The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1891-01-31
OCEANIC STEAMSHIP co.

While this line is among the youngest
OF the products of California enterprise,
it is emphatically healthy youngester.
and If encouraged as in the past it will
always afford display of the American
| flag on the Pacific Ocean.
The company was chartered in Deem
Der, 1881 In 1883 two steamships, the
Alameda and Mariposa, each of 5000
! tons burden, were built for the line by
the Cramps of Philadelphia, to trade be-
tween San Francisco and Honolulu. The
vessels continued on that trade, running
a fortnightly service, up to 1885, when
the Pacific Mail Company Withdrew
from the Australian trade. Then the
Oceanic Company took up the contract
for the Australian service, and bought
the steamers Zealandia and Australia, of
5000 tons each, which had been previ-
ously operated by the Pacific Mail Com
pany in the Australian trade. The fleet
of the Oceanic Company then. from 1885,
consisted of the Mariposa, the Alameda,
the Zealandia and the Australia. The
new company entered into contract
with the Australian and New Zealand
Governments, in connection with the
Union Steamship Company of New Zea-
land, to run a four weekly mail service
between this port and Honolulu, Samoa,
Auckland and Sydney The contract on
this service in 1885 was for three years
and on its expiration an extension of one
year was made by the colonies. Sub
seQuently an extension OF another year
was granted ON the old terms of u
subsidy equivalent to E37 900 to E40,-
600 annually. The Oceanic Company
has, therefore, run on the contract with
the colonies and has performed the mai!
service between San Francisco and Sgd
ney for five years. 1t entered into
new arrangement with the New Zealand
Government for another years service,
but the New South Wales and Austria
lian Governments have refused to con-
tribute anything, owing to the neglect Of
the United States Government to con-
tribute fair proportion of the cost.
Three OF the company's steamers have
been employed in the Australian trade,
and one-the Australia-in the local
trade between San Francisco and Homo
lulu. The company also has several
sailing vessels employed in the Ha-
waiian trade. Said one of the chief off,
Ii it had not been for the enterprise of
of this company and the Spreckels, the
direct mail service between Australia
and San Francisco would have been
abandoned in 1885, and the very profit
able trade since developed between the
Colonies and the Pacific Coast would not
have existed. The present arrangement,
under which the service is run, is not
profitable. The New Zealand Govern
ment simply pays according to the weight
of mail matter despatched, and unless
Congress passed the Shipping bill, en-
abling the United States Postmaster
General to pay q liberal subsidy, there
can be no doubt whatever that ultimate
ly the American line will be replaced by
a subsidized British line from Vancou-
yer. All the Oceanic Company's ves-
sells are manned by American citizens,
and the company is in one way an ex-
ception to all the American companies.
Every share of its stock is owned 10y
American citizens and in the State Of
California. All the steamers fly this
American flag except the Zealandia,
which is under the Hawaiian flag"
The importance of the maintenance G.
the Oceanic Company's service TO the
hotel-keepers and merchants of San
Francisco is easily apparent. The pas
senger traffic from Australia to the
United States and from England through
the United States to the colonies is the
largest coming into this port. On an
average 200 saloon passengers pass
through San Francisco on this route
every month, spending an average CT
5000 each in this city during their stay.
There are probably $50 steerage passen-
gers on the same route each month, who
also spend considerable money here.
The hotel-keepers and the railroads
would obviously suffer serious loss ii
this traffic were diverted to Vancouver
and the Canadian Pacific. Alta.