THE NEW MAIL ROUTE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 14, Issue 1154, 20 May 1870, Page 3

THE NEW MAIL ROUTE.

(From the 'Pacific Commercial Advertiser,' April 23.) The pioneer steamer Wonga Wonga of the Australian and San Francisco line, arrived at this port (Honolulu) on Tuesday morning, April 19, seventeen days from Auckland, which port she left on the 2nd. Her route commenced at Sydney, which she left on the 26th of March, thence to Auckland and Honolulu. The following is the time-table of the new line, as published in the Southern Cross of April 2:— * * The table makes no allowance for stop* pages at intermediate ports, and announces the mails to be delivered in 45 days from Sydney to Liverpool. The mails by the Wonga Wonga left Sydney March 26th, at 4 p.m. ; arrived here April 19th ; will arrive at San Francisco, May Ist; Hew York, May 7th; and Liverpool, May 17th — making the time through for the initial trip 52 days instead of the time calculated. This can be reduced to 45 days only by having larger and better vessels, which can make the passage from Auckland to Honolulu in 14 days, arriving here the morning the San Francisco steamer is to leave, and making the time between this port and San Francisco ten days. Wo notice that the colonial papers calculate on their mails being delivered in Liverpool in 40 days by this route. It can be done from the last port of departure 10 to San Fra%siscOi3BwTTew YorkT and 10 to Liverpool ; in all, 40 days. But to do this, a faster boat than the Idaho; between this port and San Francisco, must be in the service, as her trips average about 12 days. The Nebraska can easily make the through trip from either Sydney or Auckland to San Francisco (stopping at Honolulu ten hours to coal) in 22 days, which will allow the mails'to be delivered in England inside of 40" days. The fine steamers owned by Mr. Webb will easily accomplish this. The Southeiii Gross, in commenting on the opening of this new enterprise, compared with the old Indian mail routes, has the following remarks :— • * * f The two steamers engaged for the mail seryice between Sydney and this port; are the Wonga Wonga, of 1,200 tons burthen, and the City of Melbourne, of 1,000 tons burthen — altogether too small for properly performing the service. We understand they are chartered only for four mouths, when some other plan may be fixed on. The New Zealand subsidy is understood to be 100.000 dollars, provided Auckland is made the final port for departure. The passenger travel by this new route will be very large. The first steamer from Sydney and Auckland brings 170 passengers, and we see it stated in one of the colonial papers that before the departure of the Wonga Wonga over one hundred berths had been engaged for the City of Melbourne. With good steamers and good accommodations, from two to three hundred passengers may be calculated on by eachjvessel. All the passengers who came by the Wonga Wonga (or all who desired to go) went forward in the steamer Idaho, which left port on Thursday, April 21st, at 4 p.m. She was altogether too crowded, as she has accommodation for only about one hundred, while there were over two hundred on board. If some larger vessel is not engaged to perform the service from this port to San Francisco, complaint will justly be made against this line from the very outset. We havfe referred several times of late to the importance of this enterprise, which, will open to our merchants new avenues of trade. As soon as reliable intelligence regarding the present colonial tariffs and markets for our island produce is received and published, arrangements will be made to ship produce thither. The Wonga Wonga takes a small freight of sugar and pulu, intended to test the New Zealand and Sydney markets for these articles. Other shipments will go forward in future steamers. «-■