DEPUTATION.

Evening Star, Issue 3247, 17 July 1873, Page 2

DEPUTATION.

The Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, Messrs Oliver, H. Law, Tewsley, Sise, and Webb (secretary), waited fipon his Honor the Superintendent at 12.30 to-day to represent to him the disadvantage the arrangements made by the General Government for the conveyance of the European mail via Suez placed the Province in. Mr Oliver said the Chamber had received two telegrams from Mr Vogel on the subject, which confirmed the jreport which had appeared in the newspapers, and asked if his Honor had received any information on the subject. The Superintendent said he had not. Mr Oliver said the Committee of the Chamber, and many who had pressed the matter on their attention, considered the interests of the Southern Provinces had been sacrificed in the arrangements made, which would render it impossible to receive and reply to European correspondence by the same mail. Considering the importance of the mercantile interests of Otago and Canterbury, they should have met with more consideration. The Bluff should have been tl t first point of arrival, and the last of departure. The Superintendent said the Committee expressed his own sentiments. He had, on Saturday last, commenced a letter of remonstrance, which he had not thought necessary to finish, as no mail was leaving, in which he took precisely the view laid before him by the Committee. [His Honor read the portion of the letter alluded to, to the Committee.] Mr Oliver said the second telegram from Mr Vogel explained that Messrs M'Meckan, Blackwood, and Co. would not enter into any other form of temporary contract, and would, not to dispaicK two boats from Melbourne on the same day. The Superintendent considered Otago should have a service of its own. Mr Oliver said if the Northern Provinces were allowed this preference over the Southern, their trade would be sacrificed. Mr Webb said the Committee had determined to memorialise the Provincial Council, and to ask, if no better arrangement were made by the General Government, that arrangements might be made for a Provincial service. Mr Webb furnished his Honor with the following statistics of correspondence letters to and from the united kingdom, 1871.

This table showed that 7-12ths of the correspondence of the Colony was due to Otago and Canterbury. The Superintendent always regretted that the Council were not some years ago disposed to entertain the idea of a subsidy. If they had, he did not think the route by Hokitika would have bean thought of. Mr Law pointed out that by the arrangements entered into, the money of Otago was practically used for the purpose of delaying its business, by detaining its letters. The Superintendent asked if it would be preferred that the mails should ba detained in Melbourne until the departure of the first steamer? Mr Webb said, when the Panama Service failed that arrangement was made; and the consequence was that, while mails were despatched regularly to Hokitika, the Otago mails we r e invariably detained a week. Mr Oliver said that, although Messrs M'Meckan, Blackwood, and Co. would not despatch two boats for New Zealand on the same day, the tiade between Melbourne, Dunedin, and Lyttelton was so important, that they might be induced to send one the day after the Hokitika boat, which would answer the purpose. The Superintendent thought the merchants had the matter pretty much in their own hands. If Messrs M ‘Meckan would not meet their views, the A.S.N. Company would no doubt willingly make some arrangement.

Mr Oliver repeated his observation respecting a second boat, Mr Law did not consider Otago should be placed in such a position. The mails should leave for Melbourne two hours after their arrival.

The Superintendent said a small subsidy would then be sufficient. He thought Canterbury, as equally interested, should be invited to join in the protest. Mr Oliver pointed out that the despatch of the mail as proposed would entail a loss of a month’s interest on remittances for payment of interest on loans. The SuperintE'DENT considered that the commercial interest of the Province justified taking higher grounds than had been formerly taken. The Customs revenue for the year was L 240.000, some L 25.000 more than the previous year, and therefore they were justified in assuming a high position. After some further conversation, his Honor said if the Provincial Council passed a resolution affirming the desirability of making their own arrangements, in case the General Government would not, he should be willing to place what was needful on the Estimates for the purpose. In the course of the coirrersation, his Honor said he should certainly oppose the General Government on tne subject.

Received. Despatched. Otago 90,684 81,248 Westland 16,636 6,600 Canterbury 66,784 57,788 Marlborough 4,396 4,109 Nelson ... 16,477 20,025 Wellington 27,403 31,796 Hawke’s day 8,839 7,402 Taranaki... 4,438 '4,045 Auckland 73,369 65,985 Smaller Provinces ... 78,189 73,977 Canterbury & Otago ... 167,468 159,036 Other Provinces except Canterbury* Otago... 151,558 139,962