The Hawke's Bay Times. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1867. THE MAIL SERVICE.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XII, Issue 506, 5 September 1867, Page 2

The Hawke's Bay Times.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1867. THE MAIL SERVICE.

“ X,nil-JUt!sJrra,-<t i;t va-':a mr'f.'JnP

Tub qu a'a .i of the mail scr .ice hcl'.vi-eji Wellington ana tlie I\ortheru ; ': of Colony was brought before :L« II ;k~B of Itepresentativcs on the ult. Lyaqueslion from Mr O’Xeill, wiiic’a question and the reply thereto we give in extenso in another column. Auckku J feds agvrioved iu tlna of four steam vessels visiting that port during' each month two of them should happen nearly at the same date, and iishs for an alteration or adjustment ol the dates, so that the month may be mere tonally divided. If Auckland done was concerned in the mailer, no laubt such fin arrangement could be | made, but. she should remember that I i there are other ports to be considered | as well. j If Auckland has cause to complain jof the existing mail service, much more has IWwke’s Hay. Auckland j with her four monthly visits compares favorably with Napier, which lias to j make shift with but two. Perhaps ]Auckland, though situated so mud; 'farther north than Napier, never Uieed to lose the opportunity of replying ho mails via Panama by the return licail, owing to the convenience of her ' Wed, G-ast pvt and service, while i,such a tiling is by no means an uacoin-

jmem case wit!i ii: s , whore the steamer 'conveying mu’ outward mail lias t>. .leave just one day before the arrival •f the inward one, that outward cam still to lie five or six days in Wellington previous to its despatch, flow would Auckland like such a mail service as this ? 1 Oar readers should understand that An mason v. l.y two steamers, one via the lias: Coast end tin? other via the West Coast, arrive at Auckland and Alai. Ann at about the same time ones ;ii: each month, is owing to the exist■nce (d' p"rts on both coasts of the Northern Island, and the consequent i.t ccs; i'y <>f in.iiis being despatches far tiro ■ ports at the same lime. 0.. A ' ;arival of the mails at Wellington t is, of c.urse, necessary to ferwure o.a to Alison and Taranaki vi C sAT Ci.; and to Xavier and Tan • g.; on the Hast Coast, and as il y as that Auckland has a p rt on a;. a c..,a:, it is made the terminus for • tii services. It does not appear that It m,A.: s any disadvantage from this. As it has communication with the nts on hath coasts in consequence, •md any imitciial alteration in the dates yf tire arrival of the steamer at Auck 'laud, would be accompanied with corresponding inconvenience to the ports as that coast on which the alteration ■veadd be made, as it would interfere with the delivery of the mails at these ■'orts.

The proposal of toe Government t<alter the date of the East Coast, service, and send the Hawke’s Bay letters by the overland mail, reserving the papers and heavier portion for a later steam vessel, has, it would seem, been very properly rejected on the part oi the Province by onr representatives. In all the various time tables publiished

since the dispensing with the two supplementary services, Hawke’s Bay bas I been made to occupy a very secondary 'place, and such an arrangement as that proposed would be doing it still more manifest injustice. At present, as we nave said, in the event of the mails via Panama being more than one day ibehind time at Wellington we do no: get them until alter the outward mail has left, and so are debarred from a reply by the return mail, when one or

jtv/o days’ delay in the departure ofi that vessel would obviate that difficulty. The arrangement adopted this past tuontli hr*s answered tlie *>u**rinsf* tv*is«*?* better than that of the time tables. As usual the Panama mail was behind and the steamer due ou the 23rd arrived at Napier without it. In the ordinary course, our outward mails would have left on the Ist in tiie 'JAirauaki, and we should not have received ■ the inward mails by the Lord Ashley Till next day, but tbe alteration of Those dales gave us our inward mails ; on the Cist ult. and took our outward | ones on the 2nd, thus giving residents jut the port an opportunity of saving j the mail. We are unaware whether ior not this is intended to be a permanent arrangement, it is at all events ; one much better adapted to our needs Thau that we have had hitherto, and j which has given so much ground for ’complaint.

Mr Hall alludes to the probability of a weekly service being adopted during the present month, “ from one end of the Colony to the other.” He does not say by both coasts, and it would be too much to expect it. We only trust that the interests of Hawke’s Day will not be sacrificed in the oh.;cion of the said service for the convenience of the West Coast, and • hat the proposed overland conveyance f ruts no part of the scheme. When we see the time tables we shall again .efer to the matter.