THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL SERVICE. Letter from Sir Julius Vogel.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 80, 13 December 1884, Page 3

THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL SERVICE. Letter from Sir Julius Vogel.

The President of the Chamber of Commerce (Mr John Reid) has received a reply to the letter addressed to the Postmaster-General by the Committee of the Chamber on the 31st October, at the suggestion of Mr John Milne, with reference to the English mail services. The Committee's letter drew the attention of Sir Julius Vogel to the following points :— (1) The mails are made up in London on Thursdays. (2) No one of the great lines of steamers adopt Thursday exclusively as their day of sailing. The Inman Company run one week on a Thursday, and the following week Tuesday ; the White Star do^ the same ; so that our mails are conveyed by either of these which may happen to have a steamer leaving. (3) The Cunard, Guion, and Anchor Companies make Saturday their sailing day. The Committee think it would be advantageous to eend by one line, and especially by the Cunard, which for more than 25 years has kept in the van of Atlantic liners for regularity and punctuality. They run their newest and most improved steamers to New York every Saturday, and would, the Committee believe, undertake to deliver in New York the following Monday week. The mail would thus reach San Francisco within 14 days from London, which would be a clear saving of two day* upon previous performances. (4) The Pacific service should be performed in a maximum of, 15 days, which could be done by 16-knot steamers, whereas the Cunard steamer Umbria is reported to run 24 miles per hour. (5) This would give a through service to Auckland of 29 days, and by suitable arrangements with the Union Company a delivery in the South in 31 to 32 days could be obtained. Anything then sent by the Orient and P. and 0. Company, occupying 45 days to New Zealand, would be worse than useless. (6) If a contract were entered into with the Cunard Co. for delivery both ways, mails would have to be despatched from New Zealand to catch their steamers leaving New York on Wednesday. (7) The Chamber think the time opportune for considering this matter in view of the expiration of the present contract twelve months hence. (8) Further saving of time would be made by omitting to call at Honolulu. The Postmaster- General's reply to the foregoing representation is as follows : — " General Post-office, " Wellington, 18th November, 1884. " To the Chairman Chamber of Commerce, Auckland—

" Sir, — I have to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 31st ult., offering suggestions by your Chamber for improving the mail service between New Zealand and the United Kingdom by way of San Francisco. Many of the points to which your Chamber draws attention were well considered by the Government of the day when arranging for' the renewal of the service up to November, 1855. The need for a speedier transit of the colonial mails between New York and either Queenstown or Liverpool was fully discussed, and suitable representations through the AgentGeneral were made to the London Postoffice to have the colonial mails sent by swifter vessels, but so far without result. It is known that the Imperial authorities have had the matter of improving the Atlantic service under consideration. I have, however, had no official intimation that any contract with the Cunard Company for the carriage of the mails across the Atlantic has been arranged. Indeed, I have just learned from the Agent-General that the negotiations between the Imperial Post-office and the several steamship companies have fallen through, and that no improvement in the Atlantic service is likely to take place for the present, The question of the day of despatching the mails from London was also well considered, and the Agent-General was asked whether a more suitable day than Thursday could be selected. His reply was that Thursday should be adhered to. It id true that the fastest steamers leave Liverpool for New York on Saturday ; but business and other causes, of which you could not have been acquainted, make Saturday a most awkward and inconvenient day for the closing of the color ial mails in London. You are no doubt aware that the contract time between San Francisco and Auckland, from next month, is to be shortened by 24 hours ; and I would remind you that even now the mails are delivered at Auckland in considerably under 22 days (the present contract time) from San Francisco. The service may be capable of improvement, but nothing further can be done in this direction during the currency of the existing contract. lam not aware that there is any ocean mail service in the world carried out at a speed of sixteen miles an hour, and I think it will be some time before the colony is likely to have its ocean mails carried at such a rate of speed. The Cunard steamers are not now considered the swiftest plying on the Atlantic. This is, or has been of late, conceded to the Guion line, but even the average speed of the Atlantic steamers has been considerably under 16 knots an hour. The direct mail steom service by the New Zealand Shipping Company's fleet between New Zealand and the United Kingdom, which will be inaugurated next month under contract with the Government, will provide a regular alternative fortnightly service with the San Francisco line. This probably was not contemplated by your Chamber at the time when it discussed the question of the mail services. The direct service will afford a quicker and cheaper means for the transit of mails between the colony and the mother country than by the Brindisi and Suez route, which it should almost entirely supplant as an alternative mail line for New Zealand. — I have the honour to be, sir, your obedient servant, " Julius Vogel, " Postmaster-General."