THE VANCOUVEE SERVICE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXVII, Issue 101, 1 May 1893, Page 4

THE VANCOUVEE SERVICE.

In his letter addressed to ths various Australian Governments Mr James Huddart (ofHaddart, Parker, and Co) states : — J In January last I forwarded to Sir John Thompson, Premier! of the Dominion of Canada, a letter in which I offered to place a service of swift steamers, for postal and commercial purposes, between Sydney and Vancouver, via Honolulu. Sir John Thompson cabled that his Government had statutory authority for a subsidy of £25,000 for a fortnightly service with Australia, or a proportionate sum for a monthly service. Further negotiations followed, and now I am in receipt of a message from the Hon. Mackenzie Bowell, A sting-Premier, in the absence of Sir John Thompson, who is visiting Europe, to the effect that the Dominion Government guarantee a like amount with Australia up to £20,000 for a monthly sorvice. That offer defines the position so far as Canada is concerned, and Canada may yet increase the offer. The proposal that I have to make is that of a four- weekly 14-knot service between Sydney and Vancouver, via Honolulu, ior a yearly subsidy of £50,000. One half of this amount may be taken as already guaranteed by Canada, and I hope to receive some assistance from the British Government, and am prepared to promptly initiate the service if the Australian Governments will guarantee the sum of £20,000 annually for five years. Never before in the history of our over-sea postal services has Australia had the opportunity of establishing a new and swiffc service, with the collateral advantages of opening up additional markets tor colonial produce, for a maximum responsibility of £20,000, which amount would be at once materially lessened by the postages. Recently New South Wales and Ncav Zealand made themselves responsible for a subsidy of £37,000 to assure the continuance of the San Francisco service, and although this sum has since been considerably reduced, it should be borne in mind that in the earlier history of that service it was largely exceeded. After intimating that it is intended ■ to initiate the service with the Warrimoo aud and enumerating their capabilities, the writer proceeds : Presuming that New Zealand will continue the present service to Sau Francisco, the service to Vancouver would give a fortnightly post to North America. Australian letters via Vancouver would be delivered in the United States more quickly than they now are via £an Francisco. Trains are despatched from Vancouver daily for California, as well as for the eastern seaboard of the continent. For European mail purposes the new route is a very promising one. With the assistance of the Canadian Pacific Railway — the finest long-distance railway in the world — and of the ships now running from Canadian or United ;■ tates ports, mails could easily be lauded in England in the time now averaged by the P. and O. and Orient mails from Sydney to London — namely, 34 days. This period allows 13 days between Vancouver and England. But the Canadian people are now agitating for a swifter Atlantio service, Jand £it is anticipated that in the very near future— within 18 months— the mail time will be reduced between England and Vancouver to 10 days. It would then be a mere question of money — that ia to say, of the consumption of coal necessary to a 15 or IG-knot service between Sydney and Vancouver — to land Australian mails by this route in England under 30 days. What this means is that it is within the power of the colonies to establish an alternate postal service which, both now and in the future, will be the equal in swiftness, and more than the equal in safety, of the service via the Suez Canal. The value of such an alternative service to the Governments and peoples concerned lies in the fact that it is unexposed to the risks that would threaten the .'•uez Canal in the event of a European or Asiatic war. In such an event it would be easy to develop a four-weekly Canadian service into a weekly one. All the facilities and arrangements between Vancouver and Euglaud would be iv readiness ; the employment of more ships between Sydney and Vancouver is all that would have to be dono. A postal route which, when it left the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans, traversed none but British territory haß aa obvious value over one, nob otherwise su pei ior, which ia perpetually menaced by the international feuds of Europe and Asia. And in this connection it may be briefly noted that the Canadian Pacific railway, with swift steamship services ia the Atlantic and Pacific Oceaup, would oiler invaluable means of transporting troops or war material, on occasions of national emergency, from the mother country to Austi alia. Mr Huddard dilates on the advantages of the line as a passenger route, and contends that it would also assist in the extension and consolidation of Australia'B commercial relations with the United States, by providing increased frequency and rapidity of communication, and it would, in all reasonable probability, open up new markets for produce, and create many and important additional trade relations. It would tend towards an aim at bringing Australia and Canada together on the basis of mutually profitable business. Canada expends yearly about £1,000,000 in the purchase of su^ar. Wool is another Canadian import. \ In 1891 about £280,000 was epenb ia the purchase of this commodity. The writer has Mr Brown's authority for saying that the Canadian-Pacific Railway Co. is pre-» pared to quoto a rate for wool, which would permit it to be carried from Vancouvor to Iho factories in Eastern Canada. If this be so, then, in tho event cf the United States duties uj-on wool being abolished, it might be carried on the Canadian ! lines to the eastern States. Ofunmauui iuctured tobacco iOauada. is a buyer to

the extent of over £300,000 annually. Hides, wines, provisions, fruit, nuts and, possibly, frozen mutton are likely to find a market in Canada On the Other hand, Canada can send lumber, fiph, agricultural machinery, and mauy of the goods now got ulinoßt exclusively from the United States. With cold storage in the ships there could be imported at cheap rates fresh salmon from British Columbia, where the supply now far exceeds the demand. Mr Huddart concludes aa follows : — '• The subsidy now asked from Australia for a service of rapid steamerß to run between Sydney and Vancouver — namely, £20,000, whichjwould be reduced by the amount of postages— is not large in comparison with the postal, commercial, and other benefits which would thereby be Becured. I have the honourjto add that, Bhould this offer be accepted, it would give me plcaßuro to extend every courtesy and facility to [officers _ of the Governments concerned vrho might be j | entrusted with the responsibility of reporting on Canadian markets, and to aid enterprise to any reason able extent by convoying experimental shipments at special rates. I may also mention that the total proposed subsidy, £50,000, from all sonrcep, will not nearly coyer the total expeuditure which the service will involve. I eball have to shoulder a con--Biderable financial risk."