THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL SERVICE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8325, 5 January 1907, Page 7

THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL SERVICE.

When the vote for the San Francisco mail subsidy was passed last session the Premier made it clear that the continuance of the subsidywas dependent on the provision of a better class of boats and greater regularity in the service. Since then the service has been more erratic, and there has been no change in the steamers. In the interval the Government has entered into an agreement with the Union Steamship Company and the Huddart Parker Company, by which the boat leaves Wellington for Sydney on Friday, instead of Saturday in order to catch the Brindisi mail, and thus enables the letters by the incoming San Franmail to be answered more ■■■ speedily than would otherwise be possible. Generally, that arrangement has been welcomed by business people, but the vagaries of the San Francicso mail are a source of tribulation and consequent grumbling, which found expression in the course of interviews made by a Post representative with leading merchants in Wellington. , Evidently the endurance point of the Government in regard to the Spreckels Company has been broken. The President of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Mr Shirtcliffe, yesterday morning, remarked that he had the Premier's assurance that i he had stopped the company's subsidy. "It looks as if we had simply to "put up with our troubles for the time being," said Mr Shirtcliffe, "and revert to the service via Suez for our mails. But I think you might continue to urge upon the Government the advisability of getting a weekly connection with the Suez boats, instead of only one every three weeks. Such a service, though not as satisfactory to the commercial people as the San Francisco service once was, would be a boon because of its regularity now that there was no reliance to be placed upon the San Francisco service." Mr J. G. W. Aitken, M.H.R., observed that matters had come to such a pass in connection with the San Francisco service that they'now missed out a mail, both homeward and outward, as if it was a matter of no concern. If the contract had been in the hands of a British company and difficulties had been encountered with its steamers the company would have hired steamers in some way or other, instead of making the public suffer. It seemed to Mr Aitken that we would do much better to have a service via Australia, though the present three-weekly service did not meet our needs. What was necessary was the . arranging of a weekly boat to leave this colony in time t'to catch each Sydney mail for Suez, and of a weekly boat to leave Sydney for here on the day that the Suez mail boat reached Sydney. It was true that this service would take a few days longer than the San Francisco mail service did when at its best,but surely an odd day or two was not of such very great importance. The statement made by Mr Shirtcliffe was brought under the notice of the Premier by a Post reporter. Sir Joseph explained that the contract with Spreckels and Co. expired in November, and had not been renewed. This action had been decided on by the Government ' because of the irregularity in the running of the steamers, and it had been cleary intimated that the contract would not be renewed until the Company gave evidence of its ability and intention to strictly carry out all the requirements of the service. In the meantime the position is that the company is paid for whatever, mail matter it carries. There the matter stands at present.