Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1910. THE VANCOUVER SERVICE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10140, 10 December 1910, Page 4

Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1910. THE VANCOUVER SERVICE.

Hi© return to New Zealand of Sir J. ; Mills has thrown additional light upon the question I of the Vancouver. Mail Service. It would appear that the Commonwealth, which contrib-; utes £20,000 per year in subsidy to the service, is adverse to Auckland being made a port of call for Vancouver vessels. On the other hand, Canada is anxious that New Zealand should derive an advantage.from-the service„ ~• ■-.she .Acting ; Prime Minister; of the. Commonwealth (Mr Hughes) says it is impossible to include New Zealand. The:Auckland?Star; deal-.: .ing., with the .subject, says,:— ; ''We, "cannot ■'■, say.; that; Jwe>-are' pressed rather glooniy remarks about 'the difficulty of ihr eluding Auckland' as a ! port of call' for the Vancouver boats. Certainly, if Melbourne, Svdnry and Brisbane

were all included or retained as well as Auckland, the 22 days' service could not fee kept up with the boats noW; running. And we can understand Mr Hughes' reluctance even.to hint that it migux be possible to drop Brisbane out of the itinerary altogether. The Labour party is very strong in Queensland, and it would be a bad tactical blunder for ¥ the Federal Government to ignore Brisbane's claims. But, after all, we have to remember that Australia has not the power to decide what form the Vancouver service shall take. Canada naturally has the controlling voice in the matter, and we have every reason to believe that New Zealand's interests will be carefully considered by the Canadian Government before'the new Vancouver service is finally settled. As the Canadian Commissioner reminds us, in an interview > which appears elsewhere in this issue, Sir Wilfred Laurier has expressed himself strongly in favour of the proposal to make Auckland a port of call j and the reason for the Canadian Premier's anxiety to, establish a regular- connection with New Zealand is explained'by the Reciprocity agreement which our Government has concluded with the sister Dominion. Australia,, as Mr Hughes sorrowfully confesses, has not yet arranged /Preferential Trade with Canada, and he admits that lliis constitutes a solid argument for Canada to prefer the New Zealand to the Australian connection. This is certainly encouraging' to colonial advocates of Imperial reciprocity; and taking all.the facts into account we can hardly doubt that if our Government is prepared to meet Canada's advances in a liberal spirit New Zealand will shortly have the. Vancouver service rearranged to suit her, with Auckland aV Wt of. call."