COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AUSTRALIA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 379, 21 June 1856, Page 4

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AUSTRALIA.

(From the London " Times.") The importance of regular and rapid communication between our Australian colonies and the mother country is every day becoming more apparent; and, if anything were required to demonstrate it, the late commercial crisis would suffice, when it may be said that the whole mercantile interest looked with breathless anxiety for the.arrival of even a single ship laden with that precious metal, which was to relieve, were it ever so little, the pressure of the money market. While we at home were, perhaps, anxiously waiting the arrival of the costly freight, it was, through our mismanagement, tossing for so many weeks upon the ocean, that the mere interest of the hundreds of thousands of ounces of gold thus for the time sunk would have more than covered the price of a steamer to convey it. In the same way, for want of a speedy interchange of letters, the Australian markets have been alternately starved and surfeited, so that at one time an article has bten sold at more than ten times its value, while a few months later there has been such a glut of imports, that >

traders were only to happy to dispose of the very same article at less than half its value —at less than the cost price in England. We thus ourselves suffer very considerably; the colonies are still greater sufferers; and our mutual injuries act and react upon each other. It will be remembered that the General Screw Steam Navigation Company contracted to carry a mail by the Cape of Good Hope, and the Peninsular and Oriental Company by Singapore, in every month alternately. The former company has abandoned the contract; the latter has been tempcrarily released from it; and the mails are now carried by sailing ships—the fast sailing clippers,' which may possibly be the best means of conveyance for passengers and ordinary goods,' but which certainly do not afford so rapid a transmission of letters and general intelligence as the Australian colonies in these days of steam have a right to exact. They have, in fact, been rather hardly treated in this matter, large subsidies being given to the companies that carry the American, West Indian, and East Indian mails, while a mere pittance in comparison is offered for the conveyance of the Australian letterbags. Our Post-office gives £240,000 for the convej'ance of mails to the West Indies, and £30,000 more for their further conveyance to Brazil. Nearly £190,000 is given to the American line of steamers. The mail to India has a subsidy of more than £210,000, of which* the East

India Company pays only about one-fifth. And what is paid for the conveyance of the* Australian mails ? The sum is not to be found in the estimates of the packet service, where it might be brought into comparison with these immense rewards: but in those of the Post-office, where it looks very re, spectable as £ 14,000. Why, we give more than that, for the conveyance , of.«the mails across the Channel. That, sum is little more than-three times what we give for the carriage of letters between Southampton and the Channel'lslands, where the. communication on other grounds must ne-. cessarily be very frequent, and the mails can be carried at a very trifling cost. The inconvenience has been so great, the loss has been so enormous, that the Austra* lian colonies are willing at length to go to any definite expense rather than undergo the hardships of slow and the risks of uncertain communication. Victoria alone is willing, to pay £50,000 as its share of the burden. Almost all the colonies, indeed^ have separately offered rewards for the establishment of a line of steamers under certain conditions ; but, from not acting in concert, the stipulations of one are at utter varianqe with those of another. The Legis,

