The Globe. TUESDAY, JULY 14, 1874.

Globe, Volume I, Issue 38, 14 July 1874, Page 2

The Globe. TUESDAY, JULY 14, 1874.

"We jure enabled this day, iu consequence of the arrival of a sailing vessel from Hobart Town, to give our readers a few items of European nows up to the Ist of this month of July, our latest Melbourne news being at present that of the 27th of June last, so that we are actually in the position of having later news from London than from Melbourne. We have had no steamer arriving in the Middle Island up to the time we write, which started from Melbourne later than seventeen days ago ; what do our merchants who have such large interests in Melbourne, and our business men generally, say to this ? It really appears as if the management of postal communication was the weak point of the astute gentleman who fills the office of Premier of Hew Zealand. The Californian mail is, up to the present time, anything hut a success, either as regards the saving of time in the transit of letters and papers to England, or as to the comfort of the passengers who may prefer that way of returning to the old country ; and now our communication with the capital of the Australasian colonies seems to be getting dreadfully spasmodic and intermittent. Wo perceive irk the morning papers a statement that a contract has been signed with

Messrs McMeckan and Blackwood for the conveyance of mails between Melbourne and New Zealand from the 23rd August last year, until August, 1876, —in all a total amount of 39 services, —the consideration agreed upon, being £384 12s 4d for the complet§udouble service from Melbourne to Wellington, and back to Melbourne. The amount is very reasonable, we must admit, but we hope that by the time the contract expires, we shall have a cable between Australia and New Zealand successfully laid, and that we shall be in daily communication with the towns of Melbourne and Sydney. The question suggests itself as to whether it would not pay well, if out of the money at the disposal of Mr Vogel he was to put aside a sum for more frequent postal communication with Melbourne, until we get the wires laid and in working order. It seems a strange anomaly that we should be reading news from England of July Ist and be utterly ignorant of what was going on in the principal town of Australia on the same date. Before this article goes to press, we may have news of the boat bringing our Australian files, as at present she is overdue, but as it is tbe “ Claud Hamilton,” that is no novelty, and only what we expect when that particular steamer is bringing the Australian mail. We think the public should insist, through their representatatives now assembled at Wellington, on a weekly mail if possible, and also on a scale of fines being strictly enforced, if the boats employed in the service do not run to their time. Messrs M‘Meek an, Blackwood enjoy a monopoly of the trade by steamer between Melbourneaud thoportsolNew Zealand, and it is not likely that they would give up the advantages derived from that trade without a struggle. A little opposition would be a very desirable thing, and we should have in that case a reduction of the most outrageous fares at present charged between the ports of the Middle Island and Melbourne. If in addition to this we could get punctuality in the delivery of our letters between here and Australia, we should be in tbe enjoyment of two strings to our bow if wo want to communicate on important matters with England, We suppose however that the good time is far off, aud that we shall have to wait until telegraphic communication is established, before we can arrive at this desirable state of affairs.