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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume I, Issue 22, 28 November 1861, Page 3

Straw Communication. —The Southern Cross, in an article on steam communication with Sydney, closes with the following remarks in reference to its extension to Napier and Otago :

To our mind the plan is simple enough. We have £6,500 annually at our disposal as a provincial subsidy for direct steam postal communication with Sydney. We have also reason to believe that Hawke’s Bay province would vote an additional sum of £1,500 yearly for a continuation of the service to Napier ; which might further be extended to Otago, the large traffic created by the gold diggings in that province being a sufficient inducement to a steam navigation company to continue the service thither. We believe there will be no difficulty in securing such a service for the sum of £B,OOO which, with the aid of Hawke’s I’ay is at our disposal ; and thus we would not only secure a rapid communication with Sydney, but would open up a connexion with Melbourne via Otago, thereby greatly extending our commercial relat ions and developing, not alone the resources of Auckland, but generally of the entire colony. At all events, come what may of this proposition, we never can submit to a repetition of the conduct of the Sydney manager of the Coleman company last month, who detained the sailing of the mail steamer to New Zealand five days after the arrival of the mail in Sydney.