The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-12-23
Sir Henry Parkes and Australian Mails.

Very unwillingly, indeed, We comment upon
the acts or expressions OF visitors 10 our shores,
but when statements are made prejudieial to our
interests and at variance with truth, We feel call
ed upon to expose the errors or denounce the
ISLANDERS from whatever scource they may issue.
In our publication of the 18th ut, we showed
very explicitly that Sir Henry Parkes, when in
San Francisco, made statements with regard 10
the present mail contract, which if not wilfully
false, were most undoubtedly untrue.
We cannot fail to notice other remarks made
by the Premier which are equally fallacious.
To q San francisco reporter he declaredt that
''the mails by Suez were conveyed in vessels
twice the size of the inferior ships (as he termed
them) employed on the California route, and
that quicker time was made by Eastern travel
erS from the Colonies" In both respects, we
undertake to prove from Colonial journals, that
Sir Henry Parkes has committed grievous if not
wilful errors. The Verona, of the p. Il O. Com
pany, which arrived in Melbourne in October of
this year, is 1900 tons net register. She is des-
cribed by the Hobson's Bay reporter of the
Melbourne Argus as being of the same tonnage
and capacity as her sister ships plying on the
Australian line. The Australia, of the Pacific
Mail Line, on the San Francisco route is IVA
tons net register; the Zealandia, 1913 tons net
register; the Cities of New York and Sydney are
3O17 tons American gross register. 1t is there
fore plain that our vessels, as regards tonnage,
cannot, in truth, be termed inferior vessels,
neither in the engineering departments nor in
the general appointments of the ships is there
any inferiority, both having been fully testified
to by the vast number of passengers safely
transported to and from the Colonies. As to
the second assertion of Sir Henry Parkes, we
clearly demonstrated in our former articles in
this journal that the distance ought to be ira
versed between Sydney and London in 81 days
and II hours, and everything that has occurred
since these words were penned, confirms us in
that belief.
The Melbourne .argus of October, 1882,
shows that the outward bound mail from Mel
bourne arrived in Plymouth after a passage of
fo4f fan; Io.,, Tla Ipxuo-I Aornl ,oo,1. - IL.
same month by the Verona, already referred to,
arrived in JOrty-one days, when some of the mails
for adjacent colonies were traushipped at
Queenschfe. New Zealand, however, seems to
be particularly unfortunate, as the report shows
that her mails would have to wait until the fol-
lowing week, the steamer for that Colony having
departed before the arrival of the Verona; so
that, allowing one weeks delay at Melbourne,
and five days for the passage, makes the time
by that mail, SO days from England. Can it be
possible that the New Zealanders will submit to
such gross carelessness and disregard of their
rights I We believe that they will do nothing
of the kind, but they joining with New South
Wales, will continue to afford aid to a company
that gives them greater advantages, both in
mail and passenger traffic, and that they will not
allow any narrow-minded feeling to influence
them in so grand an undertaking as rapid ocean
travel. The New Zealand Coast traffic is well
and efficiently performed by steamers adapted
for the trade. Along a rough and rugged coast,
from Auckland to Dunedin, they run in all
weathers without any serious casualties. All
that is required is to extend the trip from Mana
kau to the Bay of Islands. and by so doing, As
hours will be saved in the trip across the Pacific
which is a saving much to be desired at this
moment. If the New Zealanders cooperate
Americans, they can have their English
letters within 81 to % days from the day they are
mailed in London. This, we maintain, is such
an evident advantage that we cannot conceive
for a moment that an intelligent and progressive
people, such as the New Zealanders are. will
deny their assistance in securing 50 desirable
an object.-Sdn Francisco Merchant.