The Hawke's Bay Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY AND THURSDAY. THURSDAY, 22nd NOVEMBER, 1866. PROPOSED AMALGAMATION OF STEAM COMPANIES.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 8, Issue 440, 22 November 1866, Page 2

The Hawke's Bay Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY AND THURSDAY.

THURSDAY, 22nd NOVEMBER, 1866. PROPOSED AMALGAMATION OF STEAM COMPANIES.

•‘NULLIUS ADDICTUS JUEAEE IN VERBA MAGISTRI/'

A proposal has leen made by the directors of the New Zealand Steam Navigation Company for the amalgamation of that company with the P., N.Z., and A.E.M. Company. This seems to be owing to two causes—first, the losses the Company has recently sustained ; second, the resolution come to by the Government to discontinue the subsidies heretofore paid to this Company for a branch of the inter-provincial services—the former for the half-year recently ended amounting as shewn by the Company’s accounts, to ,£2,650; and the latter, as most of our readers are aware, has been ,£SOO per monthOf the half-year’s losses about £IOOO was owing to the loss of the s.s. Wonga Wonga, which had not been fully insured; but the bulk of the loss arose from the falling off in the receipts to the amount of no less a sum than £7,598, as compared with those of the half year immediately preceding. The cost of repairs too has been a serious item during the same time, amounting to £6,300. Considering all this it is only wonderful that the less has not been greater than it is.

For our own part, we should be very sorry to see the amalgamation scheme carried out. We see no reason why, with due encouragement, our own Company cannot weather the storm with which it seems at present contending. We hope the Government will see good reason to re-consider their determination to terminate the contract they hold with this Company; and we must not expect such accidents as the loss of the Wonga Wonga to be of common occurrence. Neither are we to suppose that the diminished receipts of the Company will continue be-

yond the temporary commercial depression that has occasioned it this past half-year. We rather feel inclined to take a more hopeful view of the case, and endorse the opinion expressed in the report recently presented to the shareholders, which deprecates the taking a desponding view of the Company’s position and prospects, and as the Company are actually doing better during the current halfyear, encourage a sanguine hope that the next report will exhibit more satisfactory results. At all events we would not be in a Tmrry to wind up the Company.. We are well convinced that the public would suffer from the amalgamation. While both Companies exist there must be a certain amount of healthy competition between them, even though there be a distinction in the sphere of their operations, which would be put an end to by the proposed amalgamation scheme if carried out. It is almost certain that in the absence of competition freights would be raised and public accomodation her come less than exists at present under a more healthy system of rivalry. We believe that the question is now fairly before the shareholders of the company, and that a poll will be taken on it in the month of March next, so much time being given in order that the right of non-resident sharehold" ers to vote may not be ignored so that there is ample opportunity for due consideration, and we trust that the Government will upon mature deliberation see the desirability of continuing an actually necessary branch of the mail service, when by so doing they may save one of our already too few local institutions from dying out for want of a little needful help.