THE STEAM COMMUNICATION MOVEMENT IN LONDON. (From the Sydney Morning Herald, Oct. 3.)

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 369, 27 October 1849, Page 3

THE STEAM COMMUNICATION MOVEMENT IN LONDON. (From the Sydney Morning Herald, Oct. 3.)

It it a coincidence not less encouraging than singular' that no sooner had the question of steam commuirca> tion with England been once more resumed after ths interval of a year, by the colonial Press and the colonial Legislature, and a petition to the Queen iidopted by the latter, praying that Her Majesty would graciously direct that bteps be taken to accomplish this great object, than a t.hip enters our port with news that, exactly three month* a^o, the same question was again taken up, aud taken up mo it warmly, by our friends in London. We had yeiterday the pleasure of ra-publiihing from the Morning Chranicla a report of the proceeding! to which we refer. At a public meeting held at Willis' Rooms, so recently as on the 27th June, convened principally by members of the Colonization Society, for the purpose of taking steps " to draw the earneit attention of Government to the necesbiiy of approximating, by m>an.i of steam, the colonies of the Southern Pacific to the mother country,'' the Earl Talbot in the chair ; it was resolved, "That the rapidly increasing importance of the Australian Colo* nies renders the establishment of steam communication between England and Australia highly desirable ;" " That the inhabitants of the Australian Colonies having, through the medium of their respective legislatures, evinced the deepest: nnxitty to approximate those dependencies with England by steam, it il adviiabl« to co«operate with them in this country foi the attainment of that important object ;" aud " That it ii the opinion of this meeting that an appeal should be made to Her Majesty's Government, and petitions presented to both Houiei <>f Parliament pointing out the expediency, on impeiial as well as colonial grounds, of establishing steam communication without delay between this country and Austra'id." For the purpoie of carrying these reiolutions iuto effect, a committee of twenty-six noblemen and gentlemen, of whom eight we. c membeis ot Parliament, was then appointed. And when we consider the runic and influence possessed by most of the committee, and the zeal and intelligence wi h which many of them had for years been wont to advocate the interests of the Auitralian colonies, we may reasonably hope that their efforts in the present occasion would not be iv vain ; especially as the movement on their part would in a short time be followed up by the spirited remon« strance from our own Council. We are the more encouraged to indulge this hope, from the good sense evinced by the meeting in avoidin j the secondary question of route. Of course, we colonists of New South Wales luve a very strong opinion in favour of the northern line ; but rather than have no steam communication at nil, we should infinitely prefur even the least eligible of the othfr two. So with our friends at home. Their intere»ts and sympathies are variously distributed, same being con-

