THE SAN FRANCISCO SERVICE.

Evening Star, Issue 4293, 29 November 1876, Page 4

THE SAN FRANCISCO SERVICE.

During one of the debates last session as to the time occupied by the 'Frisco and Suez service, Mr Whitaker had a short table prepared, which showed that via San Francisco the contract time from London to Sydney is forty-eight days, and the shortest time in which mails have been delivered id forty-six days ; the contract time from London to Auckland is forty-live days, and the shortest time in which the mails have been delivered is forty-one days ; the contract time from London to Wellington is forty-nine days, and the shortest time in which the mails have been delivered is forty-five days ; the contract time from London to Dunedin is fifty-one days, and the shortest time in which the mails have been delivered is forty eight days. Via Brindisi, the contract time from London to Sydney is forty-nine days, and the shortest time in which the mails have been delivered is forty-seven days, as against forty-six via San Francisco; the contract time from London to Auckland is sixty days, and the shortest time in which the mails have been delivered is fifty-live days, as against forty-one days via San Francisco ; the contract time from London to Wellington is iifty-six clays, and the shortest time in which the mails have been delivered is fifty-one days, as against forty-iive days via San Francisco ; the contract time from London to Dunedin is fifty-three days, and the shortest time in which the mails have been delivered is forty-nine days, as against forty-eight days via San Francisco. If the mails were brought by way of Southampton there would be a much greater delay in their delivery. The contract time would then, instead of being forty-iive days to Auckland, be sixty-seven ; instead of being forty-nine days to Wellington, it would be sixty-three ; and instead of fiftyone days to Dunedin, it would be sixty. As regards the cost of each letter sent by the different routes : via San Francisco it is (id, and via Brindisi Sd; and each newspaper which comes in the latter way costs 2d, as against Id in the former. Therefore the San J?rancisco service gives a saving of 100 per cent, on newspapers. Besides, there is a great saving of time by the San Francisco Service in the Northern ports of the Colony, and a considerable saving in the Southern ports.

Then comes the proposal on the part of the Pacific Mail Company to accept a diminished subsidy, abandoning the coastal service. The exact position of that proposal lias been very correctly stated by the ' New Zealand Herald.' The contractors, in the first instance, offered to run their boats to San Francisco, "calling at Auckland," for L 75.000 a year. This offer was accepted by the Government without demur, and they decided to employ the vessels of the Union Company to collect and distribute the mails at the different ports at a sum of L 5,000 a year. But now it appears that the contractors demand LBO,OUO, probably for the reason that the New South Wales Government have expressed a decided opinion in favor of the Bay of Islands being the port of call. But there is a difficulty which is not at first sight apparent; yet a little consideration might have anticipated it. The Union Company require L 12,000 for .the service of distributing the mails from the Bay of Islands. Assuming that the contractors were content to take L 75.000 for the Bay of Islands route, the Government would have to pay L 12,000 for the coastal distribution, makin« in all L 57,000. The reason why so large a sum is required by the Union Company from the Bay of Islands as compared with Auckland is that they would have to keep their vessels in waiting upon the arrival of mails for several days at great additional cost.— *N. Z. Times.'