THE VANCOUVER SERVICE

Evening Star, Issue 11661, 16 December 1902, Page 3

THE VANCOUVER SERVICE

—> —; — . A SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT. NEW ZEALAND TO SHARE THE BENEFITS. In t!ie course of & long article. the Melbourne ' Ago ’ advocates the establishment of a thoroughly efficient Yancouver-Austra-lian-New Zealand, service, in place of tie present line, which, it says, can hardly be called up to dale, and fails to attract that support which under improved conditions it might fairly claim. The trade between the Pacific Coast of Canada and Australasia is as yet limited, but (continues our contemporary) there are fair reasons for assuming that as the means of communication improve it will expand. The Dominion already supplies these States with agricultural machinery, timber, tinned fish, and various otter lines, whilst Australia has been sending wool, sugar, meat, butter, cheese, and other products to Vancouver. A good deal more, however, might be done by both. Canada should be able to provide Australasia with all the printing' paper required—an item which,runs into large figures—whilst British Columbia should draw from us supplies of jams, fruits, and other articles of food, as well as manufactured woollen goods. It is not, however, solely from a irade standpoint that an improvement in the present mail service to Vancouver has become a necessity. A good deal has been written and said as to the duty of Australasia responding libera,lly to the expenses of the naval squadron located in these waters. Without discussing the question it may be claimed that our contributions would be handsomely supplemented if the new mail contract for the Vancouver line contained conditions making the fleet of the company performing the service available for naval purposes in. war time. The lowest possible cost- of building three steamers suitable for the . proposed ’ service would be about £750,000, whilst they might involve the outlay of £1,000,000. The interest charged on the hulls alone, it will be seen, would be from £37,500 to £50,000 per annum, whilst the up-keep and working expenses would be largely, in excess of these amounts. A good deal will naturally turn on tbs matter of route, it being accepted as a foregone conclusion that the contract speed of the steamers to be employed shall average 18 knobs per hour. Further, the mails will have to be delivered in Liverpool in twentyeight to thirty days to enable the public to obtain equal, if not superior, advantages to those derived from the Eastern lines. Again, it is nccessaxy that all the States should, as far as practicable, share directly in the trade. With this view it is suggested that Brisbane should be the first port of departure and the final port of arrival for the service. The mails, jiassengers, and cargo from the southern States would bo taken on board or discharged at Sydney, which, for postal purposes, would be the port of departure. and arrival. The two routes available and the distances between the various places of call are;as follow: No. 1 Route. Miles. Sydney to Wellington 1,280 Wellington to Honolulu via Samoa.. 4,165 Honolulu to Vancouver ... 2.370 Total ; 7,813 No. 2 Route. Sydney to Auckland 1,284 Auckland to Fiji I*soo Fiji to Honolulu ... 2/736 Honolulu to Vancouver ’2,370 Total .... 7,890 No. 1 route is preferable, being shorter, whilst it does not involve any of the tion difficulties that are attached to No. 2. (It might be pointed out that the Union Steam Ship Company’s Shipping Guide and other publications give the distance between Sydney and Auckland as 1,281 miles, as against 1,239 between Sydney and Wellington, which is still more in. favor of No. 1 route.) An 18-knot service would work out something as .follows: • . , Steaming.—Sydney to Vancouver, 18 days; detention, 12 hours, three ports, 1 day 12 hours; overland, 3 days 12 hours; Sydney-Cape Breton to Liverpool, 5 days. Total mail time, 28 days. The time taken for the overland service is based on the most recent report of the Canadian Pacific Company, whose officials state that the contemjfiated accelerated service will reduce the time of transit twentyfour hours. The Sydney-Cape Breton service is the new trans-Atlantic one which the Imperial and Canadian Governments are establishing, and which has been subsidised at a cost of £225,000 per annum for a period of ten years. The latter, it is claimed, will do the passage in less time than is stated in the estimate given above. If this, expectation prove correct, then the gain will be on our side. As matters now stand, a twenty-eight-day service between Sydney (New South Wales) and Liverpool may fairly be expected. As to the highly-important matter of cost and the contributories, an estimate recently furnished to the officials in London and Canada indicates that an annual subsidy of £120,000 secured for ten years—the same currency as the British-Canadian contract—would be aired. The sum looks large, but it cannot bo ignored that substantial firms will not involve themself

in the expenditure of perhaps a million sterling unless they obtain some fair security teat an interest return will' bo obtained for teeir money. How’ this subsidy is to .bo made up is - another matter for consideration. If the contributions were distributed in tho following manner they would not press heavily on any of those interested Imperial ... ... ... £25,000 Canada ... ... ... 40,000 Commonwealth ... 30,000 ' New Zealand ... ... 25,000 Total ... •... .‘..£120,000 As Canada would -receive, the largest benefit from , the establishment of a modern mail service to connect her railways with Australasia, tee heaviest contribution • should come from that quarter. The Imperial contribution is based on tee same policy as that applied to the Ounard service. New Zealand, by adopting tee. Vancouver for tho San Francisco line, would save what she now pays to the latter, and got a better service under the British flag. The Ccnnmonwealtlf may take £20,000 off the P, and 0. and Orient subsidy when it comes up for renewal, obtaining new advantages without injuring existing services. The question of ocean service will have to be fought on the floor of the House next sessionT It will be recollected that in 1901 a renewal of the San Francisco service was only carried by a very narrow shave, though the whole’force of the Government' pins tee Auckland members was called bite requisition in its favor. Mr Millar was a leading advocate for the Vancouver service.