MR. CROSBIE WARD'S POSTAL

Otago Witness, Issue 549, 7 June 1862, Page 6

MR. CROSBIE WARD'S POSTAL

ARRANGEMENTS. (From the Daily Times, June 3.)

Evkrt additional information thrown on Tifr. Crosbie Ward's intricate negotiations beais out the frequent reflections we have made on their reprehen.'i'-uV character. As one by one the my-teiies dis'.p'iea'-, we see reflected in their na^ed deformit) the actions of the public man, who. having undertaken more than his abilities qualified him to carry through, braved the difficulties he callul up a^auiit himself by recourse to the worst kind of political action. — the holding out of induce nenis to sections ol members to support that which in itself was deserving of opposition. It will be remembered that we culled attention to the peculiarity of the first public announcement that was made of the-insr! arrangement ■> tli.it Mr. Crosbie Wa r d h:id entered into. It ;t,.peared in the 1 ij Helton Tunes, Mr. Ward's own organ, aad must have come through that gentleman, seeing that he was the only one iv possession of tiie information conveyed, la the Melbourne and Otago table, we pointed out, Canterbury was included, although it had no conm'ctio.i with thi.s brauch of the mail set vice. We inquired why this was done ; whether Mr. Ward, in the interest of the Province which chums his best affections, had taken upon the General Government the expense of a very stupid contract entered into by Canterbury with Mo-'srs. M-Meckan & Blackwood. Tne contract, which wi's published afterwards, bore no evidence of this, and the mystery was still unexplained. At last it is cleared up. The- L;jlleltm Times states tint Mr. Crosbie Ward has oifored, on behalf of the General Government, to undertake -£1,000 of the expense of the contract referred to.

It is necessary to explain the nature of that contract. Ie is one which purports to be for bringing down the English nmls, but which, as far as that purpose is concerned, is entirely us.-less. Messrs. M-.Mei.Kan & Blackwood bring dn\vn the mails for all the Provinces, under t mtract with the Otago Government, to Por., \,ii!ilmers, and thence a vessel, under contract with theGjiieri! Government, carries them oil to their several destinations. So far then tlu 'ontract with Canterbury is useless ; and to piovc it, it is only necessary to aid, that not on one single occasion have the contractors carried on to Canterbury the En»lsh Mails. But it appears that there was a clause in the ontract which, whilst it released the contractors from t!u ntcoosity of carrying tho Mails further thin Otago, made it imperative on them for commercial purposes, to send each month a steamer to Canterbury. This, it nntst be observed, answers no parpoao cjnn:jcted with Mail Service ; and yet, towards this the Li/Up to n Tunas states that Mr. Ward has pledged his Governto contribute a thousand pound?. "Words are inadequate to properly stigmatise the transaction. Its bare htatomont pictures an amount of political delinquency, which it is impossible to exaggerate. Whether the grant be made out of lavor f) Canterbury, or to secure its support in the House, to Mr. Ward's Mail Service arrangoinents, is equally the same; eithci.- aspect is so bad that there is no choice between them. Otago already pays the entire co.-t of the service i'-om Melbourne to its shoi-js. From thence ti ; Genera! Government has a steamer to carry on the mails. The Canterbury service is purely a commercial on<\ and on wluit possible plea should the other provinces be called on to contribute a fraction towards it? Air. Ward m.-y_think that by bribing Southland with a special steamer, and by gi> i:ig th^same from Sydney to Auokhnd,' Wellington and Nelson, he will secure a nvijoiity of the Ucm->e, but we have sufficient trust in the purity of the New Zealand Legislature to doubt this conclusion. Even supposing his arrangements good, — and, seeing that he his acted on the assumption of unlit. iU;\l humus .it hi" disposal, they ought to be,— Mr. Ward's m.uli.- of, c mdustinj the negotiations h.ii been a ic- '

preach to his political character tliat no time v ill efface, i Us breach of faith with the S.iyierintendt-nt of Otaso, lit-i taking off the Sydney steamei without a moment's notice, and his phi) ing into the li.inds of individual Provinces a:e circumstances quite inde]>cndent of tiie intrinsic merits of his mail arrangements.

fn regard to tb.c^e arraugemenf advant; very doubtful when contrasted with their c-'-t. The down steamer, with the Provincial ?.."ils for transmission to England, has so narr 1 v a margin to catch the steamer at Dune -n, that it is quite unavailable. So much vvr t ills felt to be the case that last month a <- XM'ial steamer was sent ironi Wellington " h the English miila to Dunedin, and three "■ur Canterbury merchunts, to whom it v - iuip.'tita'.t to catch tho post, chartered a mer from Lyttelton to briivr the m-iiLs on. ',• regard to the expense, here are a few of tlu i* 'iis of extra cost incurred by Mr. Ward, t ■ return for which are the increased facilities

• ;ii which our readers arc acquainted, but 1 .Mil which have to be deducted the Sydney sU'fircier to Canterbury and Dunedin, which is t'-ken ofi". We give the annual cost : — Otapo to Molbonrne, at the rate of p*" annum £(5.1)00 White J3w.ui .J.OOO Qicen 7,000 Speci.il .Steamer iVom Sydney to ) o „,w Nc!-oii an.l Wclli.i^on '.. J UJ Canterbury donation to 1,000 £-21.000 "i hi' 13 in addition to the subsidy to the Cole- ;» .n Conip;uvy, — to the contribution towards tv; Australian arrangement with the P. and w. Company, and to the cost of the service i. .'in Melbourne to Otago, provided solely by tie last-named Province.