OCEAN MAILS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1226, 7 September 1911, Page 4

OCEAN MAILS.

» VANCOUVER AND'FRISCO SERVICES* TERMS OF CONTRACTS. Farlic'ilnrs of the contracts between I lie New Zealand Government and tlio I'nion Steam Ship Company are given in i'. voluminous file of correspondence laid upon tile table of the House yesterday afternoon by the Postinastor-Oeneral, Sir s Joseph Ward. The paper contains tho a full text of the agreement regarding tho servic.* to San Francisco and the principal conditions of the Vancouver mail contract. Tho subsidies tc bo paid by New Zealand are J.Ss. 4d. tor the tweivo 5 months' service to San Francisco, and f .£IOO,OOO for the live years' servicc (o Van--0 corner. a On November 11 an agreement was en- , teral into by the Postmaster-General ond 1 the Union Steam Ship Company for tho t conveyance of mails from Wellington to . Auckland, Harotonga, Papeete, and San . J 1 ranoisco during ono year from October 5 )!), , 1010. The company agreed to inaint tain the service with the steamers Aoraj ngi and Maitai, or other vessels with coolstoragc capacity of not less than 100,000 ) cubic feet. Tho contract provides for thirteen round voyages from each of tho terminal ports, and for cach \oya{je (ho company will rccoiva .flGGfi 13s. <Jd. Tho total subsidy is therefore .€2I,GGG 13s. -Id., of which half is being paid by the Postal Department and half by the Department of Auricultiuvi. t A clause in tho contract provides that in tho event, of the Vancouver eervico being established during the currency of tho contract, ami Auckland iticluded a3 a port of call both ways, the agreement t may be extended for a term of two years l rem October 10, 1811, with AVcllinßtin as , &ud outward New Zealand . port of call. , Vancouver Sorvice. Tenders for an ocean-mail (deamship service , between Canada, Australia, and ! New Zealand, or Canada and Australia, were invited by the Canadian Government ' in May, 11)10. In January, 1911, the 1 Prime .Minister of New Zealand was in- ; formed by the Prime Minister of Canada ; that Canada had closed a contract with the Union Steam Ship Company for a ■ service for five years between Vancouver, Honolulu,' Suva, and Auckland for tho ' P, I .'?® ent contribution of Canada, plus tho l'iji and New Zealand contributions, Canada reserving the right to require tho contractors to proceed. to Sj'dney or Melbourne or both, the Commonwealth Government having in the meantime decided not to become a party to tho contract. the followiug are tho torms of tho agreement between the New Zealand Government and the Union Company":—(l) Tho contract to bo for five years; (2) subsidy to bo contributed by tho New Zealand Government, Ji20,000 per annum, with exemption from harbour and do"ek dues; (3) permission to bo given to the contractors to proceed lrom Auckland to Sydnev or Melbourne, retaining any sum contributed by the Commonwealth; (4) first voyago outwards from Auckland September 1, from Vancouver October 6 (dates of departure from Auckland to bo amended as soon as practicable, t oonable a fortnightly alternation. to be made with the San Francisco service); (5) the voyage between Vancouver and Auckland, via Honolulu, and Suva to be made in nineteen days (tho same time •to bo kept in the reverse direction); (6) New Zealand shippers to have the first refusal of all space for freight so long as no subsidy is bqing paid by the Commonwealth Government. No discrimination iu rates of freight, passenger accommodation, or passenger rates is to bo inado against New Zealand whether a subsidy is paid by tho Commonwealth or not. Should the contract be extended to Australia, poundage rates will bo paid for tho carriage of nUiils from tho New Zua-. land port to Australia until a contract transfers the terminus of service to an Australian port. Arrangements wcro afterwards made for the inauguration of the service from Auckland on August 4, 15)11, and from Vancouver du September 6, 1911. As in the case of tho Sail Fran, cisco service, half the subsidy will bo paid by tho Department of Agriculture, in tho meantime there will be an interval of only one week between the departure from New Zealand of the 'Frisco and Vancouver steamers.