the printing and circulation of the following Statement and Abstract. References, it will be found, are occasionally made to parts of the proceed

In their last Report, presented to the Proprietors at the general meeting held on the 31st of May last, the Directors stated that a Committee of the House of Commons had been appointed, “to inquire into the Contract Packet Service;” and expressed “their satisfaction that such an inquiry had been instituted, feeling, as they did, that as far as the interests of this Company were concerned, it would have a beneficial tendency, by eliciting facts connected with the origin and progress of the Compan

Previous to the 4th of September, 1837, the arrangements for the Mail Packet communication with the Peninsula were as follows:— Mails to Lisbon were conveyed by sailing Post-office Packets, which departed from Falmouth for Lisbon every week—wind and weather permitting. Their departures and arrivals were, however, extremely irregular; and it was no very infrequent occurrence for the Lisbon Mail to be three weeks’ old on its arrival at Falmouth, instead of being brought in five days, with an almos

The efficiency with which the Peninsular Mail Packet Service was performed elicited from the Admiralty repeated testimonials of approbation; and, proving as it did, that that description of service could be more advantageously conducted by private enterprise, under Contract, than by Government vessels and establishments, paved the way for the subsequent extension of Contract Mail communication which took place with the West Indies, North America and the East Indies, China, &c. Previous t

For several years prior to the arrangement of the Contract with this Company, for the accelerated transmission of the India Mails to and from Alexandria, much public solicitude had been manifested for a more comprehensive system of steam communication with India than that which had been established by the Government and the East India Company. That establishment being considered, as, indeed, at its commencement it was professed to be, merely a preliminary and experimental one—intended to pave th

Two Mail Communications per month with India being thus established,—viz., that by the Peninsular and Oriental Company to Calcutta, viâ Ceylon, and that by the East India Company’s packets between Suez and Bombay,—the Mails for the former being despatched viâ Southampton on the 20th, by the Peninsular and Oriental Company’s vessels, to meet the same Company’s vessels plying between Suez and India, China, &c.,—it became necessary to provide a means of conveyance for the Bombay branch of t

This arrangement was not remunerative to the Company, inasmuch as the expense of the steam vessel, which, in consequence of it, the Company were obliged to run between Malta and Alexandria, was fully equal to the whole amount of the sum received for the conveyance of the Mails between Southampton and Alexandria, and it also subjected the Company to some additional expenses in carrying on their trade with Constantinople and the Black Sea ports. The Directors have on former occasions publicly stat

Extract from Mr. T. C. Croker of the Admiralty’s evidence. 1115. Has the contract been well performed?—I can speak from a knowledge of nine years to the manner in which that contract has been performed, and it has been performed most admirably, and has given general satisfaction; in fact, the only fault which has been found with the manner in which it has been performed is, that it has been done too well. 1116. Will you explain what you mean by being done too well?—The vessels arrived sooner tha

Mr. Croker further examined— 1152. Would not the Admiralty agent on board those packets be cognizant of any breach of contract which had occurred?—Certainly. 1153. Do not they make reports to the Admiralty through the officers conducting the packet service at Southampton?—Certainly. 1154. Would not any breach of contract come immediately to the knowledge of the Admiralty, through the report of the Admiralty agent?—Certainly. 1155. Therefore the absence of any such report is direct proof that the

It will have been observed, from the evidence of Mr. Croker of the Admiralty (see page 27), that in consequence of the Directors offering to the Government the permission to investigate the accounts and books of the Company, the Admiralty appointed Capt. A. Ellice, R.N., the comptroller of steam machinery, and previously superintendent of the packet service at Southampton, together with Mr. W. H. Bond, an experienced accountant, connected with the civil department of the naval service, to make t

Sir , Admiralty, 17 June, 1848. In obedience to their Lordships’ instructions of the 30th ultimo, I have inquired into the matters therein mentioned respecting the Peninsular and Oriental Contract Steam Packet Company, having called to my assistance, for this purpose, Mr. W. H. Bond, purser of her Majesty’s navy; and I have now the honour of enclosing the Report thereon for their Lordships’ information. H. G. Ward, Esq., &c., &c., &c. (Signed) A. Ellice . This Report bein

The vessels marked * are built of iron....

(True Copy.) (Signed) C. W. HOWELL, Secretary ....

(Signed) John Pirie. Ar. Anderson. Fran. Carleton. B. M. Willcox. (True Copy.) (Signed) C. W. Howell , Secretary. Copy of a Memorandum made by Mr. Cowper on the Contract for the Calcutta Mails, after the receipt of the Report of Investigation by Captain Ellice and Mr. Bond , and sent to Lord Auckland . “The contract for the Calcutta mails, from Southampton to Alexandria, expires on the 8th January, 1849. Two offers have been made for its renewal, one by the Peninsular and Oriental Company, for £

But I wish to remark that, to estimate the value of these communications merely by the postage of the letters carried, I consider to be a very erroneous estimate; there are incidental public advantages arising from those communications which I consider far to overbalance the cost of them; for instance, by facilitating the communications with those foreign countries and dependencies, you promote the increase of your commerce. And I will mention one fact, which I think will illustrate the opinion