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Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4736, 12 March 1884, Page 2

1 ■• - . - » j We can hardly find words to express the indignation felt by the Thames people generally, at the gross neglect shewn in their duty to those who help to support them, by both the JEtofcl Depart*

ment and the owners of the steamers plying between here and Auckland. The San Francisco mail arrived in Auckland on Monday night, and the Thames portion of it has not arrived yet. This is most disgraceful. We are coolly comforted with the assurance that the letters and papers will be delivered to-morrow, say at nine o'clock, only about fifty-seven hours after they arrived in Auckland, and yet we are within four or five hours communication with that port. It would seem that those most to blame are the steamship owners, who do a regular trade with this port, and who, it would 'seem, unfortunataly, hivea monopoly of the business, or perhaps they would have studied the public convenience more than they have done in this instance.. This steamboat proprietary have three steameri running to the Port, and not one can bo utilised—even in the case of a Home niaiv in a trip of a few hours—from midnight on Monday until nearly the same hour on i Wednesday. Comment is unnecessary, the plain facts are sufficiently condemnatory. If two of their three steamers were laid up, it was then* duty to the public supporting them to find a substitute in such a case as this. With regard to the Postal officials, we hardly know what to say—we refer, of course, to those in the Auckland office, as those here were powerless to charter a steamer or forward the mails from Auckland. —It is rather outside the range of expectation to look for a study of public convenience by public servants, but it does seam somewhat reasonable to think that sooner than keep English and American mail letters iin the Auckland Office over two days, some steps should have been taken by the intelligent authorities in Auckland to employ a small steamer for a few hours' trip" to the Thames. It requires much patience to refer to this subject, and were it not that this is not the first occurrence of the kind we should not feel so warmly on the subject. -^