ative Council of New South Wales offer a reward for steam communication by the Indian route, through Torres Straits, the distance from iSydney to England and back being performed in 120 days. South Australia will be content if the distance to England be accomplished in 70 days, but then it demands a line by way of the Cape. Western Australia, on the other hand, is the most inconsistent of all—is quite willing that the mails should go by Torres Straits, that is, round the north-eastern corner of the continent to Sydney, but on condition that they first touch at Freemantle, at the very opposite corner almost on the line of the Cape steamers. Then "Victoria has a scheme of its own, by which it is proposed that the mails may go either by the Cape or the Red Sea—it don't much' matter;,only in any case they must go round the south-west corner, that is, by King George's Sound, so as to reach Melbourne in not less than 55 days from the date of leaving London. The contradictory character of these stipulations is evident, but we believe that, even if the matter rested entirely with the* colonies, they are too much in earnest to let local rivalries interfere with the general good. They have shown this desire so strongly, and have appealed to the Home Government in so liberal a spirit, that, although the contract cannot ultimately be decided until we hear definitely from all the colonial governments, the Lords of the Treasury have come forward with a scheme which they propose for the acceptance of the Australian Legislatures, and in which they have so much confidence that they do not hesitate at once to invite tenders, in order that the contracts may be completed and the service commenced at a the earliest possible period. With regard to a route they make no selection. They have wisely left that to the contractors. Let it be by Panama, by the Cape,.or by the Red Sea—the contractors are most likely to fix upon the most expeditious, convenient, and profitable highway. The Treasury by its recent minute, however, has decided that the points at which the steamers of the main line shall touch shall be restricted to three—namely, King George's Sound, Melbourne, and Sydney, and that branch lines shall be established at the general expense for the other colonies —for South Australia, for Van Diemen's Land, and for New Zealand. With regard to expense, the Governor of New South Wales has calculated that the maximum cost of the service would be £100,000, or about half what we give to the American steamers. The Peninsular and Oriental Company has, in fact, already offered to convey the mails in connection with their Indian boats for a sum of £84,000; and, subtracting from this sum £24,000, or twothirds of the postal revenue, the portion of it applicable to the sea service, the surplus required to meet the expences would be £60,000. But whatever be the amount required for the contract, the Home GovernYment proposes that the colonies shall divide with us the loss, and shall share with us the profit. This will be effected by rendering the pre-payment of all letters compulsory ; the colonies will retain their own postal receipts, and we ours, it being presumed that the number of letters to and fro is about equal. The number of letters which each colony receives will also afford a pretty fair test of the proportion of the expense which each ought to bear. The arrangement is very simple; the need is very urgent; the colonies are very willing; the contract ought to be made very soon ; and it is to be hoped that after all our delays and disappointments the service will at last be very effective. Telegraph to Australia. —The Mediterranean Electric Telegraph Company,

which is at this moment occupied in laying down the necessary wires to unite the Island of Sardinia with La Calle, on the coast of Africa, intends to establish a complete telegraphic communication between Europe and Melbourne, in Southern Australia. After opening secondary lines between La Calle, Bona, Biigia, Algiers, and Oran, the company purposes to run the principal line of Tunis, Tripoli, Alexandria, Cairo, Suez, Jerusalem, Damascus, Bagdad, Bussorah, along the northern coast of the sea of Oman, Hyderabad, and Bombay, where the line is to separate into two. branches. The northern branch will proceed directly to Agra, whence a wire will be directed towards Lahore and Peshawur, and thus reach within a short distance of Cabul and Cashmere. From Agra the telegraphic line will pass through Benares, and unite at Calcutta with the Southern branch, which starting from Bombay, will pass through Bangalore and Madras. From Calcutta the line will follow the north-east coast of the Gulf of Bengal, the peninsula of Malacca, the Sunda Islands, and thence cross over to the north of Australia, and extending along" the eastern coast of that continent, communicate with its numerous settlements, until it ultimately reaches Port Adelaide. The entire length of the line is estimated at 20,000 kilometres. —"Genoa Corriere Mercantile."

London Wool Report, Feb. 1856.— The first public «ales of colonial wool commenced on the 14th of Feb., and the quantity arrived in time for the sales consisted of 11,700 bales, Sydney; 7524 bales, Port Philip; 1473 bales, Van Diemen's Land; 1778 bales, Adelaide; 349 bales, New Zealand; 17,500 bales, Cape; total, 40,324 bales. A general feeling existed prior to the opening of the sales that an advance would be established on the average prices of last sales of full 5 to 10 per cent.—an impression fully justified by the fact that large purchases had been made at this advance from the London dealers, and several parcels from first hands were also sold. The sales opened with a larger attendance of buyers than ever, and the competition was excessive, both home and foreign purchasers paying readily an advance of full 2d to 3d per lb. on all descriptions—those of com.bing quality being most in request. For the better descriptions of scoured, high rates have been paid, one parcel of good clothing quality and very bright, but moaty, realising 2s. sd. to 2s. 9d. per lb. The recent alterations in the French duties have already produced their result; the attendance of buyers for foreign account being, very large, and their operations being extensive, fully 2.500 bales having been taken by them out of 8000 bales that have passed the hammer. Judging from the anxiety felt by all to stock from the present sales—sufficiently to last them till May—but dtttle change can be looked for. Many home buyers are unwilling to pay present rates, anticipating a slight decline as the sales progress. This we do not look for; on the contrary, should the foreign buyers continue their operations to the same extent, there is little doubt that prices will have a still further upward tendency.—Home News, Supreme Court of Victoria v. Union Bank of Australia. —Vice Chancellor Sir William Page Wood gave judgment in the case of Walker v. Brooks, on the 19th of Feb. It was a motion on behalf of the plaintiffs to restrain the Union Bank of Australia from prosecuting against David Alexander Caiman an action commenced by them in the Supreme Court of Victoria, and from commencing or prosecuting in that or any other court any other action or proceeding against Carman, in respect of certain bills of exchange, or any damages for the non-payment of them. It appeared that the Union Bank, at the request of Messrs. More-

