THE STANDARD. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 1873.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 44, 16 April 1873, Page 2

THE STANDARD.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 1873.

“ We shall sell to no man justice or right: We shall deny to no man justice or right: We shall defer to no man justice or right.”

By the arrival of the ■Comerang we are put in possession of decisive information relative to the entire break down of the ’Frisco Mail Service insofar as Mr. Webb’s engagements with the New .Zealand Government are concerned; and there is nothing to hand on which we can rely that the service will be continued in any other form. The particulars of what is being done to keep.it afloat are unsatisfactory in that they are unreliable. An amendment on the Postal Appropriation Bill has been proposed in the American Senate by the Post-office committee -authorizing the Post Master General to contract with the owners of the so far defunct line between San Francisco and New Zealand, for a 10 years service at the rate of 425,000 dollars for thirteen round voyages per annum; while Senator Cole, professing a friendly •disposition, or rather showing no open hostility towards Webb’s line, moved a further amendment (which as it stated to embody the principles of General Bvbnsude's Bill—avowedly to super-

sede Webb’s line—-and throwing the new contract open to public competition is looked at with great suspicion) authorizing thp Post Master to make an exactly similar contract for the same service with many important clauses of a saving character, for the sum of 365,000 dollars for thirteen all round voyages per annum. Colonel Doxahue is also m the field as a competitor and promoter in the interest ofzthe Sydney terminus. The New Zealand Herald, in commenting on these conflicting proposals, regrets that the “ interests of New Zea- “ land should be made subservient to an “unprincipled set of scoundrels who “ endeavor to make’ money out of “every national undertaking.” Softly. General Bvbnside certainly has the candor to avow that he is interested in the-service,he is endeavouring to establish, in- the interest of English capital, and which the New South Wales Government is evidently fostering; but what of that ? He only does what many New Zealand Senators do, only ina different, because in an openly-declared way. We are not, by any means, supporters of any service which will leave New Zealand out in the cold ; but we can’t expect to have overtures made to us by people waiting to invest their money, if we put up bristles which are uncomfortable to ride on ; and what on earth there is so much fuss made about this Webb and the continuance of his contract we are at a loss to make out. The whole service from the beginning has been an expensive, uncertain, luxury, and we think it is time to consider

whether a comparatively inexpensive branch service would, not answer our purpose just as well as having to pay these Yankee hulks to ply up and down our coasts, for the mere gratification of looking at them. The New Zealand Herald of the Sth inst. furnishes us, who are practically disconnected from the rest of the world, with a piece of ex post facto new r s to the effect that the English Mail which, should have gone to San Francisco by the Nebraska, will probably leave Wellington on the 14th inst. —the very day on which we are advised of the fact—at least “ this is the arrangement so far “as is known to the Post-office au- “ thorities ”in Auckland ! Truly we live in an age of blunders and absurdities! We are spending thousands per annum with a view to securing punctuality in our commercial relations with Europe and America; and after suffering the humiliation of being laughed at abroad, and upbraided at home, for our foolhardiness and looseness in conducting business, one of the high contracting parties—if so he can be called —has the temerity to ask to be released from penalties incurred for breach of contract! In meantime the month is lost to us;. the Suez Mail leaves Melbourne on the 23rd, which we might have taken advantage of had we known sooner that the Nebraska was more likely to go to Hong Kong, or Japan, than to Honolulu.