Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 1907.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7085, 25 January 1907, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 1907.

MV E. F. Wright beitish-mexigan- is entitled to muoh new Zealand credit for the perKAiL route. sistency with whioh

he continues to ex-

pound the possibilities of the British-Mexi-can-New Zealand passenger and mail route,

by way of the Tehuantepec railway and Salina Cruz. Iv an article which we publish in another column Mr Wright Ret 3

forth what be estimates would be the amount of passenger traffic by the proposed

route, and at what rates passengers could be carried, and points out how—under arrange-

ment with the carrying companies—the

traffio might be tnade to contribute £48,000 a year to the total estimated subsidy of £125,000. Mr Wright is at a

disadvantage in having to present his propositions piecemeal; were he placed in a position to present all the facts cogently in one consecutive cen.es, the whole case

would come with a much more effeotive appeal to the public. But he' is oot to blame for this; on the contrary, he is en-

titled to much credit, and what he has done,

and continues to do, will perhaps end in the Government of K"ew Zealand, in conjunction with that of Mexico, fringing all the probabilities anJ possibilities o£ the ujftttoe {Qfco the deßiderated form—one comprehensive authoritative document with everyth'ng in its propet sec(s?ential order. For t hip, when it comes, Mr "Wrights antecedent advocacy will entitle him to &s much credit as will be due to the two Govornmeiata. In view of the condition into which our eoean mail servioes have fallen, it certainly is somewhat strange that so little should have been attempted by the Government with respect to fchis new Mexican route. As the Wellington Chamber of Commerce ha 3 put it, "the service between the oolony and San Fran-

cipco seems to have practically broken down. No serious attempt is apparent to reatore ifcfl efficiency, and it is impossible to discern nay possibility of its becoming again effective within guy piiisonable time. A servics via Vancouver would no (Jonbt be eminently desirable, but at present there seems to be no hope of its attainment." These circumstances more fcbaE justify exhaustive enquiries into the possibilities of the route advocated by Mr Wright, espeoir i ally as there is, in a sense, already a British i connection with the route; for the construction of the Tehuantepee railway, in connection y?ith the construction of the two terminal g-oc t fca of Cuatzicoalcos and Salina Cruz, is the worfe <jf the London firm of S. Pearson and Son, Litmtbd. In the meantime Mr Wright's unwearied ad? ' vooaey does him credit, and it may be that, by and by> the wfcole community will thank him for it,

(^Tho opening of the Tehu&nteisee r^U^ay is referred to in this day'd cable messages.)