THE MAIL SERVICES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1915, 11 August 1888, Page 3

THE MAIL SERVICES.

The next important debate of the present very remarkable session,will occur probably on Monday or Tuesday, upon the question of the ocean mail services. In these times of retrenchment there is a pretty general feeling that the expenditure m connection with the carriage of foreign mails is more than the colony can afford, • and that eifiher the subsidy to the San Francisco service must be discontinued or the contract with what is known as the direct service terminated. The Auck land members will doubtless make a determined fight against the adoption of the first alternative, as owing to Auckland being the first port of arrival and the last of departure, the San Francisco route affords quicker transit between ♦bat OHy end the United Kingdom, than is eHainod thioruth tbe direct service, wbile also tbo expenditure on account of the boats m Auckland is not by any means an unimportant consideration. From Wellington southwards all the rest of the colony prefers the direct service, and it seems probable that m consequence the House will determine against a renewal of the San Francisco contract. In order to enable the whole case pro et con to be seen as clearly as possible, returns have been moved for and laid upon the table of the House, showing the financial position m respect of both services. From these we learn that as far a.s regards the San Francisco service the total payments for the year ended 3 1st December, 1887, were £30,501 Is lid, and the total receipts £29, 771 16s 4d, making a net cost of £729 5s 7d. If the whole cf the mail matter now sent by the direct service, were sent by via San Francisco on the terms of the existing contract, there would be a gross expenditure of £43,302 19s 4d, against gross receipts from postages of £45,968 9s lOd, leaving a balance of profit to the colony of £2585 10s 6d. If on the other hand all the mail matter not sent via San Francisco were sent by the direct service, the total cost to the colony would be £31,G96 6s Bd, as against tota| r^ceipti amounting to $46,451 3s Id. As a further return of the freight carried by the respective lines shows that for the last yeaf the direct steamers brought a total of 1Q ; 0,8,7 tons weight (equal to 10,336 tons' measurement), and took away 16,854 tons weight of outward cargo, as against 1185 tons inward, and 569 tons outward via San Francisco, there can be no two opinions from the economic point of view as to which of the two lines should be retained ancj. 'which ditipqniied. if a choice must be' made.