OUR OVERSEAS MAILS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 815, 12 May 1910, Page 6

OUR OVERSEAS MAILS.

AN UNSATISFACTORY STATE OS! THINGS. Sir,—The failnre within a fortnight o| two steamers bringing the Suez mail to Auckland to thero catch the overland train on Sunday is . gravely disappointing. Tho English mails from londcn reaci Sydney on Monday mornings in 32 days, but are then only delivered in Welling, ton on the second Wednesday, or aftet 9 days. Surely the continuance of this is intolerable, and should be promptly, dealt with. It is true that'we are Indebted to Sir Joseph Ward for cheap postage, and generally in n marked development of that Department, but ha has throughout been more than unforj tunate over tho ocean mail services. Tha accelerated Australasian contracts Itase lonj been known, and his Department should have been prepared with arrangements to take full advantago of the mora speedy arrival of the' mails at Sydney; but nothing seems to have been done, and here, at the capital city of the Dominionwo are left with this tedious and unnecessary delay. Inexperienced at time-table construe tion, it yet seems to me that a scheme offering no real difficulty is available in connection with this Federal service. Tha anward mails aie due at Sydney on Mojy flays at 10.5 a-m. A steamer for WelKinr- 1 -on should sail by 1 p.m. to arrive hero by daylighlt on Friday. Sailing thai night, she would work at Lyttclton on. baturday and arrive at Dunedin on. Sunday. She would probably be lutahla • ??", , om P«rt before Mondar night, but could reach MeUxranie at latesS upon Sunday. Nothing need prevent hep sailing on her return upon Wednesday, a® at present, and reaching Wellington tocarry the outward mail, sas now, upon. Friday, after which the steamer would have sis days at that port to overhaul and load, ready for again sailing with tbs inward mails on the following Monday, By this arrangement we would have a 36-day service with London, both on forward and outward mails; and the most speedy delivery all over New Zealand would be afforded from Wellington. At one time it appeared to be the laudable ambition of Sir Joseph to have his nanra associated with the great postal re* formers, l)ut if this slackness continues ha will rather be remembered as lie man in whose hands our ocean services brok» down, and generally fell short of tha reasonable public requirements.—l am^ ' "AH IMPOETEB, May 11, 1910.