ffect was first inserted in the contract with the Royal Mail
Company in 1840; and in most of the existing contracts
stipulations are to be found requiring that the vessel should be
of a construction and strength fit to carry such an armament as
the Admiralty may think proper. In several cases they must be
built of wood and not of iron; and there are some contracts which
confer on the Admiralty the right of taking the ships at a
valuation when it may be thought desirable to do so.

"Generally speaking, these stipulations have been fulfilled, as
appears from a return which has been laid before us by the
Surveyor of the Navy, showing the number, tonnage, and power of
the vessels constructed by the various companies under contract
with the Admiralty for the conveyance of the mails,
distinguishing those built of wood from those built of iron, and
stating whether the companies have in any cases violated the terms
of the contracts, and if so, whether any authority has been given
by the Board of Admiralty for the deviation. It results from this
return that out of 98 vessels which had been surveyed by the
Government officers, one only (the 'Australian') has been reported
as incapable of carrying guns if required, and two iron vessels
(the 'Levantine' and the 'Petrel') have been accepted instead of
wooden vessels, on Mr. Cunard's Halifax and Bermuda line. Two
other vessels--one belonging to the Australian Royal Mail Company,
and the other to Mr. Macgregor Laird's West Coast of Africa
line--had also been accepted (temporarily) by Admiralty authority,
although of less tonnage and power than the contracts prescribed.

"The Surveyor's report upon most of these vessels, as regards
their fitness for war purposes, is in the following terms: 'Not
fitted for armament, but capable of carrying guns when so fitted.'
This report accords with the opinion expressed by the Committee of
Naval and Artillery officers upon the vessels which have come
under their notice. It appears, however, from the statements of
that Committee, that although the packets they have examined are
for the most part of sufficient strength to carry and fire a
certain number of guns, the expense of the alterations which would
be necessary before they could be got ready for service would be
very considerable, and that even when suc