wood and Rogers, merchants of London, had made advances to Carman as their factor and agent at Melbourne, upon certain bills of exchange drawn by Cannon upon Morewood and Rogers, pursuant to a letter of credit of May 26, 1854. Messrs. Morewood and Rogers, not being able to meet their engagements, these bills, when presented for payment, were dishonoured. They had executed a deed of composition and assignment for the benefit of their creditors, bearing date the 6th of January, 1855, of which the plaintiffs were trustees. This deed had been executed on behalf of the Union Bank by their secretary on the 27th of April, 1855, in respect of a claim by them for £13,04.1 Bs., including therein the bills drawn by Carman and dishonoured in London, amounting to £6000, the bank having received distinct notice that the bills had been drawn by Carman as agent for Messrs. Morewood and Rogers. The claim of the bank had been subsequently reduced to £6000 by payment at Melbourne of all bills except these bills drawn by Carman. Dividends had been received upon this sum of £6000 by the bank, who had, notwithstanding, brought an action in the Supreme Court of Victoria, by Alexander M'Donald as their inspector, against Carman, for the amount of the bills, and £2000 damages for non-acceptance or non payment, making a claim of £8000 in all. In restraint of this action the bill had been filed, and the motion for an injunction was now made. After hearing counsel pro. and con., his Honor said that there was clearly a question to be tried which could not be decided in the action at law. By executing the deed of composition the defendants, and all who signed it, had entirely released any demands which they might have either personaly or against the estate of Morewood and Rogers ; and looking at the correspondence which had passed, and the distinct intimation to the bank upon the subject, it was clear that the sums for which these identical bills were drawn had been released. He should direct Carman .to give judgment in the action, and restrain the Union Bank and their agents from taking out execution on any judgment obtained in the Court of Victoria. Sale of Steamers.—We believe we may now confidently state that the contract for the sale of eight of the steamers of the General Screw Company to a French Company has been signed, and that it is the intention of the purchasers to commence lines from Havre and Southampton to India and to Brazil and the Cape, via Rio. The stores on the Indian route belonging to the Screw Company have been taken, and the total outlay will therefore be more than £550,000. The vessels are the Golden Fleece, Jason, Indiana, Calcutta, Lady Jocelyn, Queen of the South, Hydaspes, and Argo, making an aggregate burden of about 20,000 tons. The vessels are to be delivered on the expiration of the existing contracts with her Majesty's Government, which will take place on the 30th June. It is also expected that the French company will also purchase two or three of the smaller vessels, as well as the four steamers owned by the Australian Royal Mail Company. It seems somewhat strange that the English Government should allow these fine vessels to pass into the possession of our neighbours, and then advertise for tenders to carry the mails to our Australian colonies by steamers. Australasian Pacific Mail Steam: Company.—A meeting of this company took place on the 19th Feb., Mr. G. Hibbert in the chair, when the following report was adopted:—"The directors have assembled the proprietors at the fourth annual meeting, in accordance with the provisions of the company's deed of settlement. —The

directors regret exceedingly that the hopes held out in the report presented to the meeting of proprietors in August last, of closing the concerns of the company and of making a final return, have not been realised. This delay has principally arisen from the unsettled accounts with the Admiralty, the o-reat difficulty of disposing of the remaining stock of coals at Wellington, and a settlement with the commissioners of the incometax, which last claim, however, has been paid during the past week. The coals at Auckland have been sold and paid for, but the premises in Moorgate-street shave not been disposed of, notwithstanding the exertions of the directors. The proprietors, however, may rest assured that the anxiety of the directors to bring the affairs of the company to a final settlement is equal to their own. "