"ISOLATED AUCKLAND."

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10408, 5 April 1897, Page 3

"ISOLATED AUCKLAND."

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,—Following up the very sensible re< marks of Rev. W. J. Williams, on the isolation of Auckland, 1 would like to point out another greivance .which the 60,0(10 apathetic inhabitants calmly submit to. I refer to the delivery -of the biweekly mail from the outer world, 48 hours after arrival, at Onehnnga. The Southern mails (Bluff and New Plymouth) arrive on Saturday morning usually, at nine a.m. The same is never delivered in the city before nine a.m. on the following Monday, just 4S hours after arrival. In other words, it takes as long to convey the mails from Onehunga to Queen-street as it does from Christchurch to Onehunga, a distauce of 450 miles, Our respected postmaster, in explanation, points out that the men require rest on the Sunday, and are entitled to the Saturday halfholiday. By all means give the men their Sunday, but if an important mail is timed to arrive on Saturday morning, surely it is not too much to expect the same to be delivered in the city on the same day, more especially as the outgoing Southern mail is usually timed to close at five minutes to eight on Monday morning, Those having boxes art highly favoured, as they get their correspondence on the Saturday, or, if the ordinary apathetic citizen calls at the Post Office betweeu nine a.m. and five p.m. on the Saturday, and waits half-an-hour or so, while the sorter goes through the entire mail, ha also may get his letters ; but this is not as it should be, Auckland should be a little in advance of the average bush town in this re spect also.-I am, etc., F. S. Malcolm.