| Willcox and Anderson | for | £35,200 | per annum. |
| J. P. Robinson | ” | 51,000 | ” |
| Macgregor Laird | ” | 44,000 | ” |
| G. M. Jackson | ” | 37,950 | ” |
The tender of Messrs. Willcox and Anderson who, as Managers of the Peninsular Company, had furnished the plan, was accepted, because it was the lowest. But Mr. Croker in his evidence (see Report) has made a slight error in calculation, in stating the sum at £35,200 per annum. The tender made was as follows:—
| For the | 1st year | of the service | £37,000 | |
| ” | 2nd year | ” | 35,000 | |
| ” | 3rd year | ” | 34,000 | |
| ” | 4th year | ” | 33,000 | |
| ” | 5th year | ” | 32,000[3] | |
| ——— | ||||
| Divided by 5) | 171,000 | |||
| ——— | ||||
| Gives for the annual cost | £34,200 | |||
| ====== | ||||
Besides this reduced sum, as compared with the demands of the other competitors, the tender of Willcox and Anderson afforded further important advantages to the public, in a reduced rate of passage-money for officers travelling on the public service, conveyance free of Admiralty packages, &c.
The vessels offered by Willcox and Anderson, were the “Oriental,” of 1,600 tons, and 450-horse power, and the “Great Liverpool,” of 1,540 tons, and 464-horse power, (originally destined for the transatlantic line of communication, but which were placed at their disposal by the Managers and Proprietors of that enterprise). They were also bound to provide a subsidiary vessel, of not less than 250-horse power, besides a vessel of 140-horse power, for the Malta and Corfu Service. The estimate made at the Admiralty (see question No. 1411) of the cost of the Government packets which performed the service, and which were superseded by this Contract, was £33,912. But as that estimate did not include any allowance for interest on their first cost, nor for sea risk, nor for depreciation, the following per centages on these accounts must be added to it, in order to present a tolerably correct view of the actual cost to the public of the service so performed.
The four vessels employed could not have cost the public less than £100,000. Upon this sum, therefore, must be calculated—
| Interest | at | 4 | per cent. | ||
| Sea Risk | 5 | ” | |||
| Depreciation | 5 | ” | |||
| — | |||||
| 14 | per cent. | per annum | £14,000 | ||
| Add Admiralty estimate of wages, victuals, coals, and repairs, as above | 33,912 | ||||
| ——— | |||||
| Total annual expense of these Packets | 47,912 | ||||
| From which deduct proportion of passage-moneyfor the public account, estimatednot to exceed | 3,000 | ||||
| ——— | |||||
| Net cost of the Service | £44,912 | ||||
| ======= | |||||
It hence appears that this Service, which cost, in the defective state of its arrangements, and as carried on by small vessels of about 140-horse power, £44,912, was undertaken, and has since been satisfactorily performed, under a greatly improved arrangement, by large vessels of 450-horse power, for £34,200, realising a financial saving of about £10,700 per annum to the country.