MAILS FOR AUSTRALIA AND MAURITIUS.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 167, 27 May 1859, Page 3

MAILS FOR AUSTRALIA AND MAURITIUS.

The following notice has been issued from the General Post-office:—" A contract has been concluded by her Majesty's Government with the' Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company for the conveyance of mails, once a in on t\\J between tIH3 country and the-A■tralian cilonies, including Tasmania and New Zealand, via Egypt. The first mail to be despatched from Southampton, tinder the new arrangements, will ha made up in London on the morning of the 12th of March next, and the first mail to be despatched via Marseilles will be made up in London on the evening of the 18:.h of March. On those occasions, however, when the 12th of the month falls on Sunday, the mails for Ausfralia via Southampton will he made up and despatched on.the previous evening, and when the 18th of the month falls on' Sunday, the mails via Marseilles will be made up and despatched on the following evening. The packets will not, a3 heretofore, call at Point de Galle, but will call at Port Louis, Mauritius. No letters, &c, for Ceylon will, therefore, be forwarded henceforth with the Australian mails, but mails for Mauritius will be made up for transmission by each Australian packet, and all letters for Mauritius not.other-wise-addressed will be sent in such mails." The following is the time table for the new contract: —• OUTWAKP. Leaves Southampton (each month.) „. 32th „ Marseilles .'. 20th Arrives at Gibraltar .. .. .. .. 17th „ Malta.. .. .. .. .. 21st „ Aden .. .. Ist „ Mauritius llth „ King George's Sound .. .. 26th „ Adelaide (Kangaroo Island) ~ Ist „ Melbourne .. 3rd „ Sydney 6th homeward. Leaves Sydney {each month) 2 p.m. ~ 14th „ Melbourne 9 a.m. .. 17th „ • Adelaide (Kangaroo:lsland) .. 19th . „ King George's Sound .. .. 24th „ Mauritius .. ~ .. .. Bth „ Aden.. .. ..: .. .. 19th „' Alexandria .. .. . .. .. 26th „ . Malta.. .. 29th „ Gibraltar .. .. .. .. 3rd Arrives at Marseilles .. .... .. 2nd „ Southampton .. .. .. Bth Outward Eotjte.—On the 12th of March, and on the 12th of every month thereafter, a vessel will be despatched from Southampton for Alexandria, with mails, passengers, &c, for Mauritius and Australia. The corresponding vessel from Marseilles will leave that port on the 20th of every month for Alexandria. Upon arrival at Suez the mails and passengers will be embarked on board one of the Australian mail contract vessels, which will proceed to Mauritius, calling at Aden en route. Under ordinary circumstances, the passage from Southampton to Mauritius will be effected in 30 days, and the passage from Marseilles to Mauritius in 23 days. The mails and passengers for Reunion will be transferred to the branch, steamer, employed by the company between that island and Mauritius under contract with the Government of Reunion. After a stay of 24 hours at Mauritius to coal, &c, the steamer for Australia will proceed to King George's Sound; and after a like stoppage there, for similar purposes, will start for Kangaroo Island, to land the mails and passengers for. Adelaide. This being effected, she will proceed to Melbourne, the terminus of the main line. The Sydney mails and passengers will here be transferred to another steamer, which will be in readiness and will start immediately they are on board. The length of passage by the company's steamers ■ between Southampton and Melbourne will be 52 days under ordinary circumstances; and between Marseilles and Melbourne, 45 days*

Homeward Routed-On the 14th of every month the mails aud passengers from Sydney will be embarked at that port on board the company's branch steamer employed between Sydney and Melbourne.' This packet will reach Port Philip Heads about daylight on the 17tb, and will bring-to off Shortland's Bluff, in the entrance channel. At this point she will be met by the steamer on tho main line, which will have left Melbourne the same morning, and start forthwith to Kangaroo Island; there to take on board the mails and passengers from Adelaide. The steamer will then proceed to King George's Sound, and after coaling continue her voyage to the Mauritius. At tins place she will remain 24 hours to coal, and having taken on board the mail, passengers, &c, from Mauritius and Reunion, will proceed to Suez, touching at Ad^n to coal. Upon arriving at Alexandria the mails and passengers for MarI aeilles and Southampton, respectively, will be embarked oh board steam vessels awaiting them. The f rimer will arrive at their destination on the 2nd, and the latter on the Bth of every month, under ordinary circumstances., Newspapers to India and Australia.— We are authorised to state that as it has been, represented ■to the Postmaster-General that mucli inconvenience would arise from an alteration in the postage of newspapers to India and Australia being made without-a long,notice, owing to it being a common practice for subscribers., for such newspapers to pay newsagents for considerable periods in advance (including the postage), his lordship has been pleased, with the concurrence of the Lords of the Treasury, to postpone from the Ist of April to the Ist of, January next the commencement of the regulation lately announced in the Gazette for adding Id. to the postage of newspapers sent via Southampton and Suez to defray the cost of the transit through Egypt.