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and pay the British Post Office transit rates to be mutually agreed upon —probably the Postal Union rates, namely, ss. 6d. per b. for letters and postcards and 4|d. per lb. for other articles, besides a special rate on parcels, possibly 2d. per lb., which, under the new contracts, will be included as ordinary mail matter. The Colonies would, therefore, still pro tanto bo paying a line of steamers employing coloured labour. It will thus be seen that out of all the steamers plying between here and Great Britain, which could possibly be made available for conveyance of mails, the services via 'Frisco and the Messageries Marithnes are the only ones that could be made to fairly alternate with the Orient, and the question occurs to us in this connection, whether it would be politic to make use of foreign steamers for tho conveyance of mails, and whether it is not likely that as much objection would be taken to our mails being sent by foreign steamers as is now taken to sending them by British ships which employ coloured labour. The Messageries steamers really afford the quickest transit of any on tho list, and are even quicker than the P. & O. and Orient under the latters' present contracts, but according to existing time-tables they run almost side by side with tho Orient, and even if the time-tables of one or other were changed so as to alternate fortnightly there would still bo the double objection, namely, that of sending mails by foreign steamers and by foreign steamers which employ —as tho Messagerics do—'Coloured labour. Having now dealt with what appear to be possible lines that could be made available for an alternate service with Great Britain, we propose offering a few observations on the other lines enumerated in tho list, given in table A, taking them in numerical order. (1.) Queensland Royal Mail Line. —It will be seen that this would only provide a forty-seven days homewards and fifty-two days outwards service to and from Sydney, and on that ground alone would be unsatisfactory. It is, moreover, only four-woekly, and is only used, even by Quoeuslaud, for European mails to and from her extreme Northern ports. (2.) Canadian-Australian Line. —Calendar monthly. Already dealt with. {3.) Union Companies Line, via San Francisco. —Four-weekly. Already dealt with. (4.) Messaqeries Maritimes Line. —Four-weekly. Already dealt with. (5.) North German Lloyd's Line. —Four-weekly. Already dealt with. (G.) Lund's Blue Anchor Line seems altogether out of the question, the intervals and dates being too uncertain, and evidently, without a very much larger payment than the poundago upou letters, would not be likely to bind themselves to either a fixed day fortnightly or four-weekly, especially during the wool seasons. They are, moreover, principally cargo boats, and although they give their time as about forty days from Sydney or Melbourne, we are inclined to think that their actual time must be very much longer. Another objection is that it is uncertain whether they call regularly at Melbourne or Adelaide, and they do not call at any European port en route ; and in any case if it were decided to utilise their services as mail-carriers, some contract or agreement would have to be made binding them to regular intervals, to a very much shorter service— which the present steamers could not perform—and, of course, to calling regularly at Melbourne and Adelaide. 7. Aberdeen White Star Line, via Albany and the Cape.—This only gives a calendar • monthly service, and therefore could not possibly alternate with a four-weekly one, unless their timetables were wholly rearranged ; moreover, the time occupied—some forty-nine days home and forty-four out —would be quite unsuitable for present requirements. Of course, they do not touch at any European port. 8. The Gulf Line appears so uncertain, and the time occupied so long—about forty-nine days home and fifty-live out—that nothing more need be said in reference thereto, and tho same remarks apply to tho 9. Port Line; also to the 10. Transvaal Line, no fixed dates of departure being observed in the case of the latter, and the time occupied being about sixty days. 11. Shaw-Savill and Albion Company's Line, of which lino the " Gothic" is the principal steamer.— This line, as far as mainland Colonies are concerned, would not be sufficiently expeditious, even if it were possible to alternate their four-weekly trips with any other, which, of course, could not be done. Morover, they only run eleven trips a year (see table), and call at a colonial port (Hobart) outwards only, returning to England by Cape Horn. 12. New Zealand Shipping Company's Line. —This is a forty-eight and forty-five days' service, which, as in other cases, would alone preclude its use as a mail line. They also call at Hobart one way only, returning to England by the Horn. Of course we assume that tho payments, either at Union rates or at any other rates, that would be offered, would not be sufficient to induce any of these steamers to leave at suitable fixed dates, or to go out of their course to land the mails at an Italian or other European port. Should it be determined to accept the tenders of both Companies as proposed by the London Office, wo concur, as already stated, in the opinion of that ollice that the European port for tho P. and O. Company should be Brindisi, as the acceleration provided for thereby will, in our opinion, fully warrant tho extra cost of calling at that port. We append a Table (marked B .), showing what would be the effect in regard to the arrivals and departures at England and Australia under the accelerated time-table, supposing the day from Adelaide were made Friday. This would, in our opinion, be on the whole the most convenient day, although possibly Saturday from Adelaide, which it is understood Western Australia desires, might do nearly as well. It is, however, intimated in the English despatches that an attempt is to be made to obtain a still further acceleration in speed, and of course until the precise number of days and hours to be alllowed for the sea voyage is fixed it will not be possible to advise definitely as to what should be the day of the arrival and departure at either end. We