The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-08-01
The Australian Mail service.

| mination of the Pacific Mail Ser
vice, connecting Australia with Lon
don via San Francisco, the last mail
under the contract leaving London
October sth, and Sydney November
S, 1885. According to latest advices,
the American Government is not
disposed to pay any increased SUBJ
sidy to continue the service, and the
Pacific Mail Company appear to be
equally indisposed to carry the mails,
when liberal appropriation by Con-
| gress, which was understood to have
been voted in part for this purpose, is
withheld.
The discontinuance of this popular
service will be seriously felt, not only
here, but especially by the growing
| trade of the Pacific States and Terri
.ories, and also by the railroad pas
senger traffic across the continent. If
discontinued, the American and Ha
waiian correspondence to and from
the Colonies, will require to be sent
via London and the Isthmus of Suez,
with the serious disadvantage of
much longer time in transit. The
stoppage of this service will not only
be heavy blow to the foreign South
Sea commerce of the Pacific States
| and Territories, but a retrograde
movement unworthy of the progress
sive spirit of America and Australia.
We have now two first-class steam
ships plying between Honolulu and
San Francisco, equal in speed and
passenger accommodations to any in
| the Australian trade. 1t would seem
| that the most feasible way in which
the Australian service can be kept up
would be by putting on one steam
ship of 1,50O or 1900 tons burden, to
ply between Honolulu and Auckland,
as its terminus, connecting at that
port with Sydney and other Austria
liam ports by steamers now in the
Coleman trade. In this way the
broken link may be replaced at least
cost, and the service kept quite as
efficient for mail and passenger pur-
poses as it now is.
According to the last report of the
Postmaster General of New Zealand,
the receipts of that Government from
postage or correspondence carried
over the San Francisco route were:
Postage received from the
London Post Office Fla, 919 16s Sd.
Postage collected in New
Zealand Observation-Disclosures. CLOG As. Cd.
Postage received from non
contracting colonies 80. 3,456 15s sd.
1otaI hostages 35f ,4S2 los. Id.
In addition to which the United
States Government pays about
$4,000 year on American letters
mailed in the United States and car
ried over the route. This sum goes
to the steamship owners.-ED. P.
| G. Al
If an arrangement can be made by
which the company performing this
Australian service shall receive the
whole or certain proportion of all
the postage collected on correspond
ence carried by it, or if a subsidy of
100000 ($1O0,0O0) can be ecured to it,
in all probability the service can be
maintained as well as it has been
The usual passage from Auckland
to Honolulu has been from twelve to
fourteen days. If, by employing a
vessel capable of performing it regu-
larry in ten days, but one ship would
be required, the distance being about
$500 miles. The through time would
then be ten days from Auckland to
Honolulu, seven to San Francisco,
five to New York, and ten to London,
with one day lost in making connec-
tions-in all thirty-three. The pres
ent average is thirty eight days from
London to Auckland, and thirty-nine
days from Auckland to London.
I have thrown out these hints to
indicate how the line may be kept
up, in case the company which is
now performing the mail service be-
tween Honolulu and San Francisco
in most efficient manner, shall be
disposed to enter the enlarged sphere
which may soon be offered to it. No
proposal, however, will meet popular
favor in New Zealand and Australia,
unless its chief feature be a short
ened schedule, such as I have indf-
Gated, and the time given Thirty
three days. is the shortest average
that can be asked or expected at |
present, or at least for the subsidy |
named. III. M, WHITNEY,
General Post Office, Honolulu, July |
81, 1885.
I'VE are in position to state that
the New Zealand Government is
prepared to pay sufficient subsidy
for the service outlined by the Post
master General. The question has
been under consideration for some
time past, but it will probably come
to naught, owing to the fact that no
tender of service has been or will be
made.-ED. P. G. ADVERTISER
Departure of tine Rev. A. Macintosh
and Wife.