Fiji's Mail Service Dislocated: By Union Co.'s Rearrangements and U.S. Strike

native United States.

Fiji's Mail Service

DISLOCATED By Union Co.’s Rearrangements and U.S. Strike From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Jan. 3.

IT is indeed unfortunate that the change in the timetable of the Canadian Australian liners, due to the cessation of the San Francisco-Sydney service of the Union Line, has come before the American maritime strike is settled.

The last northbound liner was the Aorangi on December 11, and now instead of coming on January 8, as would have been the case with the old schedule, the Niagara has been held back until January 28, giving a break of seven weeks between boats, as there are no Matson liners running at the present time to fill the gap.

The southbound Aorangi will arrive here on January 14, and then there will be a break in the southbound service of seven weeks, until March 5.

This is proving most inconvenient so far as the mail service to and from New Zealand is concerned, for there is only the Matua once a month otherwise. The service from Australia is not so bad, as there are always the Union and other cargo vessels running between Sydney and Suva.

Not only has the mail service been affected, but the passenger trade has also been seriously hampered. With the hold up in America, there has been a rush for passages on the Canadian liners, and the result is that boats are almost full when they reach Suva. The local office of the Union Co. cannot guarantee passages until after their liners have left Honolulu.

The last southbound trip of the Niagara on December 18 was a case in point. The ship was crowded when she arrived, and only a mere handful disembarked. Over 170 passengers left here by the same ship, and the crowding on board was excessive.

Two berth cabins had four people packed into them, and four berthers had six.