CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12328, 21 July 1903, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

' THE MAIL SERVICE. TO THE. EDITOS. '

Sir,— have read with great interest your admirable leader in the Herald of July, .17. on the 'Frisco mail service. . Nothing 'could be clearer, or more'- conclusive. The 'Frisco mail service is of > the greatest benefit^ to the whole of New Zealand ; and to Auckland and the Auckland district it is simply in-, valuable-. , No other service can. for a moment compare with it, either i for speed ;or certainty. ■■ Roughly speaking, it is from, 10 days'to a fortnight quicker than the service by Suez, and a week to 10 days quicker than that *by Vancouver. At ■ present a letter, posted via 'Frisco from Auckland to London, will r'oaoh' its destination in < about 28 days; but there is no reason at '. all why in the near future this time should not be reduced to 24 days. lam well acquainted with the route by which the :. mails are carried, and I am satisfied that by accelerating the speed in some slight degree of the mail boats between Auckland and San Francisco, and by arranging for a special fast mail tm*m across the American continent to New York, the present time of 28 days might easily be shortened to 24... A good deal is said by some in favour of the route by Vancouver, which its admirers speak of as "the all red line." This route, under the most favourable circumstances, will take at least a week to 10 days'longer than the 'Frisco, and it is practically impossible to shorten it. , In addition to this, it must always be a I most uncertain route; as, if the mail is carried via.Montreal and Quebec, for, at least eight months in the year there is the risk of continual delays by the heavy fogs/which prevail in the' Gulf of St. Lawrence and ; off Newfoundland; and if they are taken via Montreal and Boston or New York, it .ceases to be "an all-red :route at'all. Then ; . there is the tourist ■ traffic. This is rapidly increasing, and, if good boats continue to _run between San Francisco and Auckland, it is certain to increase still more rapidly. ft?: At present a large number of wealthy Americans winter every year in Honolulu, and spend large sums, of money there.;■ ' It is "a: natter of "certainty that :■ a fair I number Of these will soon, if the boats continue : running, come on to New Zealand, attracted by its lovely scenery and glorious, climate, and spend their money here, to .the benefit of all classes of the community. In fact, to do away with the 'Frisco mail service' would not only be an act of. incredible folly, but it would inflict a far heavier blow on the prosperity of Auckland than many of its citizens seem to realise. Letters from England would ;be 10 days to a fortnight longer in reaching us, the rapidly-increasing tourist traffic would practically be stopped, and ,as you well put it in your leader, the " sense of isolation would be immediately felt,; t|y every citizen." It is to be hoped that every citizen of Auckland, and every man in the' Auckland district, will do his utmost to prevent a blow which would be deadly and disastrous to our'interests:—. am etc., ■; : :;■ ;■->.. .'■■ -■TVk.' Shepherd Allen,. ;

