ALL RED ROUTE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2985, 31 May 1911, Page 10

ALL RED ROUTE.

PROGRESS OF THE MOVEMENT. (Fbom Oub Own Cobeespondent.) LONDON, March 10. An important link in the chain of events oonnected with the establishment of an All-red route to New Zealand, through Canada, was reached when it was announced that a new shipping company, to be known as the Imperial Steamship Company had applied for incorporation to the Dominion Parliament, and that the* Parliamentary Committee had signified its approval. The company (says the Irish Independent) proposes to start a direct service of 25-knot steamers from Blacksod Bay, Ireland, to Halifax, whence passengers would be conveyed by the trans-Continen-tal railways to Vancouver, and shipped on the company's own 20-knot vessels to Australian and New Zealand ports. The company's nominal capital is £200.000, and the list of backers and sub:cribers includes many of the most prominent names in the shipping world. Messrs Vickers, Sons, and Maxim, and Messrs Swan, Hunter, and Co., of Wallsend-on-Tyne, are said to be largely interested in the concern. Sir Thomas Troubridge, Bart., and Messrs H. Houldev. Andrew Weir, R. W. Skipworth, C. N. Armstrong, W. A. Black, and John Kennedy have been appointed provisional directors of the company, the headquarters of which will be in Montreal. The Incorporated Charter gives the company permission to purchase their own charter lease and operate steamers between Canadian ports and all parts of the British Empire and foreign countries. RIVAL IRISH SCHEMES.

The Financial Times says it must, be remembered that there are two important rivals in the field for the honour of inaugurating the All-Red route, Lord Coddray's firm, Messrs Wee.tman, Pearson, and Co., being identified with a scheme for tracing the route through Gal way rather than Blacksod Bay. The Midland Great Western railway shareholders voted a contribution of £SOOO at their last general meeting towards the promotion of this scheme, as their line, of course, connects Dublin with Galway. Both schemes apparently are based on a train-ferry service between Dublin and Holyhead, a distance of 64 miles, and in favour of th:'s project it has been urged that the train-ferry which has been operating for more than a year now between Germany and Sweden, over a course of exactly the same distance—64 miles, —is already proving itself a great success. It is a peculiar things that both groups—the Galway Bay and the Blacksod Bay group —estimate the money required for carrying out their particular scheme at £1,300,000, the Galway soheme requiring a million or more for harbour construction and comparatively little for railway expenses, while the Mayo scheme would necessitate an outlay of over a million on a new line of railway and relatively nothing on the harbour. THE NEW UNION CONTRACT.

Supporters of the "All-Red Route" must feel pleased with the attention that the London Times is paying to the project. A few days ago this influential organ wished it all success at the Imperial Conference, and now it devotes a column to discussing the new Union contract and the All-xed route. After stating that the attitude of the Commonwealth Government appears to have been governed chiefly by the consideration that to subsidise a Canadian service with a port of call in New Zealand would be to subsidise New Zealand trade with Canada, The Times continued :—" The situation is interesting in its bearing upon the AllRed route scheme, which is to come once again before the Imperial Conference. New Zealand's proposal is for a service between Vancouver, Fiji, Auckland, and Sydney by steamers of not less than 10,000 tons and an average speed of ±6 knots. The Australian objections to participation in the new Canadian-New Zealand contract would apply to Sir Joseph Ward's proposal, since under it New Zealand would still enjoy the advantages of geography, and also of reciprocity, granting the continuation of present trade relations between the three dominions concerned. The Canadian Finance Minister, however, has announced that the concessions made to the United States under the Washington Agreement will also apply, in the event of its enactment, to the importations into Canada from the other

countries. The effect would be to stimuinto inter-Imperial trade in the Pacific, and possibly to induce the Commonwealth Government to contribute to the service via New Zealand, proposed by the latter. The official New Zealand proposal, however, is much more modest than that of the All-Red Route Syndicate. The syndicate contemplates the establishment of a service once every 28 days between Vancouver, Auckland, and Sydney with vessels, not of 16, but of at least 18 knote. How far such a service would pay we are not concerned to argue. The syndicate which proposes to run it expects, we understand, a considerable increase of trade between Australasia and Canada, and contemplates considerable economies from the use of oil as fuel, the oil to be obtained from the Californian fields and possibly ultimately from Canadian sources."