STEAM BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AU STE ALIA.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 44, 1 May 1862, Page 6 (Supplement)

STEAM BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AU STE ALIA.

(From the ty/dnay Empire, March 15 .) A move has been made in Melbourne towards the establishment of a serviceable line of steamers between Australia and England. It is proposed to form a company for the purpose, and a preliminary meeting concerning it?lias been held. Some forty gentlemen iVere present, all more or less interested in the maintenance of our communications with the Mother Country. Mr, Mollison, M.L.A. was called to the chair, on the motion of Mr. Hull, M.L.G. As the matter is of public interest we give below Mr, Burstall’s (the promoter’s) explanation of the meeting : It was proposed to form a company to be called the British and Australian Steam Navigation Company. He believed it was generally considered that in connection with the postal arrangements between Britain and ictoria, there should be facilities for passenger trallic. The Bed Sea afforded no such accommodation. By the scheme now proposed it was contemplated, that passengers might travel between England and the colony at a much smaller cost and in the same time as by the Marseilles route. Large vessels were capable of averaging a speed of 12 hnots and at that speed they could accomplish the voyage from England in 44 days. The projectors of the present scheme proposed that the ships used by them should be vessels of 8,(J00 tons, in order that they might be able to carry their own coals, and accomplish the entire voyage at full speed. They could not calculate on a less consumption of luel than 80 tons per day, and some had estimated it at 100 tons, .although from the improvements recently made in steam-engines and boilers, there was reason to believe that the actual consumption would be below 80 tons. It was intended that the vessels should si art from Southampton or Plymouth once a month, and that tin; proprietors should receive a subsidy of 44000 per trip, or AS,OOO per voyage. On these terms the Government • d the Colony would effect a saving of 438,000 per annum. The projectors also proposed that the Government should grant a guaranteed rate of interest upon the capital invested of 4 per cent. The capital employed would amount to AT,500,000 for the six steamers, and the interest would consequently be Add,COO. He believed that although there was not a large amount of surplus capital in the country at present, if the subsidy and guarantee which he had mention'd were granted, a sufficient sum to carry out the enterprise could be readily raised in London. A ship of the size proposed by the projectors would carry 1,000 passengers, and they might calculate fairly upon her having three-fourths of that number, or 1,200 each trip. 1 hey could allord to give a first-class passage for Mi 0, a second-class passage (almost equal to the present first-class) for 435, and a third-class passage (quite equal to the present second-class) for 420, They could bring out Government immigrants at 410 to AT2, and they proposed to carry 050 such immigrants, in order to compensate for the advantages given by Government to them. He did not think the advantages the projectors offered need be much further dwelt upon as they must be self-evident. An impulse will be given to immigration by the cheap fares and rapidity of communication, and also bjr the increased knowledge conveyed, especially to the poorer j-cople, by passengers going constantly backwards and forward. The projectors also consider that the Government would be justified in doing all that they asked by the advantages which the Projectors offered in return. The projectors proposed to save the Government from 44 to At) a head on the passages of immigrants, which would make the grant for immigration purposes go very much further than wise would do. There would be a further saving upon the labor of the immigrants of at least 40 days : the average passage of the present immigrant ships being morc°than 84 days. Taking the value of the immigrant’s labor at 4s. per day, this would give a saving of Too,GOO a year, or a total saving of nearly 4100,000 a year. The projectors believed that the cost of steamers of 8,000 tons would be about 4240,000 each. The total expenses of each voyage including port ilucs and the cost, of provisions, would be about .410,0 )0, allowing 5 per cent for commission and expenses of management. The gross receipts upon the outward passages would be some 44.4,840 leaving a profit,"" of nearly 420,000. Upon the voyages home the projectors calculated on having 1,000 passengers, and looking to the passenger returns, they felt fully justified in this estimate as within the last month there had been some 000 homeward-bound passengers, of whom 100 were of the first-class. The projectors also calculated upon receiving 44,000 per month fur I he carriage of the mails, 42,500

for gold and treasure, and 1,000 for parcels and small packages. The projectors had consulted the best authorities as to the probability of their-ships reaching the speed which they mentioned, and their capacity forcarrying coals. They had also taken into consideration the Great Eastern and otherlarge ships which had many successful passages. The Great Eastern was 23,000 tons and of 2,500 horse power ; but it appeared that her screws and paddles did not act -well together. When she first started, she consumed at the rate of 250 tons of coal per day; but it was calculated that ships of 8,000 tons and 1,000 horse power and allowing for the improvements which had been lately effected in the economy of fuel, could be propelled, without difficulty, at the rate of twelve knots an hour, with the consumption of eighty tons per day. In the Moollan, for instance, a considerable saving had been effected in conjunction with a high rate of speed with a consumption of twenty-four tons of coal in twenty-four hours. The steamers which he spoke of would consume 4,000 tons of coal on the voyage, but they could cany 0,000 tons, so that they would require to take in but 2,000 tons for the return voyage.