oectdl with Per h, others with Adelaide, others with Auck 'aw!, others with Sydney ; and according to the e ttiv ral local prepossession, we may presume that the wet tern, the eastern, or the northern route, would he preferred. Now, bad they not wiccly abandoned the gro'i'id upon which they could not agree, and con. tinted themselves with a position which they could «11 u-cupy with perfect unanimity, it ii plain their attempt /.ould have been abortive. Nor is it at all improbable that this discreet procedure would operate favourably with Minsters, who, being left to their own unfettered judjnnet.t as to the most desirable route, would be the Jess'ndiiposed to meet the petitioners with candour and atte tion. 5 m ■ of the observations which fell from the upeakcr« at tli* meeting are worthy of betngr singled out. The nnble Chairman, to show the increaiing necessity tha- existed for steam communication, stated that the iraf oration of wol into England from Australia had driven out Spanish wool to a very large extent ; and that the amount of wool from Sydney alone was within a thousand pounds' weight of the quantity im~ ported fom the whole of Germany. The Hon. F. Scott, M P., observed, that wiih regard to the importance of these colonies, it was not neceiiary for him to enter into details ; it might be sufficient to state, that each inhabitant of Australia took Irom £8 to £10 pe* head f rom England in the way of produce, and there was no foreign country whose inhabitants took more than a shilling a head : let them look at the difference between those two sums, and they would see at once how great was the importance of encouraging such co'onists by steam communication. Mr. Scott pro« nounres a revere but. apparently, not unjust censure upon Her Majesty's Government, whom be accuses of having played with the que&iion, having treated the colonies as though they were mere baubles and toys to be tn'fled with, The question of steam communication with the Australian Colonies he said, had been bandied about between the Colonial Office, the Post Offi-e the Admiralty, and the Exchequer ; so that those who were engaged in it were at length involved in such a wilderness of trouble, that they were tempted to throw up the rr>atter in disgust, finding that all the impediments and obstructions that were thrown in Hie way, arose from those very channels. Hence the present meeting had been called. Lord Lyttleton, who while Mr. Gladstone was in office, was Under Sec etary for the Colonies, remarked that however many difficulties were thrown in the way, it was as certain as that the tun would riie that uoner or later the great advantage of steam would be extended to these distant colonies. " There never/ his JorJihip added, " had been an unsuccessful attempt to promote *team communication with the colonies, and it was not likely tht the present, which was the most impoitant of all, should be eventually d< feated.'' Amongst the patties whom this improvement will benefit, Lord Lyttleton includes those who fee pleasure in travelling to distant parts of the world ; and to these he says, " nothing would be more delightful than to spend a few months in visiting those moit interesting and fascinating Colonies of Australia.*' Mr. Mark Boyd spoke with his usual practical good tense, showing, from the statistics of this colony, how important steam communica'ion would be, in a comnrercial point of view, v»i h England as weil at with Australia. By none of the speakers does the question of exyenie and ways and means appear to have been at all idvened to. The sum tendered for by the Peninsular and Oriental Company is said 'o hare been £60,000 per annum ; and it is shown in the resolutions brought forward lait Friday by Mr. Donaldson, that according to the estimate of Lord Clanricarde, Her Majesty's Postmaster-General, the revenue derivable from postnge on letters and newspapers between the United Kingdom and the Australian Colonies, even under the slow and unsa'isfactory packet system which existed in 1846, was .£14,800 per annum ; which, with the ■€6000 a year voted by the Legislative Council of New South Wales, would give a revenue of £20,80 T per annum, to start with. And if the Legislatures of South Australia, Van Diemen's Land, and New Zealand, following our example, would contribute amongst them a further sum of say j£l 0,000 per annum, there would at once be provided more than one-half of the sum demanded fjr the contract. To this, again, must be added the proceeds of the vast increase of epistolary intercourse which the facilities of steam communication would Infallibly produce ; and which, in a very shoit time, would be such as, with the o her sources of reTenue, would leave the Home Government to bear no hesvier charge than was imposed by the late packet system. Robbers in Caufounia.~Encouraging to Gcid Seekeus.— The hunter, (though rarely) has been set upon by robbers for the sake of the pack of furs he was carrying on his back to some of the sea* port towns on the coast to dispose of ; but as the fur-humers »re generally on foot, and, from habit of warchmg '.bout for either hostile Indians or wild animals they are always on their guard, and as the robbers well know that they are, to a man, riflemen who seldom miss their mark, they avoid them. During my rairbl * in the wilds and fastnesses of California, I bfcpne acquainted with mauy of them, some from the bkcu ettlements of United States, others from Canada. I hi'i ed for months with them, -and witnessed some confl eu between them and wild animals, in which the utrr-.i't dating aud recklessness was exhibited by the bun tr. These are not the men that robbers like to encounter, but I have said they sometimes take a faury to the valuable pack of furs which, if they find »ny facility of obtaining, they make the attempt. It is ihp very climax of cruelty to plunder these poor felJows of pocks which were procured only by outlaying for months in the depths of the forests and wilds of the country, and not unfrequently in the hunting grounds of a tribe of hostile Indians. I once hunted for three months in company with a hunter well k' >wn in California. In idea he was wild and imagina'ive in the extreme ; but in his act* of daring, &c, the most cool and philosophic fellow I ever knew. A comercianto, or merchant, at San Francisco, on whose veracity I know from experience I can depend, told me a story of this man, which will «t once illustrate his general character :— " This hunter was, some months before I had fallen in with him, making the best of bis way down the valljy o f tbeTule Lnkes from the interior, with a heavy pack of furs upon his back, his nev r erring rifle in his hand, and his two does by bis si'le. He was joined at the northernmost «n>i of the vailfy by the. merchant 1 have spoken of, who V" icm-d only wirh his sword and pismli. T ij<H S'-ar.-dy el aed the valley when a psrty of -„..'' ,q k nllrp. .» nut before them. Th.rr were four •. w- fudy /iror.cd, and two Indians with their lassos vi 'eJ "p 'o tl ci- .iahi ha'ids 'ready for a throw.' Tha buDter tolr; the merchant, who was on horseback, r.i demount instantly, ' und io cover.' Fortunately for thjm, thert was » good <le»i of thicket, and trunks of lar te t 'c t.-ee» ti>at bad fallen were stowed in a very desirablf n>iuin»r. Behind those logs the merchat t a •(! lie bno or quirtl took up their position, and ai they were doing so, two or three shots were fired at tuera wuhout effect. The hunter coolly untied the pack of furs f ova his back and laid them beside him. ' It's my opinion, merchant,' said he, ' that them rare

