MAIL SERVICES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1277, 4 November 1911, Page 5

MAIL SERVICES.

THE VANCOUVER CONNECTION

INTERVIEW WITH MR. J. DUTHIE.

Mr. J. Duthie, who recently returned from a visit to England, Amorica, and Canada, was good enough, yesterday to express his views to mi interviewer on the question of tho new Vancouver steamship connection.

"In my opinion," ho said, "the Vancouver contract is of small advantage as an English mail service, but outside, of that professed object it affords the advantage of a direct mail to Canada and the United States, currying also the prospect of a possible trade to be developed with Britisli Columbia. The montnly mail is nltoi'uther iusuhicient and out of date in the volume of New Zealand present-day trade with England. Then the Vancouver service, while claiming to be three or four days faster than Suez, is unreliable. In London tho complaint is that whilo its arrival at Vancouver may or moy not be telegraphed and posted at Lloyd's, the mail is lost sight of after arrival there. "Neither agents nor Postal Department have any knowledge of How it has been thence ' forwarded—whether it has been sent via Montreal, Boston, or New York, whether at cither port it caught a fast or a slow steamer. No one knows n day before when it will turn up in London, and tho merchant has to wait in blind hope. The Suez mail, as a contrast, on entering the sheltered waters of the Red Sea is practically in sight, and its arrival is known to tho hour. The matter by malt is nowadays largely subsidiary to cablo communications, and traders are so enabled to make, with confidence, appointments with makers and others over matter by tho arriving mail, and so greatly to expedite business. "To return, however, to the advantages of the Vancouver service," continued Mr. Duthie, "this consists largely m that it affords all Australasia direct communication with tho whole of North America, but then Sydney is necessarily the terminal port, with tho advantage which that affords in trade, and surely it is most un fair and regrcttabb that Australia is not o contributor to this very costly service. So far as is publicly known, the Australian Government seems to havo been forestalled on tho expiry of its existing Vancouver contract, and possibly it is somewhat chagrined. Still, the trade advantage to Sydney is so great that Australia could hardly have refused to contribute a quota, unless, indeed, there had arisen extremely strained relations. Bo that as it may, tho. great development of Western Canada has created a large season demnnd for mutton, lamb, butter, potatoes, apples, eggs, onions, and like produce. Importers in recent years have been drawing such supplies from Australia. Now, with the alternative available of Now Zealand, .1 found them urgent to bo furnished with the names of reliable Now Zealand produce exporters. In Vancouver I met Mr. Gow, the Now Zealand Government representative. Ho seemed to bo in good touch all round, and was actively at work amongst importers. Mentioning to him that i supposed he would bo reporting the state of trade to his' Government, his reply was, "Of course, that is what I amhero for." Now, it is over a week since tho mail by the Makura was delivered, yet no such information as his report must contain has been published for mercantile guidance, and the wonder arises as to what becomes of such reports. Ato they merely consigned to tho wasto paper baslcct? It no uso is made of them, why incur the cost of collecting such information? '■

"Our steamer carried a full return cargo of Canadian produce and goods, shutting out over 1000 tons stored on tho wharf. What was loft behind consisted largely of case salmon, but also of bulky goods, such as caTringo wheels, bicycle and motor fittings, with other light goods carried on through freight from beyond tho Rockies. Columbia promises to bo a great fruitgrowing centre, and on such lines a lnrge exchange should ariso through tho difference ot seasons."