WELLINGTON.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 371, 14 May 1861, Page 3

WELLINGTON.

OUR MAILb,

We do not like to be always grumbling; but so long as there are va authority those, who, like the unjust judge ol old, will only attend to our complaints for the sake of their own ease, "lest by our continual coming we weary them," so long are we obliged to give expression to the feelings of annoyance and irritation which the delays in forwarding our English Mails are continually exciting. Since Otago and Canterbury have made arrangements for the transmission of their mails direct from Melbourne, Auckland, and Wellington— the two chief provinces of the colony—are in a worse position than any of the others, the small one of Hawke's Bay only excepted. Nor can this be remedied without a large extra cost. The Coleman Company are subsidised for several years, and as a money making Company we cannot expect them to sanction any alterations in their stipulated route without a fair consideration. With the route itself it is no nse 6nding fault. The General Assembly alone can sanction an alteration, and authorise whatever increased subsidy such alteration may impose. But we have a just right to complain if irritating impediments are thrown in the rapid transmission of our mails by that route, such as have taken place during the last few months. The Lord Worsley arrived in Nelson at noon on Wednesday, at which port our mails were detained 58 hours. By the strict letter of their contract the Coleman Company wei-e not bound to hasten their vessel on. They are allowed 10 days from Sydney here, and if the Lord Worsley had not arrived until Sunday, (instead of Saturday) no actual breach would have taken place. The spirit of all postal contracts, however, most certainly is the promptest delivery that can possibly be made; hence it is not unf'requently the case that a bonus is granted to mail-steamers for every day's arrival before their stipulated time. Although there is no such bonus granted in New Zealand; (indeed there is a story current that Mr. Postmaster General Tancied once threatened to fine a captain who delighted the Auckland public by delivering the mail a day earlier than that fixed by his Time Table) yet we should like to see the Coleman Company imbued with a larger spirit of accommodation than they appear to be, Mr. Tancred's threat notwithstanding ; and instead of waiting at Nelson so long as they do, use a little more exertion in delivering our Wellington mails. They have had every leniency shown them for the last twelve months relative to the irregularities of the Airedale—it being notorious that until very recently she has been in the habit of stopping only a few hours: often arriving late on Saturday evening and sailing again .early on Sunday morning. " Give and take "is a maxim on which we are willing to act; but, in the matter of lay-days in \Y ellington harbor, the Coleman Company has " taken" a great deal, and seldom " given " anything in return.

The Post Office at Nelson is much blamed by the public here, and we think not altogether without reason. The Storm Bird was waiting in Nelson when the Lord Worsley anived. The Wellington Mail, being in separate boxes, could be transhipped in a very few minutes, and the little mail for Picton sorted from that of Nelson in a few hours. If ordinary diligence had been used in the Post Office, there was nothing to hinder the Storm Bird, leaving Nelson on Wednesday evening, and arriving here via Picton on the night following. Instead of which a delay of no less than 24 hours took place before the Picton mail was despatched, per Storm Bird while that for Wellington was detained for transmission by the Lord Worsely 34 hours afterwards. It seems strange that with our own steamer regularly waiting for the Picton and Wellington Mails, the latter should be kept back for transmission by the Coleman line. If the Nelson Postmaster has acted thus on his own responsibility we hope he will not do so again ; if he acts under the authority. 6, the Postmaster General we trust a remonstrance f.om the Superintendent or Chamber.of Commerce will remove the instructions which fetter him.

We speak "by the card " when we say that the Wellington and Picton Mails ought to be ready for forwarding in a few hours after the arrival of the mail steamer at Nelson. As before explained, the Wellington mail is in boxes by itself, while the Picton mail is mixed indiscriminately with that for Nelson, the Marlborough and Nelson provinces having originally been one.

The Nelson mail is certainly not larger than the Wellington mail, and how long ours is in sorting may be gathered from what took place on Saturday. Our mail, which consisted of" 2 baes and 19 boxes containing 1925 letters and 4909 newspapers, was received at the Post Office at lh. 15m., p.m., and was sorted and ready for delivery at sh. sm. Sorted, not as the Picton mail requires sortiug, by simply putting all the letteis, &c, for Marlborough by themselves; but sorted alphabetically, so as to deliver rapidly to the clamorous crowd outside. The English Mails for Wanganui, and Ahuriri were sorted at the same time and despatched per WongaWonga and Storm Bird in the evening, in addition to the local mails for Tatanaki, Auckland, &c. We mention this not for the purpose of disparaging the services of the Nelson Postmaster, Tor we are ignorant of the amount of help he receives; but we do so in justice to Mr. Hoggard andJiis subordinates, wnose uniform celerity, notwithstanding the cramped accommodation affoided by the building, is worthy of all commendation, and is we hope appreciated by the Auckland Government who employs them, as much as it is by the public heie who receive and acknowledge the benefit.—i«<?eptndkntt April 30.