THE HAWKE’S BAY TIMES. NAPIER, THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1862.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 46, 15 May 1862, Page 2

THE HAWKE’S BAY TIMES. NAPIER, THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1862.

Extracted from the Southern Cross of the 22nd ult., and given in our columns on Thursday last, will be found an interesting article on the influence the new inter-provin-

cial postal service is likely- to exert on. the trade between this port and the capital. We give the article as we find it, without endorsing all the opinions of the writer, and refer our readers to it for their consideration. It is and must be quite obvious to all that any and everything that affords facilities for frequent intercourse and communication between the several provinces of the colony will tend to develope its resources and promote its commercial prosperity, and in this sense we agree with our contemporary, that the new inter-provincial arrangements may be regarded as a boon to the Province of Hawke’s Bay. Further than this we are not able to regard it as so great an advantage over the system that has hitherto prevailed, inasmuch as the time between the arrival and departure of the mail steamer is so much contracted. It has always been a source of complaint, especially to the residents of the Province outside the town, that the time at our disposal between the arrival and departure of the mail steamer has been too limited, and yet this time has occasionally extended to a week, and the feeling has been pretty general that by a judicious arrangement this, if not considerably more, time might always be allowed ; while under the new system, as the steamer is to arrive on one day and leave on the next, scarcely more time will be given even the town residents than to acknowledge the receipt of a letter. But whatever be the advantages or otherwise to Hawke’s Bay, it at all events seems certain that Mr. Ward has succeeded in dissatisfying the colony as a whole by the changes he has made. Nelson is, as might be expected, dissatisfied with the idea of losing the advantages she has hitherto enjoyed, and her Chamber of Commerce joins with that of Wellington in protesting against the alterations so far as they involve the discontinuance of her Sydney steamer. Marlborough joins in the sarnie cry, as being a loser by the new system. Canterbury is excessively disappointed at not being made the terminus of the Melbourne line as she expected to be, and that her merchants will have to submit to all the risks .and expenses of transshipment of goods at Otago. And she is only reconciled by the idea that a great saving of the revenue of that province will be effected by the change, it being understood that the whole cost of the Melbourne service is to be borne by Otago. Canterbury proposes uniting with Wellington and Nelson for a direct line with Sydney, for which purpose the expected saving will be available. On this aspect of the question, the Canterbury Press observes : “ What prospect there is of our being able to to keep up our direct communication with Sydney for the same sum as we are now paying for the Melbourne line, we are not informed ; and yet it is the point upon which the whole question hinges. From the manner in which the idea was thrown out, it seems to be nothing but a random conjecture, a kind of make-weight, like his mention of the Panama line at Wellington which had nothing whatever to do with the subject under discussion, but which seemed calculated to dazzle his hearers, and to produce a general impression that a kind of plethora of steamers moving about in all directions would be the result of his plan. He has met with but indifferent success in other Provinces, but, contrary to the proverbial experience of mankind, he has been recognised as a prophet in his own country and in his own Times. The Chamber of Commerce, and theraercantilepublic of Canterbury, appear to have accepted as an ascertained fact, what in truth is nothing more than a more or less probable hypothesis ; and this, when it would have been easy to test the value of the hopes held out to them.” The general feeling, not only at Wellington, but at most of the other ports of the colony as well, is that it would have been far better for Mr. Ward to have delayed the execution of his scheme until after the next meeting of the General Assembly,, now close at hand. Such a course need not have prevented his agitating the question all over the coiony, and eliciting the opinions of those most interested in the matter. This course would probably have resulted in the adoption of a more universally acceptable scheme, and at tlie same time shewn a desire to conciliate all parties, while it would only have been paying due deference and respect to that body (the General Assembly). There seems something almost unaccount-

