The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1897. THE MAIL SERVICES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 255, 3 November 1897, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1897. THE MAIL SERVICES.

Far the cause that lacis assistance, Por the ■WTons that neads roeistanoe, For the fattuo in the distance, And the good that -we can de.

The enterprising1 action resolved on by the Harbour Board at the committee meeting yesterday deserves commendation. Whatever the ultimate outcome of it may be it serves in the

meantime as a welcome assurance that the Board is keenly alive to the interests of the port, and to the dangers that threaten those interests. At no time has such vigilance been more necessary if the maritime importance of Auckland is to be maintained and improved, and at no time have energy and enterprise in this direction been more likely to reap their reward. Never before was industrial war more keenly xirg-ed ■on the high seas tlian it is to-day. It is no longer from England alone that the argosies of commerce sail forth in search of adventure. From almost every country'that has a seaboard, mercantile fleets, equipped with the latest appliances of science, and subsidised by the Government, are steaming-,to every corner of the earth and eagerly lookingfor tiew trade routes or striving to oust their rivals from the old.

It is not to be expected that ISTew Zealand can offer a profitable trading sphere for even a few of the ocean lines, but to can certainly hold out inducements which would make •it worth their while competing' for our patronage. Such inducements the "colony offers as a whole, but there are local advantages which some ports in the colony possess over others as the port of call for these lines, and it is the business of the local authorities to lay these advantages before the competing companies, and if possible to increase by generous regulations/the natural attractions of the place. This is precisely what the Harbour Board has resolved to do, and in pursuance of this decision it has been agreed to write to Messrs Huddart, Parker, and Company the Union S.S. Company, Spreckles and Company, the Messageries Maritime Company, the Nippon Yusen Kaisha, the 'North German Lloyds, and other steamship companies, offering-: (1) The use of graving- docks to mail steamers on the same terms as those allowed to ships of war; (2) the services of pilots and harbour master for mail steamers free; (3) special favourable rates for storage and transhipment of cargo; (4) to guarantee that first-class berths shall be reserved for mail steamers and every facility for rapid discharge. At the same time the Government will be informed of the Bond's action and asked in the conditions attached to the tenders for mail contracts to point out the advantages offered by Auckland. The Auckland representatives will also be urged to do all in their power to advance the objects of the Board, more especially in the matter of retaining' Auckland as the port of call for the mail boats. Indeed, as our readers are well aware, the present agitation has had its rise in connection with this last matter. Had not a most determined attempt been made on the part of Wellington to divert the present and future mail traffic to Port Nicholson and to leave Auckland out in the cold our Harbour Board would never probably have been stirred up to take the present line of action. For that reason we can hardly regret that the selfishness of Wellington should have been manifested in the way it has.

While every good colonist must deprecate exhibitions of interprovincial jealousy when they can only engender bad feeling, it would be criminal neglect on our part to sit tamely by while Wellington achieved its purpose in this matter of the mail services, for the grossest injustice is contemplated. We sincerely trust that the public will i-ealise the gravity of the position as clearly as the Board, has done, and protest in no uncertain voice against any arrangement that would so fatally affect the commercial importance of the northern city as a change in

the present port of call for the mails via America. The present unsettled condition of matters in. relation to the existing-trans-Pacific services has afforded to the Wellingtonians a particularly favourable opportunity for intrigue. The contract with the owners~of the San Francisco line expires on the 30th of June next, and the question of its renewal and on what terms will soon have to be decided. That the renewal would have been agreed to with little hesitation and on more favourable terms so far as faster boats, etc., are concerned, there can be little doubt had not the people of Wellington raised the question of \the port of call. Notwithstanding the offers made by Mr Huddart to run a line between Vancouver and the colony, the present San Francisco route would, we believe, have had the preference in the long run as it is the quickest and most convenient. But the determination of Wellington to gain her ends led her to favour the Canadian route first because it helped to divert attention from the 'Frisco one, and in the second place because she hoped if she could not be made the port of call for the latter, she might still see Auckland shut out and Huddart's boats visiting- Port Nicholson. We do not think that Wellington is at all favourable to the Huddart line unless she cannot get the 'Frisco boats diverted to her doors. Certainly Mr Huddart has received little direct encouragement from the wire pullers in the Empire city and none whatever from the Government, which has distinctly refused to give any definite promise of support. The latest evidence of this comes in the form of a cablegram from London received yesterdaj' by an Auckland

