SAN FRANCISCO MAIL SERVICE

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 147, 1 December 1870, Page 7

SAN FRANCISCO MAIL SERVICE

NEW CONTRACT.

The Postmaster-General has favoured us with the following telegram of a new mail service between New Zealand and S.m Francisco. :—: —

"Wellington, Nov. 28, 1870.

The Postmaster-General records with much gratification, that after considerable difficulty and protracted negotiation, he has succeded in arranging tho terms of a new contract for a Mail Service between New Zealand and San Francisco with Mr W. Nelson, tiie confidential representative of the North Pacific Transportation Company, (Messrs Halliday and Breham, San Francisco,) between which Company aud Mr Webb, of New York, Mere has been an amalgamation of interests and arrangements entered into, by which, Mr Webb's ships are bo perform the service. The contractors are to establish a hue of mail service under the style and title of the '• United States, New Zealand and Australian hue.'" Tne steamers to be employed are the Nj» r -d „ tho Nebraska, and the Docotah, with tho proviso that the Moses Taylor may be temporarily used iv the event of accident to any one of the three vessels named ; and furtner, that s.iould any of tae three vessels become unserviceaulo, others are to be substituted, to be approved of by tne PostmasterGeneral. The contract vessels are to De in every respect first-class mail and passenger steamers, aud to be maintained as such. The contract ia lo bo for ten years, subject to the conditions that witnin six months from tiie arrival of tho first boat at Wellingtou, (say about the beginning o September) the Assembly may decide that tho duration of the contract shall be for three years only ; but tho Government are to use tneir best endeavour to secure that two years bo the period accepted by the Assembly. Tae service first commenced U to be a temporary one, and in the contract three alternative line* are provided for, one oi' which win have to bo finally adopted under condition sot forth iv the contract, and

which the Postmaster-General proposes now to indicate. To all the lour linos one feature is common, that tlio main boat runs from San Francisco to Port Chalmors, (.-.ailing at, Auckland, Wellington, and Lytfcclton. Number ! learner to Lave San Francisco oni-o in every calendar month, eom:uencin c on 16th February next, and to proceed to Port Chalmers calling at, Auckland, Wellington, and Lyttelton, and to return from Port Chalmers to San Francisco once in every calendar month, calling at Lyttelton, Wellington, and Auckland. Between San Francisco and Auckland two ports may be visited ; these ports to be within the Hawaiian, Society, Navigator, or Fijian groups. The ports solicited are to be visited for coaling purposes only, and there is an express prohibition against any connection being effected between either of the coaling ports, any ports in New Caledonia, or in Australia. To be LIO,OOO for twelve complete services, and any subsidies received from Australian or New Caledonia, are to be equally divided between the New Zealand Government and tho contractors. Within six months of tho date of arrival at Wellington of the first contract vessel, the Postmaster-General to the contractors noted thathe adopts as tho alternative of the No. 1, the line described in the contract as line Xo. 2. This line is for a service especially, as described under the heading line No. 1 ; but thirteen complete services are to be performed within the year instead of twelve, and the contractors are to establish a branch steamer between Auckland and Sydney and any other branches they pleaso from New Zealand ports, but they sire not to be at liberty to rn:x any branch steamers except from New Zealand port*. For line No. 2, the payment ia to 1)3 £60,000 for thirteen complete services, including the branch line, and all subsidies received, whether from the Australian Colonies or from New Caledonia, are to belong wholly to the New Zealand Government. If, within six months of the arrival of the first contract boat at Wellington. The Postmaster-Gene-r 1 does not give notice to adopt line No. 2. The contractor may elect to carry out line No. 3 or line No. 4. Line No. 3 is similar to line No. 1, only th.it the contractors are to receive the subsidies from the other colonies, less ton per cent, to by paid to the New Zealand Government. They are to be at liberty to establish branches to any Australian colony, or to New Caldonia, from New Zealand, but they are not to run any branch boats except from New Ze.ilind ports. The payment per line No. 3 is to bo £40,000, the contractors receiving all subsidies paid by other colonies, and retaining the amounts, less ten per cent , which they are to pay to the New Zealand Government. Line No. 4 is the same as the others in regard to the main boats running to Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, and Port Chalmers, but the contractors are to be at liberty to run branch steamers from the Fijian islands to Australia, and to make such arrangements as they please inspecting subsidies from colonies other than New Zealand ; the payment for this line to be £30,000. The time in each of the four cases described in the contract between San Francisco and Auckland is to be twenty-four days, and the contractors a»e to use all diligence to perform tho distance betwoon Auckland and Port Chalmers within one hundred hours, subject to a penalty of £2 per hour for unneees^i-y delay. If the Government adopts line No. 2, the contractor's time between San Francisco and Sydney ia to be thirty days. If the contractor's time is exceeded, the contractors are to pay a penalty of two pounds per hour for such oxc.css unless a reasonable cau^e can be shown for it ; and they are to receive a bonus of two pounds for eacli hour less contract time, within which any service is performed between San Francisco and Auckland, op San Francisco and Sydney. The Post. master-General has power to make and to alter time tables. Tho vessels may be detained twenty-four hours in New Zealand ; twenty -four hours in Sydney, and may also bo detained forty-eight hours in S.m Francisco whenever it be necessary so long to wait tho arrival there of tho nnii from Europe. Tho contract vessels are to be exempt from all port light or wharfage dues, or charges in New Zealand on board each vessel. The contractors are to enter into bond to the amount of .£25,000 for the due performance of their contract. The contractors are Riibjeet to a penalty of £1000 per annum, to procure from tho United States an exemption from all the charges for mails between San Francisco and London, and between New York and Sau Francisco, which are now imposed under the convention between tho United Sinks and Great Britain. The contractors also agree to use their best endeavours to secure a concession, under which wool, the produce of any colony contributing to the mail subsidy, and tho pJiormium fen-ace (New Zealand), should bo admitted into tho United States duty free. These are the principal features of the contract.