THE Marlborough Express. SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 1868.

Marlborough Express, Volume III, Issue 98, 25 January 1868, Page 3

THE Marlborough Express.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 1868.

“ Give me the liberty to know, to utter, aiut to rrgne reely according to conscience, above all other liberties.” -.Milton.

The most absurd rumors relative to Provincial affairs have been in circulation this week, which it will not be necessary to repeat here, as they are so utterly untrue. But it may be well to say that no communication whatever has been received from the General Government since the publication of the article in our last, which seems to have afforded some foundation for these reports. As we have stated elsewhere, His Honor Mr. Eyes has gone to Wellington for the purpose of trying to make bettex terms than was apparent, and we hope he will be successful; but we are credibly informed that he has not yet had an interview with the Colonial Secretary, but has an appointment to meet him this day. We may add that even was the Provincial Government anxious to hand over the Province to the tender care of the General Government, there exists no machinery foxeffecting the transfer, nor is anything of that nature likely to occur before the next meeting of the Assembly.

A Postal Reform of the most thorough character is required in, this Province, and most especially with inspect to the Inland Mail Service. Our Picton contemporary had an excellent article on the subject last week, showing how contrary and imperfect is the postal communication throughout Marlborough. He pointed out the inapplicability of the times fixed for the arrival and departure of the Kaikoura mails, which arrive in Picton every alternate Wednesday, the day ojter the despatch of the fortnightly mail for that place ! A course which necessitates a delay, of three weeks in getting replies. The mail for Renwick closes at Picton on Tuesday, and after a rest in Blenheim is forwarded on Thursday. The mails for Blenheim and other inland offices close at Picton at 9‘30 a.m., on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and those from Havelock, Grove, and Mahakipawa arrive at 4 p.m. on the same days ! Thus a letter for Renwioktown posted in Havelock on Tuesday, arrives in Blenheim on Thursday, waiM here till Monday, and is then forwarded to its destination !

Our contemporary thinks that if the attention of the Chief-Postmaster .was called to the matter it would be at once altered. He is evidently not aware that this plan has already been tried, but without effect. Long before the late contracts were taken, we pointed out to that gentleman the advantages Of a change in the mail-days, and after a consultation with the Superintendent, he re-arranged the programme accordingly ; but before the commencement of the year, we believe he received peremptory instructions from the Postmaster-General to continue the mails on the same days as heretofore, t otherwise ,thos evil would have b‘epn remedied. The simplicity of the plan is obvious. The Kaikoura mail arrives in Blenheim on Monday, therefore if the Picton mails were despatched on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, instead of: the alternate days, it will be evident thatthe difficulty would be removed in all the cases named above, and this is the plan recom*

mended by lis. It is quite evident that the convenience of the public, no less than the interests of the Post-office itself is not considei’ed in the least, otherwise so simple an alteration, but one productive of so much advantage, would require no pressure whatever.

As Wednesday and Saturday are the publication days of the Marlborough newspapers, we have been accused of seeking a change for our own benefit. As this is not the only journal published on the same day, we presume the benefit would not be to us more than to others. The greatest good to the greatest number is the object we aim at, and no newspaper proprietor would benefit by the proposed change only through an improved service to the public. Under the present system, the Blenheim papers, published on Saturday, do not leave for Picton until Monday, when posted ; nor does the Picton paper fare better; fox’, being published oxx Wednesday, it starts for this town on Thursday, Consequently, the public at lax-ge are unable to reap their full advantage ; while, to supercede the evil, the pi-oprietoi’S have to adopt all kinds of methods, and frequently incur considerable expense in txyixxg to circulate their journals by-other means, to the disadvantage' of the postal x-evenue, and in doing postal woi'k. Was this the case in axxy other Province than Marlborough, we feel satisfied it would long ago have been remedied, for the people would x-aise such an outcry, that so reasonable a demand would get that attexxtion paid to it which its importance requires, but it is self-evident that the supineness of our friends is simply reaping its own reward, or the evils complained of would not exist another week.