member. Presumably it comes in Mf Huddart's interest, and it asks whether the Auckland members will, as a body, support the Vancouver mail service, on condition of Auckland being1 made the port of call instead of Wellington. We understand that a reply has been sent to the effect that Auckland members will support the San Francisco line. Our Wellington correspondent believes that one of the reasons for the Auckland members adopting their present attitude was that they feared that if the Vancouver boats did make Auckland the port of call, the chances are that a change would be made in favour of Wellington in a few years. In other words, they suspect that the offer was merely a device to secure their support, and that it was made in terms of a previous understanding with Wellington, by which the people of that city, fearful of not being- able to divert the 'Frisco service, and determined to secure the other, consented to Auckland being made the port of call for a time in order to secure the Auckland vote. We do not pretend to say that this surmise is correct, but it is far from impossible that it is. Apart altogether from any fear of treachery, the Auckland members did quite right to pledge their support to the 'Frisco line. It has served us well and cheaply, and if the contract is renewed there is no doubt,as the Premier pointed out in the Finoncial Statement, that we shall have faster boats at no increase on the £7604 that we now pay per annum. The 'Frisco service, we repeat, is at this time the best for New Zealand, and Auckland is far and away the best port of call in the colony, whether the interests of the colony or of the Company are consulted.

We are requested to draw attention to the public meeting to be held this evening in the Tailoresses Hall, Cook-street. The meeting is called by the Eight Hours League and Auckland Trades and Labour Council for the purpose of taking steps to assist the engineers in the United Kingdom who have been thrown out of employment by the lock-out. The following gentlemen will adnress the meeting: Messrs W. J. Napier, Geo. Fowlds, A. Rosser, and A. Bruce.

"Brett's Auckland Almanac, 1598," is now in the press and will shortly be published. Secretaries of all descriptions of societies wishing to have their officers published in the "Local Directory" of the Almanac should revise them and forward to the " Star" Office at an early date.

The following is the telegram forwarded to the Secretary of State by the Governor in connection with the death of the Duchess of Teck : — "The Premier of New Zealand, on behalf of the Government and people of the colony desires to express their profound sympathy with Her Majesty and the Royal Family at the death of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Teck." The following reply was received: —" Your Lordship's telegram of the 28th October has been communicated to Her Majesty the Queen. I have received Her Majesty's commands to express her high appreciation of the sympathetic message from the Premier and people of New Zealand.—Chamberlain."

The report of the National Insurance Company shows that the nett revenue for the year amounted to £95,497. After paying a dividend of Is 6d per share there remains £14,610 to be carried forward.

Dr. Campbell, who pitched his tent on the site of Auckland long before a single house had been erected here, celebrated his Slst birthday to-day by proceeding to Rangitoto with the intention of mailing an ascent of the mountain. °

There is on exhibition in Mr W. H. Webbe's window in Shortland-street, a noticeable oil painting of historical interest by Captain M.T. Clayton, of Auckland, who has painted a number of line pictures representing notable events in New Zealand history. The picture is a vigorous seascape, representing Abel Tasman's exploring ships, the Heemskirk and Zeehan, off the Three Kings Islands in 1642, on the occasion of that navigator's discovery of New Zealand. The old-fashioned Dutch ships, the sea, and the Three Kino-s, make a striking picture, and Captain Clayton has been the first artist to commit the scene to canvas. The Heemskirk is shown signalling to her consort to send a boat on board, and the Zeehan has hacked her main topsail in response. When off this locality in 1642 Tasman signalled to the other vessel to send on board and consult whether to water at the Great King or <*o on to the South Sea Islands. The picture is worth inspection.

The R M.S. Moana arrived here from 'Frisco after a fast trip of 18 days 22 hours 30 minutes. She brings 452 bags of mails for this colony, and about 920 tons ot caroo-one of the largest cargoes ever brought here by a. mail boat. A very pleasant trip clown was experienced fine weather prevailing for a good part of the passage. The usual sports and games.were indulged in by the passengers. The Moana has a large, list of passengers on this trip 77 of whom are booked for Sydney. She leaves for Sydney'at 10 o'clock to-mght. In another column appears a summary of the contents of this week's " Graphic. The number contains the latest portrait or Sir George Grey, taken in company with the Premier when the latter was at Home. The picture is published for the first time in the " Graphic." 4n interesting record of a cycle tour to the West Coast carries with it a series of illustrations of a part ot the colony that possesses many scenic attractions, and deserves to be more frequently visited by cyclists than it is. llie miscellaneous illustrations in the number are as usual well selected, and the reading columns are stocked with an endless variety of news and literature. Two capital complete stories will be found in the pages of the issue, besides articles, sketches, social items, letters from all parts of the colony, and matters of special interest to ladies. .

