AUCKLAND "PATRIOTISM."

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11098, 17 October 1901, Page 4

AUCKLAND "PATRIOTISM."

J One 6i the wildest rtm&aa tifged by the Auckland Pttou for the resistance by the local • members ol the Government's Sail FraiKfusco 1 mail proposals, was that by *o. doing the iitteratfcra would "cci true paJtfiofiett above ! accustomed subservience, to Southern domillation,". Mrifly rei&ftriabte claims have been pat forward by Auckland for the contitrtttince of this service, bat thta is on* of. the rittflgest we hiwe yet heard. Auckland's ifek df patriotism is apparently blind j support 6f & foreign anti* British lift* of ' steamers," with no reputation for punctuality, j «tfd» as we h*tre shown, forming a fiortion ;of America , * plan of campaign against tish trad* and shipping. The proposed service to Vancouver sad th* Dominion of Canada « contemptuously referred to a« A , "seeemdity jMaitmefckl rotite," which, by infertisce, is inferior to a service of *hith America- r«&|» nine-teoth* of the advantages and all the profits. We are teld that the Sail Frand*co serrice supplier , "our best mail «nd ctmnectiou." Grantifig that the !?an Francisco route is , Qtoieker th&n (ire otheni ae'e under present I conditions, it is v€ry >inpilncttlal, And n\er- ■ chast*, both here aod In London, infinitely prtfef regularity in fh* despatch and receipt ! ef ttiajls td th< saving of a fetf A&.y& in transit We are asked to believe, further, that if the San Francisco service receives no subsidy frortt our Government, either in the I shape of heavy poußdoge rated of the payment of a iump sum of money, it will stop, so fa.r*a« J?«w Zealand it cono«raed. We do not believe this would be tbe case, though even it did happen no great harm, in oui opinion, would florae id this colony. Certainly the fears expressed that the tourist traffic would Mlfier serious injury are not borite out by the igom contained in a return just presented to Pariiwnent. These show that during the ten years end«d on December fast litit year, 8940 passengers travelled to San FrandMo f»m Aucklatid, and 3081 were pattengert by tli6 imvard boats—an Averag* in the on« tfaee of about S3 pet voyage and ifl the otter of father le«s than 26. A proportion 6f the** travellers Would be ettersbge paeseagers, and many dthete would be Kfew on the way Hrtitte oi' returning to the colony via America. Yankee commercial trurritto mast also ba included, and when all these persons, certainiy nob "touri»te". so far rf* Key Zealand is dottcettied, and Amtfican theatrical couipaniee for Australia, are rtckone'd up, there i& not jauch toon Utt tor the alleged "toun'efc ti«affid" to and frtm tbfe A good deal hae been mdd about tbd vaJue of the trade done between New Zealand aad America by mean*.of the strvioe. This opportune return tihoytti that it is & flier* bagatelle. During th>* period ef ten yewie 1891-1900 inclusive, Saa franeieco «teaa»rs brought 31,383 tofl» cftfgo td AucklaihJ, mA took thence the enormoue quantity of 8331 tons. Our total export* by this Mute for ten years were actually le*s than ha* frequently beer, taken from Lyttel'ton in one ysesel! ' No Wbnder the Aucklandere lefc,figure alorte when trying v boliUr up the San £raacfcco service/ It must be remembered that NW Zealand's imports from America, which are now very.conriderabM.atioVare incr«ifiing, afe Abnost entirely dr&wn tt6rA the Eastern States, for which New York is the port of despatch., and are brought here by cargo steamers running between New York and New Zealand ports. • This trade, And the export trade that furoiehet the "back loading," ewe* nothing to the S*tt Francisco service, .and would continue If the Spreckels steamers aerer «ame near the colony. We hew piid large sums for a number of years for gie San Francisco service, end the colony, with; the exception of poor parochial Auckland, has came fco the coaclution that it is quite tims the money was xwed for the purpose of. aiding, uot of "British <nt«rpri«e. Thati* New. Zealand's idea of patfiotiem as applied to th*. nia.H service. The. Auckland brand of patriotism is not kept Jβ stock south of tbl Waitemata.