THE MAIL SERVICE, 1863.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1805, 18 December 1862, Page 3

THE MAIL SERVICE, 1863.

From Otago we learn that the steam arrangements for next year are as follows :— MAIL TIME TABLE, COMMENCING January, 1863. INTER-COLONIAL; Auckland Line, Loud Ashley. Sydney, leave . . „ loth of month Auckland, arrive .. .. 22nd „ Auckland, leave .. .. Ist „ Sydney, arrive .. .. 6th „ 1 Sydney and Cook Strait Line. Prince Alfred. Sydney, leave . . . . 25th of month Nelson „ .. .. 4th „ Picton, „ .. .. sth „ Wellington, .. .. 7th „ Lyttelton, „ .. .. 10th „ Nelson, „ .. .. 13th „ Sydney, arrive . . . . 20th „ Melbourne and Otago Line. AtiDIKOA, Melbourne, leave . . . . 9fch „ Port Chalmers, arrive . . 15th „ Port Chalmers, leave . . 18th „ Melbourne, arrive .. 25th „ INTER-PROVINCIAL. Manahau, via West Coast and Cook Strait to the Bluff. Airedale. Manakau, leave .. .. 23rd of month Taranaki, „ .. .. 24th „ Nelson, „ .. „ 2tfth „ Picton, , 27th „ Wellington, , 28th „ Lyttelton, , 30th „ Otago, „ „ . . 2nd „ Bluff, arrive .. .. 3rd „ Bluff, leave .. .. 4th „ Otago, „ .. .. 7th „ Lyttelton, „ .. .. 9th „ Wellington, 11th „ Picton, „ „ .. 11th „ Nelson, „ . . . . 15th „ Taranaki, „ .. .. 16th „ , Manakau, arrive .. .. 17th „ Auckland, via East Coast to Otago. Queen. Auckland, leave . . . . Bth „ Napier, leave . . . . 11th „ Wellington, arrive .. 12th „ Wellington, leave . . 13th „ Lyttelton, leave . . 15th „ Port Chalmers, arrive . . 16th „ Port Chalmers, leave . . 'Bth „ Lyttelton, leave . . 20th „ Wellington, arrive „ Slsfc „ Wellington leave . . a3rd „ Napier, leave 25th „ Auckland, arrive .. 27th „ The above tables are to be adhered to as closely as circumstances will permit. For those who "never can understand figures," the following explanation will perhaps be useful. The English Mail for Auckland, Taranaki, Nelson, and Picton will arrive at Auckland from Sydney about the 22nd of each month, pe r Lo rd Ashley, and the portion fer Taranaki, Nelson, and Picton, will be put on board the Airedale at Manakau on the 23rd, reaching Taranaki on the 24th, Nelson on the 25th, and Picton on the 27tb. The Airedale will then proceed to the Bluff calling at Wellington, Lvtteltop, Canterbury and Otago. The English mail for all the provinces except Auckland, Taranaki, Nelson, and Picton, will arrive at Oiago about tbe 15th of each month per Aldinga, and be forwarded from thence per Queen, arriving at Lyttelton about the 19th, Wellington on the 21st, and Napier on the 24th . Tbe Queen will then proceed on to Auckland. The English Mail from Auckland will be despatched to Sydney direct on the Ist of every month, but there will also be a supplementary mail by the Queen via Otago on the Btb. The English Mail from Nelson will be despatched to Sydney direct by the Prince Alfred on the 13th, by which opportunity Canterbury can send a mail on the lOtb, the date of the Prince Alfred's leaving Lyttelton. Wellington can also send a mail by the Airedale on the 11th, which vessel proceeds from here on that date to Picton, to pick up the English Mail there for conveyance by the Prince Alfred on the 13tb from Nelson to Sydney. Tbe Queen with a supplementary English Mail from Auckland, as above stated, will convey the English Mail from Napier on the 11th, Wellington on the 13tb, and Lyttelton on the Istb. On arriving at Otago the Mails will be forwarded to Melbourne by the Aldinga on the 18th. Provision is thus made for all the provinces except Southland and Taranaki. The former we presume will either send her mail to Otago or put on board the steamer as she passes the Bluff; but it does not appear very clearly how the latter is to be provided for. Although we have explained thus fully the incomings and outgoings of the English mail as affecting all the Provinces, we may yet add that the English mail is due in Wellington about the 21st of every month. The Aldinga having to return to Melbourne from Otago, cannot wait in Melbourne for the arrival of the mail fiom England, more than two or three days ;so that should the mail not come down in the Aldinga, there seems no certainty of its arriving here until tbe 10th of the following

month, when the Airedale comes up from the South. Our homeward mail will be despatched via Nelson and Sydney on the 11th, Jand again lon the 13th, via Otago and Melbourne, thus i giving us a certainty of always catching [ the mail steamer from Australia, by either one | opportunity or the other. The only other point in connexion with the service to wbich we now direct particular attention is, that the Sydney steamer calls here on her way to Lytteltoa, but not on her way from thence. So far as letters are concerned, this is remedied by the Airedale being fixed to leave here in time to arrive at Nelson before the departure of the steamer to Sydney, Very shortly we shall receive official intimation of the changes above enumerated ,• but uutil we do so, until we can rely on their correctness, we think it might possibly mislead were we to enter into details in connexion with the purely inter-provincial service, similar to that which we have done in connexion with the English and Australian services.