THE SAN FRANCISCO SERVICE.
( Timaru Herald )
The failure of this service cannot be longer disputed : but we may point out that it is entirely due to the slipshod manner in which the contract was entered into, and to the fact that the contractor, being a man of straw, was not in a position to provide suitable boats for the service. It is the bounden duty of the Government at once either to put a stop to the service and forward all correspondence via Suez, or else to compel the contractor to place on the line sufficiently powerful steamers to perform the work within the specified time. Since the service commenced, not a single mail has been delivered until many days after the proper date, as the table given below will show. We give the day of the month on which the inward mail was due, the date on which it arrived, and the number of days late each month :—: —
It will be seen that the contractor has already lost 40 days, and as the fine is L3O per day, the Government should have stopped a gross sum of LI2OO out of the contract.
The time allowed for the service is ample, and it is a much shorter line than that to Panama, which was performed in from 25 to 29 days, by the Ruahine, Mataura, Rakaia, and Kaikoura. Why cannot such vessels be put on the ban Francisco line ? If we are to have a service on which we can rely, the steamers must be of a far better class than those at present employed.
[Oar contemporary's figures are not strictly correct, though he has erred on the merciful side, the August and September mails having been dne en the 3rd of the month, instead of the 4th, so that those mails were each one day later than i s represented above. We may also supilement our contemporary's statement by giving the figures for the mail just arrived. It was due in Auckland on the 4th, it arrived on the 17th, [and. accordingly it was 13 days after time. — Ed. O.W.]
E (lay uae ruly August * ... September ... Dae. j 5 4 5 4 4 Amved 9 11 15 14 13 i. . Day a lat 4 7 10 10 9 te.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18701029.2.9
Bibliographic details
Otago Witness, Issue 987, 29 October 1870, Page 5
Word Count
380THE SAN FRANCISCO SERVICE. Otago Witness, Issue 987, 29 October 1870, Page 5
Using This Item
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in