Two schooners will do the work on both the courses here pointed out as necessary, with two spare ones at Barbadoes, in case of the arrival of sailing packets on the heels of each other from Britain, to forward the mails for all the places mentioned, and for Laguayra, making in all eight schooners for this station. There are at present ten, or more.
Instead of remaining at Barbadoes nine days, as at present, doing nothing, the packet herself (whether steamer or sailing vessel) should, on the day after her arrival at that island, proceed with the outward mails to Tobago and Trinidad, delivering those for the former island, and proceeding thence direct to Trinidad, in two days, 230 miles. At Trinidad remain six days, thence with the return mails from it proceed to Grenada, where she will meet the return mails for Europe, brought there by the steamer from British Guiana, Tobago, and St Vincent's. With these collected, proceed on the tenth day from Grenada to St. Kitts, 330 miles, two and a half days. At that island pick up the European mails from the islands formerly enumerated, and thence with the whole proceed to St. Thomas, by Tortola, 140 miles, one and a half day more; in all, fourteen days from her arrival at Barbadoes to St. Thomas.
At St. Thomas, having all the mails from the Windward and Leeward Islands on board, and having there got the European mail from Laguayra, &c., the packet will proceed, on the fourteenth day, to the westward, calling at St John's, Porto Rico, for the return mail, and thence go on to Cape Nichola Mole, Hayti, 480 miles, three days. At this latter place receive all the European mails from the Bahamas, from Jamaica, Cuba, &c. &c., and thence, with the whole, on the seventeenth day, proceed direct, according as may be determined, to Fayal or to Falmouth, calling at Crooked Island to pick up the return mails from the Bahamas, if it shall be found that those cannot be got up in time by the sailing schooners to Cape Nichola Mole.[6]
The Second Packet of the month, and all the steamers and schooners, to proceed exactly in a similar manner.
According to the proposed arrangement, these steam-boats would be actively employed thus:—
| 1008 | days, yearly—Jamaica station | |
| 192 | " " —Demerara ditto. | |
| —— | ||
| In all | 1200 | days, yearly. Coals, 30,000 tons. |
| —— |
Advantages.
I. There would, by these arrangements, be two mails each month to Great Britain from all places in the western Tropical Archipelago, or connected with it, which at present there are not.
II. Jamaica, with the requisite alterations in her internal mail communications, would have in all her western division seven and eight days, and in all her eastern division eight and nine days, to return answers by the packet with which she receives her European, &c. correspondence, of which she at present is deprived; Kingston and Spanish Town alone being able, under the present regulations, to do so.
III. Porto Rico, All Cuba, the more important parts of Hayti, and all the western coasts of South America, would, by these arrangements, be brought immediately and completely within the range of the British Post-office, most of which places at present are not.