;\>:; TO THE EDITOR. Sir,-— am sure that you will allow me: to encroach a little on your valuable space in order that trie-publio in general can read an expression of opinion on the above given by one who, although :; a Southerner and ?an aliider in the camp of the Philistines, can still reflect opinions which are shared. by many in this city. :;■.,< Each year the,fate; of this service seems to hang in a more dangerous balance, and to a casual reader of the various antagonistic opinions on the service the inclination :to ■lift, a voice against i the subsidising of a foreign steamship company is nearly irrepressible, but let us stop ■■ to think and carefully ' consider the relationship between commerce and patriotism. ' Commercial men agree that the, latter has many disabilities, which only be overcome by substituting the best equivalent, so that.such disabilities, instead of endangering the breaking strain of the silken thread which binds us to the, traditions of our race, become auxiliaries by which its stability is made the more sure.' .; -'•' ; -"'.--v-.'■■;-, Now, to revert to the direct question at issue, the boiling down of the , dozen statements made against the service leaves only one substantial charge, : which J1 must admit is wholly relevant, and, in .fact,, contains much that is commendable, viz., the j service is not performed by steamers; flying | the British'flag. ' /•_.'.. It is conceded, therefore, ■, that one British; shipping company suffers through .its steamers not being employed in the service, and! as each debit surely has a credit we ask who are those <i mostly "benefited. The ' Southern ! press tell us that the arbitrary Yankee is | the only person benefited by the subsidy j granted by the New Zealand :, Government, j and at the first blush the statement would seem to be correct. • ; :- - Here, again, he is a wise|man who reserves his decision until he sums" up all the pros and cons that bear on the subject, and as I have mainly dealt so • far with the iion«:of the service it is time I should enumerate the pros. ' ; ;■■'., :, ■ ■;. First of all,' the great essential of; a mail service is speedy transit, so that commerce can continue on the even tenor of it 3, way without vexatious delays in* mail matter relating to the transactions of one countey with another. " . .•'.-.: Here, from postal statistics, the' San Francisco service is pre-eminently ahead. New* Zealand mails are delivered in London in 30 days, while via Suez 43 days is the average time taken. The total cost of the San Francisco mail service for 1902 was ; £28,071, which, after being subject to deductions!;en; account of postage revenue; etc., leaves a net cost to the colony of ( 685. These figures speak for themselves, and force an opinion on the calm unprejudiced thinker that, whatever may be the disabilities of the'service,: its cost is a mere bagatelle, as against the admntage3 accruing to the colony. _ Certain business men will voice the opinion that commercial mail matter is: of little importance nowadays, considering that the bulk" of orders to other countries = are transmitted by cable. : Again I venture to say that how- ! ever honestly their opinion -is given, it is merely the expression of men who have viewed a very large - question through a very small peephole.; ; ! : Any firm, haying l^ large:; transactions .".other, countries cannot possibly carry these .'en\ without i the J assistance of detailed advices, which necessarily must be transmitted in the form of mail matter. Then, againand we now come to a feature in the question ', which, although it mayi yet only loom darkly ahead, must be numbered' among the points worthy of our most careful consideration, viz., the position of •;New, Zealand when the British Empire is at war—the fact that we are joint .partners' in. the l s San Francisco mail service with the United States of America helps to foster a friendship which the Home Government and its supreme; head (King Edward VII.) is"exerting itself to the' utmost to further and maintain. v V.

It is unlikely that Great Britain will ever bo allied with America in war < against , a European .nation; in fact, it is not a desirable consummation of our friendship ; with that nation, as it would be: better for the Empire to have America stand aside as ,'..a : peaceful friend than as an allied friend in; war. This may bo an opinion which at first blush seems difficult to fall in I with, but when it is considered that America in time of war could maintain the food supply, of Great Britain, maintain cable communication and international postal services, then is seen the efficacy of such powerful friendship. Much could still be said of the great importance of our. colony •' subsidising; the San Francisco mail service, .but: what I have ready written, I venture to think, will open out new i channels of thought to those who heretofore have only considered the service as a blot on our " all red"' escutcheon. !.'■. Let us remember, therefore, that the service is geographically the best one, is certainly the cheapest one ; we>can,' get, and at the same time forges a new and defensive link to the chain which moors our " all red" sentiments to that tight little island whose larger interests must -on some occasions be considered as our own.—l am, etc., . Wellington,' July 10, ; 1903. : A. : Devoir.:; j

Tucker's First Aid Handy Box: Read the following unsolicited '.-. -testimonial: — Auckland, March 12, 1903: To Mr. W. F. Tucker: Dear —We, the • undersigned; telegraph linesmen wish to convey to you our appreciation of the healing properties of your Phormicine and 1 Marigold ' Ointment, i which we have used through your ..-kindness for quite a number of years, now, and -wo have always found your Phormicine very soothing and quick healing for cuts, bruises, lacerations, and also for burns that occur in our occupation.— faithfully, Thomas W. Finch, S. Fosie, S. Pascoe, W. C. R. Cantelin, W Brisbane, M. Blandi'ord, John McQuillen, James Wait, L. P. Von Rotter, A. Sulbrit, Thomas Condon, P. Lambly, A. H. Burke, James Hunter. .. , EXPERIMENTAL MOTOR CARS. In buying a "Locomobile" steam car you are not buying something that ''we have to arrive" : for experimental purposes. v/ Two years since we passed that stage, and we now stock the " Locomobile..' a We have sold many cars in the colony to uelighted owners. Trials given.—Henmsg, , agent, Queen-street, Auckland. ' > v MEDICAL OPINION. Ark your doctor ,what soap 'he recommends for the skin and he will uphold the opinion of the highest medical authorities .'■' on. : the skin, viz., ' Dr. Redwood,. Ph. D., f F.G.S., F. 1.0., the late Professor Sir Erasmus; Wilson, Mr. John L. Milton, and Professor J. Attfield, *jto„ that Peaks' Soap is the best.