OUR OVERSEA MAILS

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13335, 11 July 1907, Page 5

OUR OVERSEA MAILS

A NEW AHRANGE.MEN'I

STATEMENT 13 Y THE PREMIER. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, July 10. In th-' ilouio this afternoon the position of t-h'i colony's oveivea, mail services was dealt with fully by the Premier who informed the House that an improved arrangement'had been made with the Union St taniship Company and the HuddartParker Company for the conveyance of mails between Wellington anil ..Sydney f o as to take advantage of the regular service. to England via. Suez. Sir Joseph Ward stated that .fo.r eleven, months he had been endeavouring to arrange a weekly service, but a great difficulty stood in the way. It would li-a-ve dislocated the intercolonial services, and disturbed the whole trade between. Sydney and New Zealand to have. arranged a weekly connection. He filially had to agree to fortnightly connection, which would cost £15,000 per annum. Neither company desired it, evep at that money, because of, tlie: increased expenditure necessary- in the -payment _ of overtime and extra docking but during the last few days they had got ito a point where, for that very reasonable i-nm of £15,000; per annum, a. fortnightly connection [would be guaranteed,. Formerly the colony had to pay £2OO. "a, week with gratuities so that now they were gettintr ths service for a lower sum per trip. If ihey liked to pay a largo subsidy—perhaps £20,00-0 or' more per annum—they could have a, .steamer waiting to pick up the mail on a. particular datev but this expenditure was not justified. Two of the line® of steamers had different times of arm al at Sydney and to connect with them wouid necessitate the intercolonial companies altering their arrangements at Auckland by laying back for a day or two and having'irregularity in starting at the other end. His own opinion' was that people correspondiing with the Old Country would just as readily communicate fortnightly as weekly. What the colony really wanted was to ensure having a; good ocean mail service from New Zealand to 'the Old. Country, equal to or better than the &a.n Francisco service, because they would never get as good'a service, even under the arrangement which had. just been concluded. ■