Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1871.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 18, Issue 1160, 31 October 1871, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1871.

An opportunity is at length offered to the Government to fulfil its vaunted desire of retrenchment so far as regards the postal service via San Francisco. It cannot be longer disguised that the contract entered into by Mr Yogel on the part of the Colpny with Messrs. Holliday and Webb has proved a failure, as, indeed, it could not do otherwise. The contractors have given up that portion of their agreement which bound them to take the mails down the New Zealand coast, and our Government has not been able to induce the Australian colonies to enter into the scheme. There was, pfcoiai.se, no hope from the first that they would dp .so, because they would lose the main advantages which the service via San Francisco could afford them—quick communication with Europe—by the vessels calling at a New Zealand port. The failure of that contract is scarcely i to be regretted on account of this Colony. It could not afford to act as dictatpr to the other parties concerned, nor could it afford the burden of the main cost of the whole service. The contractors now express themselves Tinable to carry it out even on the terms agreed on, and we may say that if the Government has not in words confessed the same on their part, they have done so in factj by the invitation recently given to the Australian Governments to make use of the service for the i emaining four months of the current year free of

charge. While ibis Colony has been attempting to support the costly service, the other colonies have not been altogether idle in the matter. They have recently held a conference in which, amongst other matters, the postal question has been discussed. New Zealand was suffered to be unrepresented at this conference, but its interests were considered by those who held the consultation. They have decided on supporting a double mail service—one line via Suez, and the other via San Francisco. The total cost of these two services will be .£123,000 per annum, and it is proposed to divide this amongst the contributing colonies in proportion to their respective populations. New Zealand is invited to join in the scheme, and the cost to it would be <£ 16,700, besides of course that of the necessary branch scivjce. Fiji would probably be fixed en as the port to which our branch steamers would have to run, and we think that, considering that it is out of the question to expect that the other colonies caji be brought to agree to the divergence of the main line to a New Zealand port, ihose proposals are just what this Colony requires, as it is cer-

tainly quite as much as it is likely to be able to afiord for many years.