mint there wanti either yoar saddle»bags or my pack, but I reckon .they'll get neither.' So he took up hii rifle, fired, and the foremost Indian, lasso in hand, rolled off his hone. Another discharge from the rifle, and the second Indian fell, whilit in the act of throwing hit lasso at the head and shoulders of the hunter as lie raised himself from behind the log to fire. Now,* aiid the hunter, as he reloaded, laying on his back to avoid the shots of the robbers, ' that's what I call the best of the scrimmage, to get them brown thieves with their lassoi out of the way first. See those rascally whiles now jumping over the logs to charge us in our cover.' They were fait advancing, when the rifle again spoke out, and the foremost fell : they still came on to within about thirty yardi, another fell, and the remaining two made a desperate charge up close to the log. , The hunter, from long practice, was dexterous in reloading his gun. ' Now, merchant,' iiid he, 'is the time for your popguns, (meaning the pittoli) and don't be at all nervous. Keep a steady band, and drop either man or horse. A man of them shan't escape.' The two remaining robbers were now up with the lo?, and fired each a pistol-shot at the hunter, which he escaped by dodging behind a tree close to, from which he fired with effect. As only one robber was left, he wheeled round hit horse with the intention of galloping off, when the pistol bullets of the merchant shot the horse fiom under him, ' Well done, merchant/ said the hunter, ' you've stopped that fellow's gallop.' As soon as the roober could untangle himself from the fallen horse, he took to his lieels and ran down * sloping ground as fast as he could. The hunter drew his fomukawk from his belt, and gave chase after him. As he was more of an equestrian than a pedes'rian, the nimblenrss of the hunter shoitened the distnnce between them, and the lait of the robbers fell. Thus perished this dangerous gang of six by the single hand of the brave hunter, and, ms the comercianto informed me, he acted as coolly and deliberately as if he were shooting tame bullocks for the markets. The affair was rather advantageous to the hunter, for, on searching the saddle bags and pockets of the robbers, he pulled forth some doubloons and a few doll 1 rs, with other valuables they bad, no doubt, a ibort time previously taken from some traveller; the saddle-bags, arms, and accoutrements of the four white men were packed up, and made fa t on t'lp saddles of two horses, the hunter mounted a third, the merchant mounted another, his horse being shot, and thus they left the scene of action, and the bodies of the robbers to the wolves who were howling about tbem, while tbry entered San Francisco in tiiumph. — Coulter* Adventures. The Gold Mania. — So high and unreasonable are the expectations raised on the subject of California, that several laundresses have already advertised to take in Gold Washing, and we shall soon see the words " Wanted, a Family's Gold Wash'ng," as heading to newspaper advertisements. Several persons hearing that the gold in California is found in quartz, expect to find a number of ready made tankardi, to satisfy their thirst for gold, immediately on their arrival. Oihere, «ho have heard that the precious metal is in carats, are taking out a quan'ity of carrot*seed in their personal luggagr, in order to be prepared with what they term their " plant' 1 for working their enterprise. Bnt we strongiy suipect that the frequent re'ult of a Latin vocative — namely, Caret — will be the result of the calculations of these enthusiasts.— Sydney Bell's Life. Personal Appearance and HABrrs of the Pope —I had the honour of two inteiviews with Pius IX. the first as a member of the committee Appointed for a humane purpose ; the second with a priva'e party. I believe the committee wn the fir't body of Englishmen who waited on the Pope ; and certainly, as Mr. Harford spoke his sensible address, his Holiness itemed highly pleased and affected. His manner h frank, and even simple. There U not the (.lightest tiretureof riide or state] jness in bis deportment. Pius IX., addressing his fellow-no en, utteis like a man of sensa what he really at the moment thinks and feels. There was no written reply, couched in terms of cold formality to what was kindly mid, but a cordial, spontaneous eipression of feeling, outspoken at the moment. Tl c Pope (aid something courteous to several individual members presented to him : hearing I was a lawyer, he remarked that an Eoglish advocate had lately sent him a book on legislation, which he was sure contained much which would be desirable for him to know, but, unfortunately, being unacquainted with the language he could not read it— a very sensible, but un- kingly observation. Common kings never admit their ignorance of any thing 1 . Dull pomposity is not congenial 10 the disposition of Pius IX. His manner was, however, a little nnsteady. He is not what some would call dignified; he appeared as if his royalty sat awkwardly upon him ; in appearance very unlike the portraits of Pius Yl The countenance, stout figure, and whole bearing of Pius IX., denote plain, vigorous sense, re* solution and manliness of character^and true benevolence, more than refined or polished taste, lofty dignitr, royal pride, or grandeur of thought. Strip him of hit robes of state, he never would be mistaken for a subtle Jesuit or crafty priest, but would pass all the world over for a sagacious, clear-headed, Engli-h country gentleman. Such was the opinion I forme ion my first interview with Pius IX. The second time I had the honour of being received, the Pope vras quite at his ease ; and when the party of English ladies nnd gentlemen were grouped around him, spoke with unaffected kindness what he deemed most suitable. He inquired anx'ouvly about Ireland, and spoke in terras of hearty admiration of the exertions made by the Parliament in England in re'i.-f of the liish famine. The vote of ten millions seemed to astonish hi* Holiness. On this occasion the manner of the Pope was fatherly ; and undoubtedly, I must say, rooted as I am in the Proteitant faith, the unaffected behaviour of Pius IX. towards people of all nations is that becoming an ecclesiastic aspiring to be considered the head of the Christian church. — fPhiteside 1 s Italy in the Nineteenth Century. From the American whaling list, it appears that there are at present 596 American whalers in the South Pacific Ocean, while there are only fourteen .British vessels so employed.