F.—2

3

10. That if the Company fail to provide an efficient vessel at Point de Galle or Melbourne in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, ready to put to sea on and at the appointed day and hour, then and so of,ten as the same shall happen the Company shall forfeit and pay unto Her Majesty, Her heirs and successors, the sum of five hundred pounds, and also the further sum of one hundred pounds for every successive twenty-four hours which shall elapse until such vessel actually proceeds to sea on her voyage in the performance of this Agreement: Provided always that the aggregate amount of the penalties to be recoverable under this clause in respect of any one voyage or contemplated voyage shall not exceed by more than the sum of two thousand pounds the proportion of the subsidy hereinafter agreed to be paid by the Postmaster-General as applicable to such voyage. 11. That during the continuance of this Agreement the commanders of the vessels to be employed for the time being in carrying the mails under this Agreement shall take due care of, and the Company shall be responsible for the receipt, safe custody, and delivery of the said mails, and each of such masters or commanders shall make such oath or declaration or declarations now lawfully required or which may hereafter be lawfully required by the Postmaster-G-eneral in such and similar cases, and furnish such journals, returns, and information to and perform such services as the Postmaster-General may require ; and every such master or commander, or officer duly authorized by him, having the charge of mails, shall himself, immediately on the arrival at any of the said ports or places of any such vessel, deliver all Mails for such port or place into t he hands of the Postmaster or other person at such port or place as the Postmaster-General shall authorize to receive the same, receiving in like manner all the return or other mails to be forwarded in due course. 12. That the Company shall not, nor shall any of the masters of any of the vessels employed or to be employed under this Agreement, receive or permit to be received on board any of the vessels carrying the mails under this Agreement any letters for conveyance other than those carried under this Agreement in charge of the said commander or other person authorized to have charge of the said mails, or which are or may be privileged by law ; nor shall any mails be conveyed by the Company between Point de Galle and any of the Australasian Colonies or New Zealand for or on behalf of any colony, province, or foreign country, save those carried under this Agreement, without the consent in writing of the Postmaster-General. 13. That the Port of Melbourne shall be the Australian terminus of vessels carrying mails under this Agreement, and such vessels shall not after delivering the mails at Melbourne proceed to any other port or place with goods or passengers save on the return voyage to Point de Galle, except with the consent of the Postmaster-General in writing. 14. That the Postmaster-General shall have full power, whenever and as often as he may deem it requisite, to survey by any of his officers or agents all or any of the vessels employed and to be employed in the performance of this Agreement, and hulls thereof; and the engines, machinery, furniture, tackle, apparel, stores, equipments, and the officers, engineers, and crew of every such vessel, and any defect or deficiency that may be discovered on any such survey shall be forthwith repaired or supplied by the Company; and if any of such vessels or any part thereof, or any engines, machinery, furniture, tackle, apparel, boats, stores, or equipments, shall on any such survey be declared by any of such officers or agents unseaworthy or not adapted to the service hereby agreed to be performed, every vessel which shall be disapproved of, or in which such deficiency or defect shall appear, shall be deemed insufficient for any service hereby agreed to be performed, and shall not be again employed in the conveyance of mails until such defect or deficiency has been repaired or supplied to the satisfaction of the Postmaster-General. 15. That the Company and all commanding and other officers of the vessels employed in the performance of this Agreement, and all agents, seamen, and servants of the Company, shall at all times punctually attend to the orders and directions of the Postmaster-General, his officers or agents, as to the mode, time, and place of landing, delivering, and receiving mails. 16. That all and every the sums of money hereby stipulated to be forfeited or paid by the Company unto Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, shall be considered as stipulated or ascertained damages, whether any damage or loss have or have not been sustained, and shall and may be retained and deducted by the Postmaster-General out of any moneys payable or which may thereafter become payable to the Company. 17. And in consideration of the due and faithful performance by the said Company of all the services hereby agreed to be by them performed, the said Postmaster-General doth hereby agree that there shall be paid at Melbourne to the said Company by Her Majesty's Government of Victoria, so long as the Company perform the voyages and services herein contracted to be performed, a sum of money after the rate of ninety thousand pounds per annum (£90,000), in equal quarterly payments, on the first day of April, the first day of July, the first day of October, and the first day of January in each year, and shall accrue due from day to day; and the said payments shall be received by the said Company as full compensation for all costs and expenses which they may incur or be put unto by reason or on account of all and singular the services hereby contracted to be performed, subject however to the abatement or deduction of any sums of money in respect to forfeitures which the said Company may have incurred, or to the addition of any sums in respect of premiums, as the case may be, as herein provided. 18. That if at any time during the continuance of this Agreement or after the determination thereof any dispute shall arise between the parties to these presents or their successors respectively concerning any breach or alleged breach by or on the part of the Company of this Agreement, or the sufficiency of any such breach to justify the Postmaster-General in the putting an end to the same, or concerning any of the"covenants, matters, or things hereinbefore contained or in anywise relating thereto, and notwithstanding the power herein contained to determine this Agreement, and any execution or attempted execution of such power, such dispute shall be referred to two arbitrators, one to be chosen from time to time by the Postmaster-General, and the other by the Company ; and if such arbitrators should at any time or times not agree on the matter or question referred to them, then such question in difference shall be referred by them to an umpire to be chosen by such arbitrators before they proceed