A road race under the auspices of the Auckland Cycling Club takes place on Saturday next, leaving the Parnell Firebell at 3 p.m, and finishing at the Criterion Hotel, Otahuhu, for which some valuable prizes are offered. A run has also been arranged leaving Caledonian Hotel, bymondstreet, at 2 p.m., to enable those taking part to witness the finish of the race. At Maungatapere on Saturday last Mrs H. Wilson, the wife of the well-known and respected surveyor and ranger, Mr H. Wilson, of Lyndhurst, Maungatapere, died. The extent to which the lady was beloved was evinced at the funeral by the attendance of the largest and most representative gathering ever witnessed m the district- The service at the grave was impressively conducted by the Rev. B. F. Rothwell, of Whangarei.

In our report of the trial of R. H. Keast, charged with obtaining board and lodging at the Coffee Palace, was printed W. R. Waters instead of E. Waters.

An amount of valuable information regarding the geological formation of the Hauraki Peninsula "is to be found in a book written by Mr James Parks, F.G.S., late director of the Thames School of Mines. The substance is the same as that contained in the paper recently read by Mr Park on the " Geology and Veins of the Hauraki Peninsula " before the New Zealand Institute of Mining Engineers, and the book has been issued by that body. It contains numerous illustrations, and is accompanied by coloured plates showing the stratification of the field and the goldbearing formations. A short sketch of the early history of the goklfield3 is given, and the main features of the various districts a:e described and details are given regarding some of the famous gold producing mines. The scientific portion of the book is written in a style that claims the attention of all interested in the mining industry, The chapter devoted to the geological history of the Hauraki Peninsula is most instructive reading, while the one describing the most favourable country for the existence of gold bearing lodes contains valuable information. This book is wellprinted on good paper and in handy form, the work being done at the Auckland " Star" Office.

The hon. secretary of the Samaritan Needlework Guild thanks all the friends interested in the work for their kindly help in gifts of clothing, etc. Over 350 garments of all sizes and shapes and including 8 counterpanes, have gone to London, for the poor in the West of London, which includes one of the worst and poorest districts viz., Soho. The clothing is made strong and warm for the poor of London, who are truly grateful for any garment, however patched or seamed it may be.

We understand that the old established general and furnishing drapery business of Messrs Rushbrook and Co., Queen-street, is just changing hands. Mr Iredale, the purchaser, arrived little more than a week ago, but already the stock is being taken and every preparation made for a speedy transfer. Mr Iredale, who has come direct from London, where he was a manager for one of the largest drapery companies in the Metropolis, has had a long experience in the trade. He intends to import all his goods direct and sell them for the smallest margin of profit possible, so that the Auckland public may find in him a thoroughly up-to-date caterer for their requirements.

Lady and gentlemen cyclists are reminded of the meeting called for this evening by the local chief consul of the New Zealand Cyclists Touring Club (Mr J. TV. Browne), when the Secretary Avill be present for the purpose of explaining the objects and advantages of the N.Z.C.T.C. and enrolling candidates. The meetingwill be held at eight o'clock at the Auckland Chamber of Mines, next General Post Office. A number of ladies have already announced their intention of being present.

Attention is called to the sale of office furniture at the offices of the London and New Zealand Finance Corporation, Queenstreet, to take place on Friday, the oth inst., at 11 o'clock, by MrE. C. Carr. The whole of the desks, safes, etc., are nearly new, having been in use only a short time.

The time for receiving tenders for the erection of a store for the D.S.C. at Karangahake has been extended till November 10th.

A lecture will be given by Mr R. W. de Montalk in the Protestant Hall, Newton, this evening, on the advantage of joining the Equitable Terminating Building Society.

Old Chums and Schoolfellows are reminded of the half-yearly re-union, which takes place this evening at the Masonic Hall, Princes-street. A choice programme has been selected.

A public meeting of the Auckland Cooperative Terminating Building Society will be held in the Ponsonby Hall on Thursday evening, when the working of the system will be explained.

Children's black lace spun silk socks just opened at Wilson, McCullagh and Co 's— (Advt.)

Victoria mixtures—a new line for coat and skirt, useful colourings, durable wear at Wilson, McCullagh and Co's.—(Advt.) ' Wilson, McCullagh and Co. hold a large stock of galateas, harrateens and satin drills suitable for seaside dresses, etc — (Advt.)

Ladies' and children's wash-leatherp-loves 2s 6d pair at Wilson, McCullagh and" Co 's (Advt.)

Upholstered suites and occasional chairs at greatly reduced prices during, our sale. —Tonson Garlick Company, Qneen-street —(Advt.)