The evening times., 1900-06-11
4 new line TO TAHITI
Subsidy Granted TO the Oceanic
Steamship Company.
Provision fer Monthly Trips. Carry
Ing Aniis, Freight. and Passengers
Between san Francisco and the
soEth Pacific COiony-A Report

]. Lamb Doty. Consul Of the United
States at Tahiti. reports 10 the State De-
/ psrtment as follows:
/ During the extraordinary session Of the
! general council Of tais colony. which was
/ convened for the purpose. a contract was
awarded TO the Oceanic Steamship Com
( psny. OF San Francisco. fo- the establish
/ msnt OF a steamship line between Tahiti
/ and S=n Francisco fer the transportation
+ of mails. passengers and freight
The essential features Of the contract
( are as fellows; For the annual sum Of
( $4,000 francs $4,000 in United States
gold) 20 be paid by the Tahiti Government.
) and exemption from pert charges, the
Oceanic Steamship Company is TO operate
an American steamship OF about 3 3.OO0 tons
l gross register. performing eleven round
trips per ar8um at an average speed OF
not less than 13 - knots. The contract
is awarded for a period OF Eve years from
the first voyage. which is 10 be not later
than November l. 1900, and earlier if pos
si5Ie
1T is the purpose OF this company to use
Z hrst-elass passenger steamship and 10
make the service attractive in all partic-
ulars; and Il is anticipated that this will
become a favorite route OF travel. when
the charm Of the climate and scenery OF
Tahiti become known.
The Inauguration C this line VIII give
great impetus TO United States trade with
Tahiti and. in general. with other islands
of eastern Polynesia. The Pacific coast Of
the United States viii be particularly ben
ehted. as perishabIe goods-sueh as fruits
vegetables and rneats-whlch row are re-
ceived exclusively from New Zealand. viii
then come from san Francisco.
For over rhirry-fOur years. a regular
monthly sailing vessel service has been
maintained between Tahiti and San Fran
I cisco. This direct means Of communication
i developed trade Insignificant at frs. but
amounting some ten years ago 10 over 80
I per cent OF the enire business OF this colo
] ny Since then. the proportion OF trade has
I remained about the same, notwithstanding
! the establishment CT the steam line TO New
/ Zealand and the fact TIA, the sailing YES
sells are entirely inadequate as a means OF
+ transportation between this port and San
I Francisco.
1t may be predicted that if the Oceanic
/ SteampShip Company continues in this
business for FIVE years. the trade between
{ the United Stetes and Tahiti viii not only
] =
proportion Of value will increase from 50
! to 20 per cent
The Uaion Steamship Company British
OF New Zealand. which now operates a
! steamer between Tahiti and Auckland.
has fer some time past desired TO extend
: its service through 10 San Francisco: and
1 indeed, at this moment. it has a PROPOSE
/ tion before the local Government offering
/ to perform the service for an annual sub
{ sidy OF $50. COO"
Robert p skinner. Consul OF the United
Z States at Marseilles. reports concerning
trade with Madagascar. as follows:
According to a statement published by
the Journal Officiel de Madagascar com
merce has increased considerably during
the past four years. The total impOrta-
/ TORS which IN 1895 stood at s. .6S9. .671, is
now Tin 1890 $5.3S7. .s07. or an increase Of
! 50 SIS. .2S6.
"Of these figures. French importations.
/ especially cotton tissues, ordinary wines
alcohol, wheat -four. and rice. have mo-
nopoIized nearly all the increase The cot
ton tissues OF French origin. which in 1896
represented only a third Of the imported
tissues, today constitute niue-tenths Of
! them.
The expectations also have grown con-
siderabiy in the last four years. although
their total represents hardly fourth Of
that Of the impOrtations They figured
I ssS5.s49 in 1886; in 1899 they total s.. .552.-
which S9e0.55 represents exporta-
- ance OF her colonies. and some
| $590. coo those to foreign countries. The
increase in exports has affected princi-
paliy india rubber. rata. wax, oxhides,
gold Tin ingots and dust). and vanilla
India rubber. which is by far the most
important export from Madagascar. has
reached total Of S427. .13s. of which s2O2,-
145 has been imported by France and
| 1924. .e93 by other countries. In 1896 there
was imported into France india rubber TO
the value OF s31. .626 only. The importa-
| tions Of rata into France have risen from
s59.SS0 to $161, SIS; those Of wax from ST.
600 to $15.S24 while skins have accounted
! for an increase from S7.749 TO SSI. .091. Fl
nally, the importations of gold in bullion,
which did not figure at all in 1886, repre-
sent in 1899. a value OF S65. $50, and those
of enld dust have risan Ernr-, 81 900 -