CORRESPONDENCE.

Marlborough Express, Volume LII, Issue 169, 20 July 1918, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

PELUIIUS SOUND MAIL SERVICE

[TO THK EDITOII.'J gj r) —Following on my letter of hust \vi;i.>k, I will now endei'.vor to outline n, mail .service that will -Moot ;ill cssc'i]tia! i-cquirciuontK; but hei'uve dv ;ig .so it will be as well, for c-.;;noanitivo purposes, to ttate i>riei'!y nhat. are ihe proscni conditions. Auove I'WiW-'io ruint there ik a biweekly mail which is really a. weekly mail m two parts; and without any certainty as to when the part coining from Picton via Jackson's Head \ ill arrive. Tne. launch service irom Portage and the Wellington .service arc punctual and reliaole. The double distributing offices (Pict-on f.nd Havelock) co.-nbiiied with the triple 1 delivery service, is a. system wn.uh i^ bound to lead to confusion iaid delay. Below 'i'awero Point there is a uivookly (that is, u\> :>\v\ clown) seivico which is reliable and deponcl:u;!o in tlie Wellington steamer weeK, but quite irregular and unreliable when the mail conies from Pietou lonnd Jackson's Head. Improvement both above and below Tawero Point c-m only bo looked for by cutting cut the service from Picton via Jackson's Head and substituting tome other system. It must be understood iluit ifi.e Imlowing scheme is only tentative md something to work on; and that there are alternative ways of working parts of it which might prove quite satisi'actorv; or there may be pomic altogether different and better rlan. That is where the suggested committee would corao in. 1 have carefaily considered the objections raised ;«t last Saturday's meeting to there being any alteration in the s.s. Blenheim service above Tawero Point;, and I am of opinion that continuance on present lines would certainly detr-ict from the efficiency of the mail service if worked on the principle about to be described. Personally, as regards cargo, I believe the fears e.-.pvessjd at the meeting were groundless, and that the change to the depot system above Taivero Point would not only not be detrimental to the interests of the settlers, but would tend to a hotter "delivery of the goods" in More senses than one. 1 have worked cut three different seheir.es in very considerable detail; the following is the only one which satisfies every requirement : — 1. It is proposed to eliminate tlie i Picton service round Jackson's Head. 2. The Wellington steamer to run a fortnightly service to the Sounds and Havelock, calling in at all ofiees outside the Heads and below Tawero Point as at present, but above Tawero Point to call at certain depots only, say Homewood, Nydia Bay, ond Havelock, with the stipulation in the mail contract that the steamer is to pick up or laud cargo in not less than ton lots where required. Small lots could be conveyed to and from the depots by the mail-launch. 3. In order to provide a suitable launch mail-servics for the offices above Tawero Point every week, and also those belo-.v Taivero Point in the week when the Wellington steamer does not run, it is proposed to work this service in two sections, as it is found to be practically impossible to work the whole system within satisfactory time limits by one launch. One section would comprise all calling places above Tawero Point; the other section all calling places above Tawero Point. To work the section above Tawero Point, a bi-weekly launch service would run, and in order to meet requirements 4 and o, (i.e., elimination of the drawbacks of the two distributing offices, Picton and Havelock, and the obtaining of cirect weekly conmunication between Sounds offices and Hav^loek, both up and down), the launch should start from Havelock on the Monday afternoon or evening for Portage, calling in at Passau's -(for Kaiuma) only, stopping the night at Portage, picking up the Tuesday morning mail there, and thence leaving mails at all calling places on the east side of the Sound on the Tuesday, dropping mails for the section below Tawero Point ab Homewood, and returning up the west side of the Sound on the Wednesday, returning on the afternoon of that day to Portage, stopping that night at Portage, leaving there on the Thursday morning to work the same round as on Tuesday. But after returning to Portage on the Friday afternoon to laud mails for Wellington and Pictoa, the launch would proceed to Hav->lock, where the week's run would finish. The itinerary for this section would work out as follows: — Havelo?k to Portage, 16?r miles, 1 stop, Monday afternoon or evening. Portage to Homewood, including all offices on east side of section, "65$ miles, 20 stops, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Homewood to Portage, via west side of .section, 38£ miles, 10 stops, Wednesdays. Homewood to Portage, as last and then to Havjlock, .55 miles, 11 stops, Fridays. The contractor for this service would have the week-end from Friday evening until Mond.iy afternoon free, and there Mould be a margin for bad weather and other lost time. It is important that the launch should run down the east siie of the Sound on the Tuesday and Timrsdi'.y for early connection with th > mail service below Tawero Point as described later. In this upp->r section there are at, present- 10 offices. By adding another 17 calling places there would be practically a house-to-house service. It is not feasible to work an absolutely house-to-hou'-'o delivery, but the now calling places would include about ail of those settler.- who are not at present within easy distance of existing ]V)st office-;. Those additional tailing places would bn Papsau. M. Civonsill, G. Anderson, V. Rnfroll, Nikau Hay, W. Seymour, A. IX Wilson. Harding, Kogers._ nVni-mnnu}. J. Webb, Miro D.'iv, W-')lm.-t> Hamilton. Fairy liny Point., Penguin T>.iy. Paton, ' Could, J. Welh. it would', T think, he fair, and it would doubtless weigh with th<^ postal .-mthonties, to suggest that all new calling plar-w, rtnd also existing post osThins which do not .serve more than i.wo families, should contribute, :-ny, £4 p.a. to rhe service. No doubt the time snved and the convenience <>f havinjr one's mail landed tv.-ice a. week would be well worth that sum. and in the case of settlers nob ;u!;rpr>ing to this arrangement, their places would bo' rut out of the run, nnd their mail.; left at the nearest post offic1-.1 a-; now. Tn iMr^'s-'d to tho secMon below Taworo Point a:i;i outside the Heads,

