| Railway Company. | Total amount of Debenture Loans. | Average rate of Interest. | Saving of the Companies by paying only 3¼ per cent. | Amount annually payable by the Post Office for Conveyance of the Mails under the latest awards or agreements. |
| £ | Per Cent. | £ | £ | |
| Caledonian | 2,262,426 | 4.5 | 28,280 | 23,710 |
| Great Western | 10,083,710 | 4.57 | 133,104 | 18,252 |
| London and North-Western | 10,975,589 | 4.3 | 115,243 | 56,500 |
| London and South-Western | 2,400,416 | 4.31 | 25,444 | 14,780 |
| Midland | 4,151,556 | 4.28 | 42,761 | 23,412 |
| North-Eastern | 6,833,642 | 4.36 | 75,853 | 34,380 |
| South-Eastern | 2,709,468 | 4.61 | 36,848 | 14,624 |
The annual payments for the railway postal service amount to about £400,000. The general adoption of the above plan would (the service remaining the same) reduce this amount probably to about £150,000. To obtain the concurrence of the companies it would be necessary, probably, for the Government to advance gradually, as the existing bonds fall due, about £30,000,000 in the aggregate, or rather less than two-fifths of the present amount of railway debentures. This advance, taking the saving of the companies at only one per cent. on the average, would reduce their expenses by £300,000. And as their receipts from the Post Office would be reduced, say by £250,000, the balance would give a direct gain to the companies of £50,000 per annum. But I am assured by gentlemen well informed on the subject, that the companies would also be benefited indirectly as regards the terms on which they would be enabled to raise the remainder of their loans.
The question naturally arises, why, seeing that a larger advance (say of £45,000,000 instead of £30,000,000) would probably suffice to relieve the Post Office of all payments for railway service, I have not proposed the larger amount? The reason is that I have not felt justified in asking Government to do more than is necessary to supply the defects of early legislation, by placing the Post Office in a position similar to that in which it would probably have stood, had its interests (and through it those of the public) received due attention from the legislature when railways were first established. It is unnecessary to add that, should Government feel disposed to extend the advances to railways beyond the limit I have proposed, the saving which would result from such extension might go to the further relief of the Post Office, or be carried direct to the credit of the general revenue of the state, as Government might determine. In arriving at this conclusion, I have not overlooked the importance of neutralising the unwillingness sometimes manifested by the companies now under agreement with the Post Office to afford additional service without additional pay. Against this inconvenience I consider the Post Office may be tolerably well secured by making the agreement terminable by the Government, without notice, in the event of the conditions not being fully performed by the company.
I may add that advances, such as those now suggested (except that they were unfortunately unaccompanied by any stipulations as to the postal service), have already been made to several of the Irish railway companies.
Should the above plan be adopted by Government, I have little doubt that almost every railway company would speedily avail itself of the advantages it affords; and, if so, while both parties would be saved the trouble, expense, delay, and uncertainty of arbitrations, the Postmaster-General would be enabled, more effectually even than by the proposed bill, to grant many important postal facilities earnestly desired by the public, which he is now obliged to withhold, a most acceptable boon would be conferred on the railway companies, and a large saving—estimated above at £250,000 a year—would be effected in the Post Office expenditure.
R. H.
6th January, 1857.