THE "ALL-RED" ROUTE

Marlborough Express, Volume XLI, Issue 95, 24 April 1907, Page 5

THE "ALL-RED" ROUTE.

CANADIAN BID FOR AUSTRA-

LASIAN MAILS

A CHANCE NOT TO BE MISSED

[PRESS ASSOCIATION.! (Received April 23, 10.15 p.m.)

SYDNEY, April 23

In connection with a recent cablegram stating that the Canadian Pacific Railway had decided to place two of its Orient service, vessels on the Australian line, Mr Gibbons, a representative Canadian pressman who arrived by the Aorangi, confirms the information.

Referring to the development of the Canadian-Australian trade, Mr Gibbons says that much interest is evinced throughput Western Canada at the present steamship situation, the withdrawal of the Oceanic Company's fleet being looked upon as creating an opportunity which it would be suicidal for British lines to neglect. By the combination of the mail subsidies and general traffic, hitherto divided among rival lines, there should be no difficulty of profitably maintaining a direct Canadian-Australian line, calling at Auckland, and utilising the most modern steamships afloat. With such vessels traffic would be stimulated, and the time required for the interchange of British mails appreciably reduced. ,

The general expectation throughout British Columbia, continued Mr. Gibbons, had been that the CanadianPacific would, with the lapsing of the present mail .subsidy, seek to enter the trade on its own account, probably by the transfer of the Empress fleet./ Whether this course of actjori would be- pursued or the serviced continue with an Australasian cbmjMiny: operating in concert with the CanadianPacific .is,- Mr Gibbons thinks, immaterial to the main issue, which is that the time is ripe for the substitution of larger, faster, arid more modern vessels, with which trade would speedily and considerably expand.