able in the history of Mr. Ward’s proceedings at the various settlements visited on what has been quaintly called by a cotemporary his Postal-Service-Adjustment tour, inasmuch as reflection on his proposals shewed them in a very different light to that in which they appeared when made by him. Vague proposals, different at each place, seems to have confused his auditors for the time, and left them with the impression that in exchange for the well-defined and known advantages they resigned, something of great importance, which was not rendered quite clear, would be given. This, however, was the point that would not bear investigation. The good folk at Nelson were content till they found the system further unfolded to the Wellingtonians; and Wellington, too, did not discover the pith and marrow of the scheme until Mr. Ward had gone on to Canterbury ; and the public press of both these provinces have since loudly protested against what at the time seemed to satisfy them, but which refused to bear the test of a patient examination. The feeling of Wellington on the subject will be best shown by the following resolutions passed unanimously at a late meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, called expressly to take the new postal arrangements into consideration, on the 17th ult.: “ That this Chamber, having reason to believe that arrangements have been made or are about to bo made by the hon. the Postmaster General of New Zealand for the employment of steam vessels to maintain communication between the various provinces of the Colony diffeient from those now in operation, feel it to be their duty to express their regret and disapproval of the same for the following reasons:— “ Ist. Because this Chamber is of opinion that the Colony has reached that state in its progress when the Provincial Governments rather than the General Government are the better authorities to deal with the subjects of increased Inter-Provincial communication where required. “ 2nd. That when Mr. Crosbie Ward explained his intended alterations in the general mail steam service, such was substantially the reply he received from this and the other settlements with which he placed himself in communication. “ 3rd. That this Chamber consider that it would be fair, wise, and politic on the part of the Government of New Zealand before entering upon or concluding any contract for the performance of any steam service, to issue advertisements in the Colony calling for tenders to undertake the same before or at the time that application is made to shipowners out of the Colony. “ That copies of the preceding resolutions beforwarded to the hon. the Colonial Secretary of New Zealand and to the members of the hon. the House of Representatives of this Province, with a request that in any future or amended arrangements respecting steam services for maintaining Interprovincial communication, they would recommend and support arrangements in accordance with the foregoing resolution.” As might be supposed, the Superintendent of Wellington takes a rather more favorable view of the case than the Chamber of Commerce does, but this is only when taken in connection with the third proposed line (viz.) between either Nelson, Wellington, and Sydney, or Canterbury, Wellington, and Sydney, and which will cost another £5,000 per annum, £3,000 of which will fall upon the provinces, the remaining £2,000 to be paid by the General Government. The following quotation from his speech, delivered at the opening of the Wellington Provincial Council on the 25th’ ult., will fully explain his Honor’s views ; Unsatisfactory as were the steam arrangements made some years since with the Coleman Company, the modification of them recently proposed by the Postmaster-General does not seem to have met with the approval of any of the Southern ? r 83 \ ll . ndersta nd the scheme of * was this Steamer was to leave for Auckland ; two inter-■nrovincial steamers were to keep up a fortni in 1 P 0 1 P Ol tion between Auckland and the I fi going and returning at the • * ,P a lln S botb and another inter-provincial * ntarmec bate ports ; a fortnight between ? nce and Wellington. The-p u > laranaki, Nelson, Taranaki, and Nelson ng ' , mails for Napier, Sydney steamer to Au ere J t ° bebrou g ht b .T the inter-provincial boa f ckl f” d > forwarded on by the Southern Provinces S; th ® n ? ads for the other boufne to Otago, , W P re to be sent from Mel-inter-provincial i aTl . also by the other to that scheme ’! .? lllsu P e rable objection vinces except th f the Pronnfirtn -A/UCklaiin o£ dIT6Ct StSSITI CO™wnm*. to a certain Tbls objection has, however, posed to r,, 6 ** 6 "* been removed ; for it is now probetween q) a steal ? er once a month and back vinces any two of the three Prowhich ° f N el . son > Wellington, and Canterbury, vear t sba!l J oln m a subsidy of £3OOO arnfinf ° b ® Bu PP lem ented by the General Pnron,. thefo Wlth ci Urtber s . um of £2ooo ' Admitting as th objections urged to the scheme, and U fl m ° dl ?4 dbj - tb ® Cbambcr of Commerce the i° t T S ’ I’ as ? VJrtua,l - v Wellington non f ' q ! ,ar s 1 of steam > Bnd as i® most im(ant not merely to maintain direct steam with

Sydney, but especially during the meeting of the General Assembly to keep up frequent communication with all the other Provinces, I thing it would be unwise in us to decline joining either Nelson or Canterbury in the proposed subsidy, even though I deem it excessive, considering that the line between Sydney and Cook’s Straits pays the Company better than any other.” Before closing this article, we must refer once more to the extract from the Southern Cross, the writer of which informs us that “ Napier alone, of all the ports on the New Zealand coast, will have the mail steamers calling at it four times each month (as a reference to the fortnightly tables will show).” We must confess this is news to us, and we think either the writer is in error, or that some new development of the plan is referred to which will give us the desired boon of a few days between the arrival and departure of the mails. The only paragraph in the Government organ we can find at all bearing on this point is in that of the 2nd ult., and is as follows: “ About the teutb of each month a third steamer will take the homeward mail either from Manttkau or Auckland as may be found convenient to meet the Melbourne boat which leaves Otago on the 18th.” This being of date three weeks previous to our extract from the Cross, gives ample time for the decision that Auckland is the most convenient place for this third steamer to leave from with the homeward mail; and for the construction of the fortnightly tables alluded to, we only hope it may turn out so in reality. We tliink, however, that if such new tables are constructed, it is something strange they do not appear in the Auckland papers yet to hand. On the contrary, from all we can learn, this steamer is to take the U est Coast, calling at ports en route to Otago and the Bluff, in which case she cannot call at Hawke’s Bay for the homeward mail, and we must of necessity send it on the day after the arrival of the outward mail from Auckland, the advertised dates of which are the 26th and 27th of the month.