THE PANAMA ROUTE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1192, 4 February 1864, Page 3

THE PANAMA ROUTE.

It scorns that the establishment of a postal service > for New Zealand and New South Wales, via the " Isthmus of Panama, is at last likely to be accom- ! plished. The Intercolonial Mail Company, already " familiar with the navigation of' the colonial waters, ) have made an offer which, it is expected, will be ■» finally acted upon. They propose to undertake a monthly service, each way, between Sydney, New 3 Zealand, and Panama, bo»imu»<>' with three shij)s on the Ist of March, 1864, and adding ji fourth within 3 twelve months from that date, in consideration of a \ subsidy of £76,000 per annum for five years. The directors wished that the contract should be for seven ] or ten years, and they intend to apply to the Colonial i Legislature for an extension of the term, which there is reason to believe will be granted.

It is a promising sign of this proposal that all the parties immediately concerned in its execution think well of it. The Postmaster-General of New Zealand, and the agent for New South Wales, with whom the preliminaries have been negotiated, consider the terms highly favorable; and the directors of the company are perfectly satisfied with them, after a careful investigation of all the practical data they could collect. The new route, it is asserted, will possess considerable advantages in the way of traffic, there being no less than five lines of steamers by which it will constantly be fed; three communicating with Aspinwall from Southampton and the West Indies, Liverpool and New York, and two with Panama from Valparaiso and San Francisco. Another advantage will be to shorten the distance

between England and New Zealand by about 2000 nautical miles, effecting a saving in time of upwards of a month.

Hut the rose is not without thorns. Apart from other dissensions on the general topic of colonial postal service, which we will not touch upon here, being very unwilling to disturb any chance of unanimity that exists upon any branch of the subject, it is evident that some internal difficulties threaten to impede the realisation of this auspicious scheme. Three towns, with widely different, hut almost equal, claims, contest the honour of being nominated the port of call in New Zealand—Auckland, Nelson, and Dunedin. This is a matter of far greater importance than it may appear at first sight; and if the controversy be not conducted with a viewto public and not to local interests, it may ultimately shipwreck the whole design. Upon the selection of the port of call, the future benefits to be derived from the service will mainly depend, and it is hardly necessary to say that the choice ought not to be influenced by any motive other than that of securing to the colonists at large the greatest possible amount of advar. lages the route is capable of yielding. The duty of die Legislature is clear, and we trust it will be discharged with firmness and integrity.—Home News.

The Panama Route.—The report of the directors of the Intercolonial lioyal Mail Steam Packet Company (Limited), to be presented at the meeting on Nov. 27, describes a marked improvement in the prospects of the company, the position of which is stated to be now such as to justify confidence in its permanent success. The accounts show a balance of £9559, which is equal to a clear profit of upwards of 16 per cent per annum. The directors recommend a dividend at the rate of 6 per cent per annum free of income-tax, which will amount to £3250, and that the balance of £6309 be carried towards the amount proposed to be appropriated for depreciation, reserve fund, &c., at the end of the year. The report announces the important and interesting fact that the board have concluded with the Postmaster-General of New Zealand the preliminaries for a contract, whereby the company is to establish a monthly mail service between Sydney, New Zealand, and Panama, in correspondence with the present line of mail steamers between Panama, the West Indies, and Southampton, and the railway across the Isthmus. The time to be occupied between Panama and New Zealand is 30 days, under penalty for excess and bonus for shorter periods, and the subsidy is to be £76,000 per annum for the entire route, comprising Panama, New Zealand, and Sydney, guaranteed by New Zealand alone. The service is to commence about the Ist of Jan., 1865, and it will complete the circle of British Mail steam services round the globe. The contract is to be for five years. This intelligence will be received with great pleasure in Australia and New Zealand. The directors state that they have satisfied themselves that the terms agreed upon are of a nature to commend the arrangement to the approbation of the proprietary and the confidence of the public.—lbid.