NEW MAIL SERVICE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 14, Issue 1124, 4 February 1870, Page 3

NEW MAIL SERVICE.

DEPUTATION" TO THE HON. J. YOGEL.

(From the "Southern Cress," Jan. 26.)

A deputation, consisting of Messrs. T. Macffarlane, M.H.8., S. Morrin, C. Davis, J. T. G-arlick, and other members of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, waited upon the Hon. J. Yogel, Post-master-General, yesterday, respecting the San Francisco mail service and postal matters generally.

T. Macffablane, Esq., as Chairman of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, introduced the deputation. Addressing the Hon. J. Yogel, he then said : Sir, the merchants of Auckland and members of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce resolved to wait upon you, being very anxious to obtain as much information as possible in regard to the postal communication to be established, not only between the Fijis and Australia, Melbourne, and Sydney, but also that between Auckland and the other ports of New Zealand. Since the subsidies were withdrawn the merchants have suffered great inconvenience in consequence of the irregularities, not in the arrival, but in the departure of the mails. They therefore wish, if possible, that something like regularity should be secured, the mails arriving as early and being despatched as late as possible. The commercial community are delighted that an arrangement should have been made such as we have read. this. day. You say the mail is to arrive on a certain day, and to depart on a certain other day, that will allow seven days in Auckland. The contract, however, says that the steamer is to remain only 30 hours in Auckland. I suppose that is a mistake of the press. The Hon. Mr. Vogkgl ; No ; the extreme time is to be six days, and the extreme detention is 30 hours, but the 30 hours detention is subject to the keeping of the time-table. That is the maximum so as to satisfy the other Governments that there will be no unnecessary delay. The terms of the agreement are : — '• That, subject to the time-table, the said steam vessels, except as hereinafter provided, shall not be detained at the port of Auckland beyond 30 hours." It amounts to this : Suppose they arrive a day before the time, they will not leave before the appointed time. It would not do that the mail steamer should leave before the mails from other parts of New Zealand had arrived in Auckland. On the other hand, if the steamer should arrive late and some detention were necessary, they- are bound not to remain beyond 30 hours. The whole of the contract is so minutely framed that perhaps it was scarcely necessary to mention the 30 hours, but it was done to show the people in the neighbouring colonies that there would be no unnecessary detention. * # # * jdo no £ think that I can give you much more information than you will find in the papers of to-day. The amount of the subsidy is £5,000 within the amount authorised by the Assembly, which £5,000 can be used to connect Auckland with the rest of the colony for the purpose of collecting and distributing the mails. Of course, the success of the service will depend very much upon what the other colonies contribute. £16,000 is expected from the other colonies, but the amount we pay is so small that really, if JNew Zealand had to make up some part of it, and to recoup itself by postage from the other colonies, it would not be a very serious matter. The amount of saving in the contribution to the Suez route will be considerable. The new service will, I think, be a favourite passenger route : a great many passages had been applied for imforo I loft. It will be necessary, how-

.-\iv, to connect Auckland with the rest i;i' die colony. I may say this, that the reason which induced me to make Auckland the terminus in prefei'ence to the Bay of Islands was that in case of anything happening to the steamers they would be able to get repairs in Auckland, while at the Bay of Islands they would be quite out of the reach of such assistance, and, as the A.S.N. Company provide those boats, if anything serious happens to one of them it would not be very inconvenient for them to send on one of their other steamers from Auckland to Honolulu for a single trip. I thought that very important in making Auckland the terminus. As to making Wellington the terminus, it was quite out of the questiou — the contractor would not entertain the idea at all. I was prepared to offer him a very considerable amount extra to run a steamer from Auckland down the coast to deliver the mails as far as Otago or the Bluff, but he would not entertain it. He said the other was just as much as could be done with the two steamers ; anything more would require a third steamer. As regards the route by the Fijis, it would save two days to Sydney, and that is a reason for New South Wales not being asked to pay so much as New Zealand. On the other hand, the Honolulu route is a very safe and convenient one, and entails no loss of time to New Zealand. I have seen it stated that vessels can touch at Tahiti, but that would be impossible ; the difference in time would be just sufficient to make it impracticable to perform the Service to Honolulu with two vessels, and wo should require three vessels. It would be a very great advantage to have Auckland connected with the Fijis. No doubt the United States would then regard the new service most favourably, as they take great interest in the Fijis. I would like to impress upon the Auckland merchants the desirability of a small steamer running between Auckland, the Fijis, and perhaps New Caledonia. That would make Auckland the receiving place for the Fijis, and it would settle the question of the mail route to the satisfaction of America. As to the connection of Auckland with the other provinces, no doubt we shall accomplish that, though I am not prepared now to indicate the plan which will be adopted. Suffice it, the benefits of the new service will be extended to all parts of the colony. Mr. Macffaklane : We are greatly indebted to you for the trouble you have taken to explain what has been done. I ani sure that it will be gratifying to the public of Auckland to know it. So far as the Fijis are concerned, I believe that the question is entertained favourably, and it will be no doubt carried out.

The Hon. Mr. Yogel : I am glad to have had an opportunity of making this explanation, because there has been a great deal of misconception about the whole subject. I have stated the facts which have seemed to me likely to prove interesting, and if there is anything elso to communicate I shall be happy to do so by letter.