ISLAND STEAM TRADE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1970, 29 January 1914, Page 6

ISLAND STEAM TRADE.

TONGA DISSATISFIED. WHY U.S.S. CO. CHANCED SERVICES. CBt Tel«fra»li.-Prcßi Asiooiat'on.) Dunodln, January 28. .. TJl ? re j s a PP arelltI }' somo dissatisfaction in Tonga with the alteration in the Union Steam Ship Company's'lsland service. Tho-change, according to Mr J\iiyakano, Premier of Tonga, will min the large fruit trade. It was stated that the rofna.and, ■ Attia, which were employed formerly in tho complete round "of tho Islands service from Auckland to bydnoy, are now miming a 28-da,ys' service, starting from Sydney, proceeding to I'lji, Samoa, and Tonga, and returning to_Australian ports. Thus, the only Aow. Zealand service to the Islands is being carried out by the Mount, which sails from Auckland, visits Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji in thnt order, and returns to Auckland direct. This places Tonga som <3 20 days distant from Auckland. The head office of the Union Companv stated to-day that tho alteration had been, made entirely with tho object of meeting the requirements of tho Islands, and the rearrangement was a material improvement in several ways. At tho present time the copra output is increasing very fast, and it is shipped exclusively to Europe, being transhipped to various oversea liners at Sydney. Tho company's new arrangement'will make more spaco available from. Samoa and Tonga than h?s hitherto been available towards Sydney. At the same time tho position of Tonga shippers will be further improved in that, while thev will still have an opportunity of shipping cargo to Auckland, they 'will also have the opportunity to ship (without transhipment) to Wellington and vice versa. When there is fruit to. ship'from Tonga, tho Navua will return from Samoa arid pick it up en route to Fiji. The extra time involved, as compared with tho old direct run to Auckland, will not bo more than two days. That-is'to say, that Tonga will he six days from Now Zealand, not twenty. Another advantage will be that if the anticipated output of bananas materialises they will have an excellent opportunity of shipping to Sydney, instead of glutting the NewZealand market. The steamer proceeding from Nukualofa to Sydney will call at Suva, but will remain only a few hours, then proceeding''direct to Sydney, so that the duration of the passage from Tonga to Sydney will bo about eight davs.