The Daily News, MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1903. THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 9, 12 January 1903, Page 2

The Daily News, MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1903. THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

I The do'ay which continually occurs in connection with the arrival of the San Fiaocisco mail in Auckland, atd its dtpaitura for southern ports is often the subj«ct of advei se comment; but tie extraordinary delay which took place laifc wesk provoked some unusmlly strong rematkg, and, without a satisfactory explanation, 'bse remarks se'.m well founded. It certainly seems that there was neglect somewhere when mails arriving in Auckland oo Tuesday evening do not retch New Plymouth till Thursday mo r ning. The Manawatu Daily limes, commenting on tbe delay, says New Zeiland pays a heavy penalty in order that Auckl ind may retain its " ewe lamb"— the dan Francisco mail service. Tho Spreckels Company is he wily subsidised to run our English mails across from America at greyhound spefd, and any delay on the part of the contractor is visited with heivy pens lies. Yet wh?n :ho Compiny's vessels discharge th ; mails at Auckland it happens again and again that delays taki place, not < f hours but of days. The la'est is one of tho wo'st instances. Tho Sierra reached the pilot station at AuckUt d a' 520 p.m. on Tuesday, yet the Wt 1lington and bou'hern portions of the m»il, which ara forted f-r ttarshipmeut when the steamer arrives, did not 1 aveOnehungt till 4 30 on Wtdnel- - The mail bags were concealei ia Auckland for twenty-two hours and ten minutts, and it will be something like eighty-six hours after the steamer's arrival in Auckland before the psopls of Otago will get their English ma ls. For a loug time Auckland has defended its monopoly of the San Francisco strvxe against all comers to the detriment of 'he ivst of the colony, which has borne wit'h the imposition with a kind of pitiful patience. It is to be hoped, however, that when the question of t-lie retention of the existing mai: contr->c% or the making of a new one, comes before Parliament in its next session, the representatives of the sou'ham districts will uni'e to end the Auckland monopoly." This is all very well, bu-. our contemporary fails to point ou"' a remedy. If what has been suggts'.id, to make Wellington tbe New Zealand port of call, were adopted, that wou d only make matters worse than th y are now, beeause although Welling on would reap an advents gp, yet it would make very little difference to the South Island, while Now Plymouth, Auckland, and Sydney would be placed at a great disadvantege. Tha Wellington route would add fully 500 miles to the fr ip in point cf distance, and 36 hours in point of time. The i eal if medy is for the Government to make the harbour at tbe breakwat-r a colonial harbour and the New Zealand port of call for the San Francisco and Vancouver m ,il steamers. New Plymouth is so situat d that steamers can make a direct lirie ; from San Fiancisco or Vancouver ni l thence to Sydney or Melbourne, and the total distance is really shorter than the present route. From New Plymouth the anils could be distributed so as to reach Auckland, Wellipgtoo, and Napier witbin 12 hours of arrival, and Dunedin witbin 24 hours. Nj other place in tbe colony enjoys su.h facilities for distribution, combined wi'h nearness to Sydney and Melbourne, and freedom of ingress and egress. On ' the authority of the most eminent marine engineer living, we have it that, for a n expenditure of less than £ 150,000, vessels of the class of the San Francisco mail steamers can be accommodate! at tho breakwater—an annual charge of loss than £SOOO. Considering there is no such port in the whole extent of the coast line from the North Cape to i

Wellington, it-H value to the colcny,

quite apart from the question of the

mail seiviop, would be incalculable. The ~;aia to merchants and business men in conneoticn with the mail ssrvice alone,, would repay the colony the expenditure many times over. It app-.ars to ua that the time has come for the formation of a harbour improvement league to undertake the work of educating public opinion on the question, and obtain tie assistance of the Government iu making the port a colonial 'harbour, and securing prison labour, if possible, for its construction. ' 1