EXPENSIVE MAIL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3890, 3 January 1929, Page 2

EXPENSIVE MAIL.

NEW AMERICAN CONTRACT. . Only 27 bags of. parcel mail for New Zealand were brought by the American steamer Golden Harvest, which arrived at Auckland from Los - Angeles last week *(says the Herald). The vessel-is controlled by the Oceanic and Oriental Navigation Company, which is subsidised by the American Government to carry mail to New Zealand. The subsidy is on a mileage basis, and totals about £2,866 per , monthly voyage. The Golden Harvest is the third steamer to reach Auckland since the company secured the mail contract. As the Union Company’s mail liners reach New Zealand from the Pacific, Coast every fortnight with heavy consignments of mail, very little mail is brought by American cargo steamers. The first steamer to reach Auckland from Los Angeles under the new mail contract was the G-olden Bear on October 29, with 67 bags, while the Golden Cloud arrived on November 28th with only two bags. Consequently the present mail Contract is very expensive for the American Government, the Golden Bear’s mail costing about £43 a bag, the Golden CRAid’s about £1433 a bag, and the /'Golden Harvest’s' about £lO6 a bag. 1 be steamers are scheduled to leave Los Angeles 1 on the first of each month, and to reach Auckland 26 days later. ! , In addition to mail the vessels usually carry' large cargoes. The Golden Harvest has 7,000 tons for discharge at Auckland, Wellington and Lyttelton. • The cargo consists of 2,500,000ftq of lumber, as well as a large quantity of case oil and general merchandise.