The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 1910. HISTORY OF THE ALL RED ROUTE.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 12 March 1910, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 1910. HISTORY OF THE ALL RED ROUTE.

In the course of a very interesting letter to the "Times" of January 14th, L. E. S. Huddart goes into history concerning the all R«d route negotiations, which were initiated by the late Mr James Huddart, and in connection with which important developments are now taking place. It was in 1892, the writer recalls, that Mr Huddart conceived his Imperial and practical project of an All Red route to form a binding chain between the British Isles .and the dominions beyond the seas,, The

first great connecting link was already forged—the Canadian Pacific Railway, stretching from the Atlantic to tlie Pacific. Mr Huddnrt believed that if suitable steamers were subsidised on the Pacific between Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Fiji and Honolulu (the latter was then open to be joined to Britain, but subsequently it was united to the United States of America), the initial pioneering difficulties in establishing an entirely new mail, passenger and freight route could be overcome by courage amd perseverance. He set himself to this task of forging the second link to the Imperial chain. The first two steamers, the Warrimoo and the Miowera, started this pioneering work in the face of gigantic dufficulties. The first steamer left Sydney, New South Wales, in April 1893, and was received at Victoria, Vancouver Island, and" at Vancouver with enthusiasm. Mr Huddart has based his calculations upon subsidies of £50,000, and also hoped for a New Zealand subsidy when a third steamer would be added. Rather thnn stop the line (for years the total subsidies amounted to only £36,500) Mr Huddnrt'snnk his private, fortune in maintaining it. Ultimately a subsidy of £10. -j0 was obtained from New South Wales. After great persistence by the late Sir John Thurston, then Governor of Fiji, who backed un Mr Huddart's claim for a subsidy for calling there, the British Government at last granted £1000 only. It was in December, 1897 (a month before this line was wrested from Mm dnrin" his absence in Canada on its business), that Mr Huddart obtained the New Zealand subsidy of £15,000. Mr Huddart knew that Australians and New Zealanders were almost strangers to Canadians so he set himself to bring these peoples into communion, that they might understand the advantages of knowing each country's productions. To this end he induced the late Sir John Thompson, then Premier of Canada, to send Sir Mackenzie Bowell to Australia with a view to an Ottawa conference. Sir Mackenaie succeeded in arousing the interest of the colonies to rucli an extent that each promised *to send a delegate. Important measures were discussed by the conferonce, and encouraged by the result, Mr Huddart actively commenced the establishment of a fast Atlantic service as the third link in the Imperial chain. The Canadian Parliament unanimously voted a subsidy of £150,000 for ten years towards this Atlantic service. When the establishment of the service appeared about to be the British Government having interested itself to the extent of inviting tenders for the service, the lamented death of Mr Huddart occurred, and Canada bad to wait several years for her fast steamers.