The round condemnation by a committee of the house of commons, of the course pursued by the government, gave Smith, the postmaster general of Canada, a handle of which he was not slow to make full use. The report of the committee was laid before the house of commons on May 22, and on the 30th of the same month, Smith again approached the government on the subject, setting forth the grounds of his appeal to the British government, and concluding by asking that the government should aid the Canadian line by a subsidy of L50,000 a year. He pledged the Canadian government to give a like amount for the same purpose. The application was refused, and Smith, whose resources seemed endless, approached the subject from another angle.[308] The contract which was made with the Lever Company called for a fortnightly service, the consideration being L3000 a trip, or L78,000 a year. The Lever Company was in no position to fulfil the terms of its contract, and Smith opened negotiations with the company to take over their contract, stipulating to allow the company L35,000 of the L78,000 which the contract would bring, as the consideration for the assignment. An agreement was concluded on these terms, and the deeds were signed on July 6, 1860. The only condition now was the consent of the British government to the arrangement, which was required by the contract, but which under the circumstances was regarded as purely formal. The terms being laid before the secretary of the treasury and the postmaster general, secured the approval of both those authorities; and on the 11th of July, the sailing arrangements under the contract were settled between Smith and the official in charge of the post office packet service. Success seemed now assured, but before the day was over, the situation had undergone an entire change, for the British government had refused its assent to the assignment of the contract. No reason was given for the refusal of the British government to sanction the transfer of the Lever contract to the Canadian line. Smith wrote to the secretary of the treasury for an explanation. He pointed out that the negotiations were made with the assent of Lord Palmerston and the treasury, that the arrangements had all been made on the secretary's assurance, and that in view of the strong feeling already existing in Canada on account of the treatment meted out to Canada in regard to its ocean mail service, he would be wanting in respect to the imperial authorities if he accepted the secretary's intimation literally, and in its full significance.