The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-01-05
Alfred Line
Prospects

Late mail advices indicate that the
Alfred ste amship project for the At
Iantic and the Pacific is still strongly
to the fore. Sir Thomas Trowbridge,
head of the Blacksod Bay (Ireland)
syndicate, was in Ottawa comforting
with the Canadian ministers last month.
He intimated strongly that the British
Government would not aid any project
that did not include the Pacific as well
as the Atlantic. 1t must begin at Liver
pool and end at Sydney, taking in New
Zealand. The English parliapentary
committee would never entertain a
proposition that left out the Pacific.
1t the entire scheme were adopted,
Sir Thomas said, all the governments
commemorative Imperial, the Canadian,
the Australian and the New Zealand
might be relied on to give subventions.
He was surprised to find that Cana
dams seemed to be combining their at
tention to the Atlantic end of the
scheme. The Irish members would also
opposes any project that would leave
out Ireland. 1t was proposed by his
company to have a twenty five knct
service on the Atlantic and fortnight
ly one, instead of the present monthly
one, on the Pacific.
The prospect of fortnightly steamers
on the Pacific route is cheering for
the promoters of tourist business in
Hawaii. There would be a greater in
centive to travellers to stop over here,
when they might resume their journey
by the same line in two weeks instead
of waiting a month-the alternative to
the latter being a transfer to another
line and a different objective point,
which, respectively, would be discour-
aged by the line issuing the ticket and
in many eases iRconvenient and IN
duly expensive to the traveller.
Among the recent announcements to
the project may be mentioned leader
in the London Times of December Is
which said: "We can not too strongly
emphasize the fact that the govern
ment pledges the country to the prin-
ciple of the Alfred route, and Only
the absolute impracticability of the
latter would now justify its abandon
ment. - Another encouraging fact re-
ported is that the venerable Agent
General of Canada in London, Lord
while discussing with an in
terviewer- a rumor of his retirement,
stated that he hoped to see the All
Red scheme accomplished before he
handed over the office to younger
man.
The promoters have thoroughly con-
sidered the details of the service on
both oceans. They have entered into
an arrangement with the Union Steam
ship Company, of New Zealand, the
company which is now running the
line between Vancouver and Australia,
and that company has undertaken the
full management of the Pacific ser
vice, which will have the benefit of
the system of agents now established
throughout New Zealand and Australia.
AS might be expected in such a
large matter, there is some opposition.
For instance, the Dundee Advertiser has
canny Scot article on the subject
which says: 'In the project of link
ing up chain by means of swift lines
of steamers connected with express
trains, there is nothing that antago-
nizes and much that charms, but bust
ness sense will continue to suggest
doubts. Referring to Mr.. Lifton $
admission that at the outset it is not
a business proposition, while he thought
that when it was established it would
grow into business proposition, the
Scotch editoE. says: sit will give a
route from Great Britain to Australia
by way of Canada, which he describes