THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, JULY 4, 1907. IMPERIAL STEAMERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13481, 4 July 1907, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, JULY 4, 1907. IMPERIAL STEAMERS.

The advocacy by Sir Wilfrid Laurier of "an All-Red line of steamers encircling the earth" falls with telling eloquence upon colonial ears. Sir Joseph Ward has asserted his conviction that New Zealand would support such an Imperial scheme to the extent of £100,000 yearly, in the interests of its mails, and though some' captious protests have been made against such a subsidy we do not doubt that if the occasion arises

the colony will heartily accept the advice of its Premier. The Federal Government, while not as greatlyi

interested in the British mails side

of the question as we are in this cbldny, is very much interested on behalf of its richer and more populous States, and might be expected to make a contribution of not less than £75,000. If Canada not only paid another £75,000, but supported a fast mail train service from Vancouver to the Atlantic Coast, aquarter of a million pounds sterling would be available yearly as subsidy money, and would enable a number of fast and commodious British steamers to be put and kept upon the Pacific run between Sydney, Auckland, German Samoa, American Honolulu, and _ British Columbia. For a smaller subsidy a less up-to-date but still desirable service could be obtained that would reopen for us, under better conditions, the eastward mail'route without which wc can never have fast ; ; nd certain connection with the Mother Country. For New Zealand the benefits are obvious. For Australia they arc equally obvious anS only little less valuable. What Canada thinks may be judged by the utterances of her Premier and by the comments of the Leader of her Opposition upon the necessity for closer trade relations with Great Britain. It is the United Kingdom which now delays the materialisation of this great Imperial scheme, in spite of the profuse approval of Cabinet Ministers for mail and cable proposals which avoided the objectionable subject of preferential trade. Many hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent by the British Government in subsidy to ships carrying the mails from Liverpool to New York; it is hardly revolutionary to spend money now in subsidising fast ships to carry mails from Liverpool to Canada. Sir Wilfrid Laurier says that if the Imperial Government will support the Atlantic service, the colonies of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia will do the rest. Between us we [certainly ought to keep a fast service going from Sydney to London, via New Zealand and Canada; butj the colonies themselves can do comparatively little unless the Mother Country co-operates with them. And it is hard to rouse the Mother Country either on behalf of an All Red line or of an All-White mail

[ For the man at Home has not the keen and perennial interest of the man in the Colonies with Imperial affairs, and consequently cannot as readily, understand the value off

Imperial schemes and proposals. He does not concern himself greatly with oversea problems, because as far as he is generally aware the: things that influence his comfort and security are bounded by his narrow horizon or are permanently fixed beyond it in the best possible way. Our Trades and Labour Councils do not display a very great knowledge of public requirements or a very great ability for national govern* ment when they protest against a, large subsidy for the Imperial scheme in question. But at least I they have read of it, have it present 'in the minds of their members, | consider it worth noticing and commenting upon. They are so far Imperial - minded,, passing easily from local to Imperial topics and back again. In the United Kingdom, on the other hand, an All-Red line round the world is not even heard of or thought of by the average man. It may. be talked of by statesmen and those who interest themselves in colonial affairs, but it is doubtful if the ordinarily intelli-

' gent daily newspaper reader is j aware of its existence as a proposition, muck less of ■. its Imperial importance. The goals of our footballers and the runs of our cricketers attract more popular attention ', in the Mother Country than the speeches of our Premiers. This is regrettable; but it must be acknowledged ; and should incite us, while waiting patiently for sufficient influence to be brought to bear upon the Imperial Government to induce it to co-operate as required, to make continuous efforts to break down the wall of ignorance, and indifference which shuts in our British kinsfolk j from the colonial outlook, not only i in. this matter, but on every matter. We think there can be little doubt that the most effective tool which could be employed in the work would be cheap cable rates. We have the Penny Post, and must keep our mail services at the highest point of efficiency whatever the cost may be; but what is the modern world without the telegraph ? and popular telegraphing still stops short at the sea. Sir Joseph Ward is thoroughly : sound on this cable rate question, ; and will go as far in it as the public : will support him. The drawback is ' that the average citizen no more ' understands what cheap .cable rates \ would do for him than the Eliza- , bethan could have understood what i railway trains would do for him. , For the average citizen has always ] been prevented from using the ' cables for social purposes by the extortionate rates, while commercial ! and press uses have been crippled ' and constrained by the same cause. ! There can never be true Imperial ' harmony until every part of the Em- ! pir'e, is in close touch with every other part, and towards this har- ' monising cheap cables are as necessary as fast mails.