THE P.AND O. MAIL CONTRACT.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 227, 8 June 1866, Page 3

THE P. AND O. MAIL CONTRACT.

The following letter "was read by the Hon. the Chief Secretary in reply to a question put in the Victorian Legislatiee Assembly : — " Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, Melbourne, 15lh May. " Tie Hon. the Chief Secretary. "Sir,— The letter of the Secretary of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company io the Secretary of the General Post 0 flice, London, which appeared in the Argus of 10th January last, is almost exhaustive in its explanation of the delays -which have recently happened in the delivery of the outward English, mails in the Australian colonies. During the last year several accidents were the cause of great expense and vast inconvenience to the company, in co single instanse did they fail to replace the disabled vessel by another taken from their Indian lines, thus preventing -what would hare entailed, a complete interruption of the service.

" Two of these mishaps occurred in rto concecutive voyages ; the first to the Bombay, which lost her screw on her paasage to Galle, and had to bear up for Mauritius. Thi3 vessel was replaced by the Salsette, the first of the company's steamer's that arrived at Galle after it had become evident that something serious happened to the Bombay, and tho remaining portion of the Salaette's own work was performed by a vessel specially sent from Bombay for the purpose. The other mishap was to the Madras, which ship suddenly and unaccountably sprung a leak while lying in Galle harbor, waiting for the mail following that brought out by the Salsette. On this occasion, also, tho company's agent at Galle directed tho Jeddo from her proper voyage, and despatched her to the Australian colonies, while the Madras was sent to Bombay to repair her j damages. " Both these cases have been mentioned in the appendix to the letter of Mr Howell, to which I have alluded ; and I have asfaiu called atfcentio n to them to disprove a charge that has been brought against the company of working the Australian line with undue economy, and want of consideration for the interest of tho colonies. "It has also been stated that the company carry out this service with slow ships that would be \«miitcd for tho India or China lines ; but that this is not the case is fully proved by the fact of the Bombay, on her passage from Aden to Bombay, after the accident which occasioned her bearing up for Mauritius, beating by several hours tho Bawda, then considered the best and fastest vessel on the Bombay station. "On looking over a tabular statement of the penalfcios enforced and premiums paid on the performance of the Australian contract from May, 1861, to April, 1863, 1 find that on six occasions only were the penalties enforced on outward voyages, and not once on any homeward voyage. " The experience which our directors now possess of the working of the line, has proved to them that the outward voyage from Galle to Australia is by far tho most difficult to accomplish, though by contract they were allowed two complete days more for the homeward than for tho outward passage, and they have, therefore, j received the sanction of the Postmarter-General iii London to alter the allowed contract time, and by the new arrangement just announced two days longer are given for the outward voyage than for tho homeward. "The new contract ha 3 been made terminable on two years' notice being given by either of the contracting parties, and this prevents the company from building steamers suitable to the Australian line, such as their experience would now suggest. " For the voyago from Galle to King George's Sound it is necessary to carry coals for full steam for a period of at least seventeen days to allow of a sufficient mai-gin for the bad weather so often experienced when nearing Cape Liewin ; and the whole of thia coal should be carried in the ship's bunkers. "On no other lino do the ships require much more than half that quantity, and therefore vessels constructed specially for the purpose would be unsuited without great and expensive alterations for any other line. " With a contract of such short duration as two years, the directors of the company do not feel justified in incurring the enormous outlay which would be necessary to build special ships for tha Australian mail service, but if the colonial Government will agree that a contract shall bo entered into for a period of ten years, they are willing to construct at once three vessels which shall in all respects answer the requirements of the line, and perform the work in a manner which shall prove perfectly satisfactory. " I regret that tho recent late arrival of the steamers with the English mails should have been the cause of so much inconvenience and dissatisfaction, and I feel convinced that, if each individual case had been inquired into, much might have been said in txtenuation. The vessels which are now running on this side are in excellent order and condition in evory respect ; two of them, the Madras and Bombay, were thoroughly refitted with new boilers, decks, bulwarks, &c, and made in every respect new ships, under my own superintendence, at Bomday, in 1861, and when I visited the Bombay at Galle, in the beginning of this year, I found that she was in no respect deteriorated, but was just as efficient as she was when her repau-3 were completed. I have not had an opportunity of inspecting the Madras, but she is reported to me a3 being in equally good order, and as she was refitted after the Bombay, she ought to be in even better condition. The Ellora, in which I have just made the voyago to Australia, is perfect in hull, boilers and machinery, and a3 she made the best average passages of all tZs» vessels they employed on the home station, the directors considered themselves ]\i3tified , in replacing the Northam by her, when the boilers of that vessel wore considered to be too defective for that work. " Much has been said about that vessel having run short of coal on her first outward voyage, and having put into Freemantle for a fresh supply. This was no doubt a failure, for which the company have had to pay heavily ; but it can be explained to a great extent by the consumption of fuel turning out greater on this side of Suez than it had been on the home station, from the deteriorated quality of the coal, higher temperature of the water used in condensing, &c. " Captain Skottowo, on taking charge of the Ellora at Galle, found the vessel already coaled and prepared for the i oyage.but with commendall 3 prudence ho insisted (notwithstanding his being assured it was unnecessary) on taking in fifty tons more cool. This was done, and despite all his precautions, they were found to be insufficient, hence the unfortunate necessity of bearing up to Freemantle. " The directors of this company did not receive a subsidy sufficient to warrant the employment of ships of the largest tonnage and power, and they have recently consented to an abatement from that Bubsidy*; but they are willing, on the condition of a ten years' contract, to risk the experiment of placing vessels on the line which they have every reason to hope will perform the service with even greater regularity than that for which they got so much credit from the colonies themselves some few years back. " The advantages of the contract being in the hands of a company like the Peninsular and Oriental Company are obvious, as I have shown above, by the resources they brought to bear at Point de Galle in the consecutive cases of accident that the Bombay and Madras met with. " A local company, with its head-quartera at Sydney or Melbourne, would have remained a long time in ignorance of theae accidents, and the outward mail would, in each case, have been delayed a month, unless a spare steamer had been kept at Galle, an item of expenditure which would surely have to be considered in the subsidy ; and eventhis would not guard against the occurrence of two such mishaps in succession. " The plan of an independent line the whole distance to England has already been tried, and its failure mnst still be well remembered by the colonies. "In conclusion, I may state that for the last five years, during which period I have represented the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company at Bombay, in no case was I ever applied to for a vessel to fill a threatened gap in the Australian line, that I did not have a ship ready for the service within twenty-four hours of the receipt of the message. In some of these instances the vessel was required, and in others not, but the large resources the company placed at my disposal enabled me to be always prepared. I have the honor tp be, Sir, your most obedient servant, Thos. Black."