THE MAIL QUESTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13876, 9 October 1908, Page 4

THE MAIL QUESTION.

The Governor's Speech of June last contained the official statement that: "It is recognised that our present mail service to and from Great Britain is unsatisfactory, and efforts have been continuously made by my Prime Minister to secure the cooperation of Great Britain and her oversea dominions to the end that a fast and entirely • British line of mail steamers should be provided for the postal services of Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. These efforts are still being maintained, and my Advisers are hopeful of their ultimate success." In the expiring days of the session, however, Sir Joseph Ward informs the House that all that is actually being done is to arrange for the future patching up the connections with the necessarily unsatisfactory Suez Canal services, and for an occasional roundabout connection with San Francisco by way of Tahiti. It is impossible to regard this as being the best that the Government can do. What is wanted, as the Postmaster-Gerieval admits, is a resumption of the direct connection with Western America which we had for so many years. The " All-Red" scheme is not the only possible plan for breaking down our present isolation and restoring New Zealand to an advantageous position upon the leading mail and travel routes of the world. We are supposed to be prepared to contribute £100,000 towards the joint <( All»Red" scheme, which does not materialise. Why not expend the same amount in establishing an " All-Red" route of our own, which would run from Auckland to San Francisco and Vancouver by way of Honolulu, and, if advisable, run on to Sydney or down to the Bluff It would be a British line, delivering and collecting our mails, as for merly, in San Francisco, and going on to Vancouver for passenger and cargo purposes. Under existing American law, such a line could carry way passengers and way cargo everywhere on the route, excepting between Honolulu and San Francisco, and there is every prospect of this embargo being booh raised, allowing it a share, of the Honolulu- ' Frisco trade. If this plan were pursued, we would have direct connection not only with. Canada but with the United States, and would not only have our mails carried in the fastest possible time, but have modern passenger* and cargo connection with the two great Englishspeaking countries which lie between us and the Mother Country. Until this has been seriously tried it is .very . poor administration to sit feebly down while we wait for the , yer# problematic ' • AU-Rgd'• route..