The announcement of the arrangement by the Postmaster- General of New Zealand, for a six months service connect- I ing this Colony with the Suez line, making Hokitika the first and last port of call, will occasion dissatisfaction to the larger and more important portion of the Colony, and surprise to all. The arrangement seems to have been framed for the benefit of Auckland exclusively, yet this gain is an almost infinitely small item as compared with the serious and disproportionate loss to the provinces of Otago and Canterbury. A glance at the conditions of the agreement will make this at once apparent. On the arrival of the P. and O. Co.'s steamer at Melbourne with the Suez mail, the New Zealand portion is at once to be sent by steamer to Hokitika, Nelson, Wellington, Lyttelton, Port Chalmers, and the Bluff. A branch steamer will convey the New Plymouth and Auckland mails from Nelson, and the outgoing mails will be collected from the Bluff as the commenc- j ing point. By this arrangement Auck- ■ land will obtain the mails in nine days from Melbourne, Wellington in eight, Lyttelton in ten, Port Chalmers in eleven, and the Bluff in twelve days. Had the principle been adopted of making the Bluff the first and last port of call, we should have obtained our mails in five days, Port Chalmers in six, Lyttelton in seven, Wellington in eight days, and Auckland in ten days. The disadvantage to Otago and Canterbury in the matter of outward mails, is even greater, the time occupied being from the Bluff to Melbourne thirteen days, Port Chalmers twelve days, and Lyttelton eleven days ; from Wellington to Melbourne nine day?, and from A uckland nine. Hokitika and Nelson, it will be seen, have an advantage which may amount in some cases to their being able to reply to their letters one month earlier than either Otago or Canterbury. The service could not have been worse managed, and in addition the arrangement has not the advantage of economy, as it could have been obtained by the way of the Bluff as first and last place of call for the same money. We have good grounds for raising an in dignant outcry, and the only solace we have under the infliction is that the period of the agreement extends over six months only. We trust the member for luvercargill will use his influence in the Assembly to remedy this manifest injustice.
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Southland Times, Issue 1767, 15 July 1873, Page 2
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410Untitled Southland Times, Issue 1767, 15 July 1873, Page 2
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