the Wellington-Havelock steamer (the ! Elenhcim) would work the mail one week as now, without any alteration. In the alternate (the Elsie) week, although there arc several alternatives, I believe the most reliable and .satisfactory arrangement, and one tending to mako a more unified .system for tlie Sou.id generally, would he for a launch to pick up mails brought by j the launch working the upper section to Homewood on the Tuesday and Thursday every alternate week, and thence serving all the offices in the lower section and outside the Heads, working the offices oa the east side on i fie Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and returning to Honvjwqo'i by way of -the offices on the west side on< the- Wednesday and Friday. Mails brought by tho launch fiom the lower ; section to Homewood on the Friday : would not be picked up by the Port- ! age launch until the following Tues- : <lay, but as things are that would not j be a very serious objection. j Taking the suggested service as a ' whole, although there are bound to \ be some drawbacks, and it will not be ; possible to please, everybody, it will, ! I 1 believe, by found on examination i to meet all six requirements of a good J mail service, and, as the Sounds I .settlers must be served, if efficient it ! would therefore provj economical. { The practical effect of the new service i would be for settlers on the east side. Jof the Sound to get practically a house-to-hourie delivery on Tuesday and Thursday each week, and those op. the west side on Wednesday and Friday. I hav3 worked otit various tables for the purpose of comparing the existing service with the one now suggested. It is not necessary at the present stage to give these calculations in detail, but the following summary of the mileage and stops under the two systems will be of interest : — ELSIE MAIL WEEK. Present service, both sections, mileage 402, stops 62. Proposed service, both sections, mileage 401, stops 86. BLENHEIM WEEK. Present service, upper .section, mileage 214, stops 36. Proposed (service, upper section, mileage 316'", stops 62. Lower section: Same as at present. *Note. It is the launch mileage that would be increased, v.nder the proposed new service. Time would be saved on the steamer run, and would compensate for +-his. Thanking you for the opportunity of ventilating this question of the mail service. R. D. FELL. Nikau Bay, 12/7/18.