THE NEW MAIL SERVICE.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2098, 26 January 1870, Page 2

THE NEW MAIL SERVICE.

Although it appears to be thought by many that that Conference in petto, which recently held a sitting in Sydney, and which was attended merely by representatives from the Colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, and New Zealand, has had a great deal to do with the establishment of the projected mail service via San Francisco, there does not seem to be any ground for the assumption. So far as can be judged, the project has been put into its present shape mainly by the exertions of the Colonial Treasurer of this Colony. Mr Vogel, as representing the General Government, has agreed to pay an annual subsidy of L 15,000 to the promoters of the new service, and the other Colonies are to contribute their quota in the following manner viz., Victoria L6OOO, Tasmania and South Australia, LISOO each. The contribution of Queensland is to be drawn out of it by New South Wales, and is left for those two Colonies to settle between themselves. Should those Colonies contribute, there is no doubt that they will have a voice in the management; but at present the authority is solely vested in this Colony, which stands as the only party to the contract. According to the Sydney papers : —This new trans-Pacitic service, like that to Panama, which it comes in to replace, has been in the first instance got up by New Zealand, which will not, and cannot, remain contented with the Suez route. In fact, the contract at present is simply between New Zealand and the contractors. The assent of the other Colonies has yet to be obtained, The Hon. Julius Vogel, Treasurer and Post-master-General of Mew Zealand, represents Australasia. The American Consul represents America. Each party expects to be backed up, and, so far, the whole affair is provisional ; for if the expected backing does not come, the project may be abandoned. It is established to some extent speculatively. The consul is acting in concert with the Cali-

fornian, Oregon, and Mexican Steamship Company, whose vessels at present run from San Francisco and Honolulu, under contract with the United States Government. It is their interest to promote the new line, which will be simply an extension of their present operations. Their influence will be used to secure the proposed American subsidy of LI0,(K)0 a year. Only an American company could get a subsidy from the United States' Government, and the principal difficulty in the way will be the fact that vessels sailing under the English flag will be used for part of the service. So far as sup port at this end of the line is concerned, Mr Vogel has secured the favorable consideration of the present Government, but of course our Premier will not propise anything positive till Parliamentary. assent has been obtained. Mr Robertson, however, who has beep interested in stations in Northern Queensland, is very partial to the Torres Straits route, and wishes, in return for his patronage of the New Zealand project, to get some quid pro quoin the shape of assistance for the northern route, and in this, of course, he is backed up by the Queensland Government. The contract is not formally in the hands of any company, so the service is to be styled the ‘‘Californian and New Zealand and Australian Mail Line of Packets.'’ Although the contractor is an American, the vessels are to be subject to all the regulations of New Zealand as to survey, Ac. The length of voyage between Sydney and Auckland is fixed at 144 hours, and that between Auckland and San Francisco at GOO hours for the first six voyages and 575 hours afterwards.

A bonus of L3O is to be given for every 2-1 hours short of the contract time within which the voyage may be completed, and a similar fine for every day over time, and

this applies to the voyages on both sides of Auckland, viz., to that to California and to that to Sydney. The detention at Auckland is not to exceed 30 hours, and the Govern-

ment there relieves the contractor from all port charges, and agrees to give him every facility, The postages are to belong to Her Majesty. The contract is to be for twelve months, but the contractor has the option of making it a five years’ contract, and he deposits LI,OOO as security for making a start. The dates of departure are to be—March 26, April 27, May 28, June 30, and thereafter on the last of every month from Sydney, and the 7th of every month from Auckland. Dp Knight, the Auditor-General, returns to the Colony to confer with the Government on

the subject. The latest information is given by the Sydney correspondent of the Argut, who * writes: —“The new steam route across the Pacific has been advertised, and I am told

that 20 cabin passages have already been i applied for by the first steamer. The arrangements are not yet absolutely concluded,

but Mr Hall, tho American consul, is in treaty with the directors of the Australasian Steam Navigation Company for the use of two of their vessels with which to start the lino. The Rangatira and Balclutha were at first selected, but it is probable that for the latter the Alexandra will be substituted. The route is to be from Sydney to Auckland, and from thence direct to Honolulu, where a connexion will be made with the American line already running from that port to San Francisco. The passage money by this route to England will be L4O from Sydney to San Francisco, LIS from that port to New York by the railway, and Ll6 from New York to England. This will include victualling for the whole distance. ” The Argus writing on the subject, says that the passage from New Zealand to California, including the call at 'Honolulu, is to be accomplished in twenty-five, and eventually in twenty-four days ; and sixteen days may be reckoned upon for the completion of the journey to Liverpool. Thus tho man of business, the tourist, or the invalid, may calculate upon reaching England in something less than seven weeks from the date of his quitting Sydnoy ; and, eventually, the time consumed in the transit will be reduced to forty-four days. The Government of New Zealand is prepared to undertake tho whole onus of the subsidy asked for by the promoters of the enterprise, so that its success will not be contingent upon the assistance which may be afforded by this group of colonies. New South Wales and Queensland are wellaffected towards it, and it would be churlish and illiberal on the part of Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania to refuse the modest qnota, amounting in all to L 9,000, which is asked for from the three, especially as the contributing colonies will enjoy a share in the control over what may be called the Australian link in the line corresponding with the amount of their respective subsidies. Looking at the geographical position of New Zealand, and at the important bearing which the opening of the Union Pacific Railroad will necessarily have upon the future course of traffic between England and the “Great Britain of the South,” we cannot feel surprise at the alacrity with which the latter has adopted the new line of communicatson opened up by American enterprise. It is the shortest and most direct route from N6w Zealand to Europe ; and it must tend to facilitate and multiply the commercial relations of the whole of the Australian colonies with the United States. And the more numerous the great highway# across the globe, and the more expeditious, agreeable, and economic the means of travel, the greater will be the inducements to emigrate, not merely on the part of the laboring men and women of the mother country, but on that of the “ uneasy classes ” just above them.