SIR JOSEPH WARD’S PROJECTS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2138, 22 July 1907, Page 1

SIR JOSEPH WARD’S PROJECTS.

QUESTIONS IN TIL 10 COMMONS. MAIL ROUTES. AD V EI ISE CRITICISM. (N.Z. Herald Correspondent.) LONDON, May 31, In Uio House .of Commons on Monday the Postmaster-General, in answer to Sir Henry Cotton oml Mr. Luidhiw, said:—“No new Eastern mail packet contract lias been concluded, but, alter prolonged consultations with the Secretaries of State for India and the Colonies, in regard to Indian and colonial interests, I have decided to accept, provisionally, a tender of the Pen insular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company offering to make, a contract for seven years from Kehruary 1, 1908, under which, in return for an annual subsidy of £'005,000. as against the present subsidy of £340,000 a year, an accelerated service will he provided.If, as I hope, the details of the contract can be satisfactorily settled, the duration of the between Brindisi and Bombay is to he reduced t.) 11. days G hours in each direction, between Brindisi ..and Shanghai to 28 days 0 hours outwards and 28 days 22 hours homewards. The saving of time thus to he secured is: Between Brindisi and Bombay, 8 hours, both outward and homeward; between Brindisi and Shanghai, 34 hours outward and 24 hours homeward; 1 between Brindisi and Adelaide, 36 outward and 24 hours homeward. The time-table of the new services, will be arranged to the best ad vantag* which circumstances permit, and tlie hour of departure from Bombay will, of course, be fixed with the concurrence of the Indian Government, as the i)roi>er representative of Indian interests in the matter.”

Mr. Wedgwood asked the Undersecretary for the Colonies whether there were at present five steamship lines which conveyed passengers to Canada, and whether it was proposed in the event of a subsidised fast mail service to Canada being initiated, to grant anv compensation to the lines now competing for this trade.

Mr. Winston Churchill replied: “My lion, friend's question is premature. His Majesty’s Government have promised to examine very carefully the proposals which have been submitted by Sir Wilfrid Laurier to the Imperial Conference, and which have been in general principle, apart from all questions of cost and detail, approved by that hotly. Such an examination must neecssarilv take

nine time, and until it is completed do not perceive the advantage of

lie official promulgation of detached ml partial facts elicited by question nd answer, and designed bv the uestionor to point a particular

moral in this direction or in that. If my lion, friend will wait until Hit proceedings of the Conference arc published—l hope at the end of this week —he \\ ill he able to see exactly where and how we stand in the maalei", but meanwhile liis Majesty’s Government, cannot admit the prin-

ci'- 1 - that if one line of steamers is subsidised by the Government tin* other lines running on the same route should be compensated.” One afternoon Ibis week in the city

I had a talk with one of the leading shipping men in' the shipping world, and one who knows New Zealand trade thoroughly. Our subject was

Sir J use pi i Ward’s proposal for a 21 days' service to New Zealand, and for the cheapening of Hie Suck Canal dues oji vessels bringing produce from the colonies. The gentleman referred to said in reply to my questions :

J 1 days’ service an-uss Canada to Now Zealand would undoubtedly Ik- ol : benefit for mails, but for anythin!/ else it would be a disadvantage, it would be of no use for emigrants unless Sir Joseph wants to encourage emigration to Canada. Ordinarily an emigrants wants to get to liis destination witli as little cost as possible. How could lie could this if lie had to chiinge several times oil the voyage? Then take the distances. Suppose a vessel sails from’Liverpool to Halifax, the nearest Canadian port. That voyage is 2485 miles; Then from Vancouver to Sydney, the nearest port, the distance is 0848 miles. Now,, it would take ii 20-knot boat just five days to do 2400 miles across the Atlantic, wild 135 days to do 0480 miles down the Pacific. That is 18J days, leaving only 1J days to 25 days to cross Canada by rail from Halifax to Vancouver. Do you til;ilk it can be done? Tumi, to do 20 knots and keep it up would require tremendously big boats, which would use quite 500 tons of coal a day. Well. 13 days at 500 tons per day means that each steamer would have to carry at least 6500 tons of hunker for the voyage, Cipi it he Jono? 1 ask again' Now,' as to produce. Both New Zealand and Australia grow very much the same kind of produce f’liat Canada does, so where is the market? Of course, such vessels would expect heavy subsidy, for they would be enormously expensive. And in my opinion they would have to live on their subsidy. No, no; to to my mind the scheme is not JtVttC-

ticabie,' “But what of reducing the Suez Canal charges?” “Then again, take distances: V eljnc, ton to London via Cape Horn is llf)i)7 miles, via Suez it is 12,420 miles, so that s}ie distance is actually shorter via South America. 1 hen as to Australian ships: Melbourne to London via' Cape Honj is Li, 2-jo miles, via the Cam- 11,032 miles, and via Suez ll.OjVj miles.- Ou the la.ee of it there seems to he a saying of 900 miles ; but really there isn t when von take the slow passage through the Canal into consideration. And then the voyage via Suez is hotter. No ” said mv authority m conclusion “Sir Joseph's idea seems all right IVoni a sentimental point of view. But it is not practical "