The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 1908, . OUR MAIL SERVICES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 183, 1 August 1908, Page 4

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

SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 1908, . OUR MAIL SERVICES.

for the cause that lacks assistano* For the wrong that need* resistance. For the future in the distance, A.nd the good that toe cca do.

The information about the existing and projected mail services supplied to Parliament by the Premier yesterday is both valuable and opportune. Everybody knows that the present state of affairs in which our Home correspondence depends upon the Sydney connection with the slow Suez Mail, is altogether unsatisfactory. The Suez route is far too slow for our commercial and financial purposes; and even private individuals accustomed to the rapid 'Frisco Service find the change extremely inconvenient. The alternatives, of course, are

a renewed 'Frisco service, a Vancouver service under the existing conditions, and a superior Canadian service, such as is contemplated by the promoters of the "All Red" connection between England and the Australasian colonies. On all of these points Sir Joseph Ward had something to say; but we expect that he was not able to hold out much hope of a speedy termination of our difficulties or to give us much consolation for the inconvenience and loss that the whole country has sustained through the lapse of the San Francisco Mails.

As to the San Francisco service, there is, at present, not much to be said. It is true that toward the close of its career it was, by no means satisfactory; but nothing better could be hoped for unless and until the A. and A. Company secured a larger subsidy from the American Government. The defeat of last year's Subsidy Bill destroyed any hopes in that direction; hut it is conceivable that after the November elections the American Steamship Company will try again. As to the Vancouver service, it seems impossible to get direct connection with Canada, except at a price that our Government could not be expected to pay. Not long since there seemed some probability that a New Zealand port would be chosen by the Vancouver boats instead of Brisbane as the first Australasian port of call. But just now there are no indications of such a change, and, as a separate and direct Vancouver connection for the benefit of New Zealand alone would cost probably £ 100,000 a year, we cannot blame Sir Joseph Ward for regarding that solution of our difficulties as lying for the time outside of the scope of practical politics.

The third alternative in the "All-Red" service of which we have heard so much since, was mooted at last Imperial Conference. We are glr d to be informed authoratively that Sir Joseph Ward has modified the somewhat ambitious scheme that he first proposed in this connection. Originally, our Premier was in favour of a 21-knot Pacific service, for which he thought that New Zealand should be prepared to contribute £100.000 a year. But the financial difficulties in the way of so rapid a ■ service were insuperable, and he now advocates an 18-knot service, for •which the subsidy suggested is £75,000. Now, the reduction of speed to 18 knots on the Pacific section of the route would

make the whole service practically as slow as the San Francisco service, for which we paid something like a fifth of {he required subsidy per year. We admit that the patriotic and sentimental argwhents in. favour of the "All Ked" route should count for something. But, after all, the cost of such a service must be an important factor in our estimate of its value. Now that Sir Joseph Ward Jias given up the idea of a 23 or 24 days' service as practically impossible, why should we not try to revert to an American connection, if only we can get one on moderate terms? Whatever its disadvantages may have been, the San Francisco service was incomparably the quickest, surest, and cheapest mail connection that this country has ever hr 1 with England, and its incidental advantages in the way of opening up trade with America are so obvious that we hope the Premier will appreciate the advisability of negotiating for its renewal on favourable terms as soon as ever the opportunity arises.