Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company—Its founders and origin—Messrs. Willcox and Anderson—Mr. James Allan—How the Peninsular mails were originally conveyed—Proposal of Peninsular Company for their conveyance—Contract concluded August 29th, 1837—Conveyance of mails to India previously to 1839—Government applies to the Peninsular Company and accepts their proposals, though reluctantly—Proposed direct line from Falmouth to Calcutta—First vessels hence, on Indian postal service to Alexandria—Original postal service from Suez to Bombay—Contract for mails between Suez and Calcutta, September 1842—Further proposals made by the East India Company and Government, but finally rejected by the East India Company—Further contracts for mail service to China and Singapore—Peninsular and Oriental Company undertake the line between Bombay and Suez, 1854—House of Commons Committee on Australian mail service, 1849—Eastern Steam Navigation Company and Peninsular and Oriental Company tender for it, but the Peninsular and Oriental succeed—The _Himalaya_ built—New contract with Peninsular and Oriental Company, January 1853—Failure of service during the Crimean War—Proposals for an independent Australian mail service—Tender of European and Australian Company accepted—Their entire failure—Speech of Lord Overstone, March 24th, 1859—Royal Mail Company undertakes the Australian service and fails—New tenders invited—That of Peninsular and Oriental Company accepted, 1859—Consolidation of services in the Peninsular and Oriental Company—Its present condition and fleet of ships—Terms of the contract now in force—Revenue and expenditure—Coals required—Descriptions of vessels—Screw steamer _Khedive_—Particulars of this ship—Uniform and regulations of the company. [Sidenote: Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.] The career of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, the first commercial undertaking which conveyed the mails overland to the East is interesting and instructive. It is the more so, as the impression that this company owed its origin to Government grants, and that it has been entirely maintained by subsidies for the conveyance of the mails, is not supported by facts. Indeed, during the earlier portion of its career, the company, by agreeing to carry the Peninsular mails, shortly after it had been started, for a sum considerably less than the cost of maintaining the Admiralty packets then employed, with a speed, too, and regularity previously unknown, conferred an undoubted boon on the public.