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THE PEOPOBED ALL-RED ROUTE. No. 169. Mr. C. V. Armstrong, Montreal, to the Right Hon. the Prime Minister. Sib,— 222 St. James Street, Montreal, Bth March, 1910. I enclose herewith copy [not printed] of the report of Dr. Coulter, Deputy Postmaster-General of Canada, who lately visited New Zealand in connection with the proposed all-red route. As the Canadian member of the committee which has been advocating this enterprise for some time back, I have lately had an interview with the Postmaster-General of Canada, and I gather from him that the Canadian Government will be prepared to have its representative attend the Conference which is likely to be held in London in May or June next, when it is expected that representatives from New Zealand and Australia will also be present. It is possible that the political situation in England may be such as to postpone the date of the proposed Conference. It is to be hoped, however, that no great delay will be caused. The company which obtained an Act of Parliament for the construction of the harbour at Blacksod and of the railway to connect with the main line of the Irish railway has obtained a subsidy from the British Government, and will proceed with its work at an early date. It has been suggested that the steamers to be supplied on the Pacific as well as the Atlantic Oceans should be constructed so as to serve as cruisers in case of need, those on the Atlanticbeing at the disposal of the Canadian Government, while those on the Pacific should be at the disposal of the New Zealand and Australian Governments. A comparatively small annual payment would secure the call on these steamers, and it would enable the company to put on faster steamers on the Pacific than they would otherwise be justified in doing. I hope that this suggestion may receive consideration from both the Australian and New Zealand Governments. I am about returning to London, and in case of reply please address it to Winchester House, E.C., London. I have, &c, C. V. Armstrong. The Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward, P.C., K.C.M.G., Prime Minister of New Zealand. [Acknowledged 17th June.] [Vane. Misc. 10/7(3. J

No. 170. [News extract, 29th March, 1911.] The All-red Route.—Faster Steamers Across Two Oceans. —Canadian Bill. London, 17th February, 1911. A revival of interest in the all-red-route question is promised during the coming year. It will be debated in the Imperial Conference, for Sir Joseph Ward has announced his intention of bringing forward a motion to the effect that it is desirable in the interests of the Empire that Great Britain should be connected with Canada, and through Canada with Australia, by the best mail-service available. Another reason for anticipating a revival of interest is that a Bill to incorporate a proposed steamship company is now before the Canadian Parliament. A number of well-known names of firms and individuals of standing in this country and in Canada are given as desiring to be incorporated under the name of the Imperial Steamship Company. As regards the objects of the company, one clause of the Bill provides that the company may purchase, own, charter, lease, and operate steamers and other vessels between Canadian ports and all parts of the British Empire and foreign countries. The company may also lease, purchase, construct, and work docks, piers, wharves, dockyards, warehouses, elevators, hotels, and other buildings and works in connection with its enterprise, and may build branch lines of railway on its properties, and connect same with other lines of railway, provided none of the branch lines exceed six miles in length. Another clause is to the effect that in constructing and operating said branch lines of railway the company will be subject to the conditions of the Railway Act; and, subject to the conditions of said Act, the company may expropriate property required in connection with the construction of its docks, piers, wharves, and other works. Details of the Scheme. The proposals of the syndicate, says the Times, provide for the establishment of an express service between Halifax (Nova Scotia) and Blacksod Bay (on the west coast of Ireland) of vessels capable of crossing the Atlantic at an average speed of at least 25 knots an hour ; the establishment of trainferries between the east coast of Ireland and the west coast of Scotland and England; the construction of a railway eighty miles in length to connect Blacksod Bay with the existing railways in Ireland (a contract has already been awarded for the construction of this line and the necessary dock-accom-modation in Blacksod Bay); the establishment of a service of first-class steamships, having a speed of 18 knots per hour, between Vancouver (British Columbia), Honolulu, Suva, Auckland, and Sydney.