The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1872-03-20

come into our harbor.
= IT is supposed that Mr.. Webb has
fair prospect of obtaining assistance fc
his line of steamers from the New Sout
Wales Government So far as the Mil
istrv are concerned, it is understood tina
they viii recommend to the Legislator
that such encouragement and assistanc
be given. The following, from the Sydne!
e Morning Herald of January oath, give
; a fair statement Of the case, and reason
for and against the project:
The arguments advanced by the deputatior
that recently waited on the Premier urging tn,
expediency Of Substituting mail communication
across the Pacific were of two-fold character
On the one hand the speakers pointed out the
Importance Of maintaining, for commercial pur
poses, direct communication with America, and
on the other, they advocated the expediency Of a
fortnightly mail with England by duplicate
route. Il is as well to bear 10 mind the double
object thus aimed at.
The history Of commerce shows that regular
mail communication tends to stimulate traffic
where the other conditions that favor it are in
existence. Steam packet lines have done much
more than carry mails and passengers they have
very greatly multiplied commercial transactions
dow far teegmphic communication will in this
respect be still further improvement on steam
communication is matter on which We have yet
40 bt bot-a hoo sfx
months trial Of wire communication with Lon
dom we shall be in a better position than we are
now to say how far the telegraph makes ocean
postal communication drop into position of sub
ordinate importance. At present there eau be
no doubt that regular steam line is an immense
improvement on an irregular communication with
sailing vessels.
When the first steamer started from Sydney for
San Francisco, an impression prevailed that no
international trade could be thereby stimulated.
The productions Of New South Wales and Cali
foruia were, it was thought, too much alike to
leave any room for interchange. We had long
been in the habit of importing -four from San
Francisco, and sending back return cargoes Of coal
in both cases simply to compensate for short
local production or short imports from elsewhere;
and it was thought that this trade could not be
very much stimulated. But to the surprise Of
most people the steamers have brought US down
wool buyers and wool orders to an unprecedented
extent-so much so that one authority has calcu-
lated the effect to be equal to an advance Of
penny pound. or course, other contemporary
circumstances have conspred,to bring about this /
result but sull the direct steam communication
has greatly facilitated its development. 1t has /
brought the wool buyers of San Francisco, New |
York aud Boston into more direct intercourse |
with the wool merchants of Australia. and a trade
beneficial to both is the result. There is a basis /
for international traffic in the fact that America |
does not produce what Australia does. There is .
plenty Of wool grown in the United States, but
it is mainly Of a coarse quality. Nowhere, in all
the vast domains OF the Republic, has there been
found any climate or heritage where the fne Aus
tralian wool can be produced aud as the Amer
lcan manufacturers require certain proportion
Of this wool, they must either buy it at the Lon
don sales or have it shipped direc. from Austria
Ian ports. OF course, it can not be positively
established were suddenly suspended, the trade
that 1t has drawn would instantly drop. But it
might, and probably would be diminished, and its
extension be checked. 1t is obviously desirable
therefore, in the interests of commerce, that a
communication which has been found so pro6ta-
bic should be kept up. At present Mr.. Webb is
the only party in the field able and willing to
maintain it. His rivals have, for time at least
disappeared, and no others have come forward to
contest the course with him. For four months
he has, without subsidy, brought on our mails
and has therefore some claim to favorable consid-
Grafton, aud the more so as for some months to
come there is little prospect Of our being served
by anyone else Viewed exclusively however, in
the light Of our American mail service tEere is
no need to speculate for any high rate Of speed.
and therefore no reason to Pa- highly for It. As {
between Australia and A.. "a It Is not Of pri- !
mary Importance wheths. The ron to San Fran
cisco is made in thirty or thrty-fve days l
Bat when we come to consider the Pacific line
as giving US fortnightly communication with
England, the question Of speed and regularity is
all-impOrtant. In this respect the service has I
hitherto been good deal disappointing. The I
timetables have varied ma have not heen prop 5
ery adjusted. The voy@ges have 5n he average "
taken too long; while the arrangements for pre- 4
venting loss of time in crossing the Continent
and connecting with the Atlantic steamers have {
been anything but perfect. To this must be added
that our mails were twice delayed at San Fran I
CISCO that the rate of postage on newspapers has
been double that via Southampton, that the c
charge for letters has been unsettled, and always
with an uncertainty as to whether there would be
an extra charge on delivery in England. and that "
the notifications Of our own local post Office have
from the first, been of character to discourage,
rather than encourage, the transmission of mails.
As mail line it has not yet bad justice done it
and it is capable, under efficient management, of
service such as owing to a combination a
of circumstances it has not yet been able TO show
There are advantages in having fortnightly mail
and there are advantages also in having this al
ternate service carried out by different route. o
But then in Substituting with view to fort t
nigh,lv mail IL is necessary that the Government