Correspondence.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 254, 27 March 1860, Page 3

Correspondence.

To the Editor of the Colonist.

Sm, —What would be the effect on men's minds if they heard that the Great Eastern, the " big ship,' was positively destined to run from- England to Australia and New Zealand: would not all manner of good be predicted as likely to arise? and, in truth, would not incalculable benefit to the country and all in it, be the immediate consequence ? Being desirous of promoting the welfare and onward progress of New Zealand interests, I venture to express my ideas on the subject of steam navigation. : The Big Ship has achieved one very great step towards a new era in ship-building; she has established a general belief in: the public mind that very large ships are safe, economical, and more speedy than lesser vessels. The subject of building large ships is not new to me; but is one to which I devoted much time and thought so long ago as about 1837: I had . perfected plans and drawings of a ship of 400 feet long, and had intended making the same public; but before doing so, I consulted a Mr. Holmes, an engineer, on the subject, when he, on seeing the plans, exclaimed " why this is precisely my-patent!" then incomplete; and immediately showed me his drawings and specifications, which, true enough, were in the main feature identical. I therefore did not pursue the subject. Mr. Holmes subsequently formed a company in London, to build ships oh his plans: but from some disagreement it was not carried out. I do not think it is at all probable you will ever hear of the Great Eastern being in New Zealand waters; but lam quite sure you may have a much better ship, if you like it. I look upon the Great Eastern as a great failure; I think she has already shown herself that she could not (did not) work her engines at the required number. of revolutions of the paddle-wheels, to enable her to perform the speed predicted; it was proved her boilers did not generate sufficient steam, and more boilers are to be added. Her paddle-wheels were not worked at their full diameter, but were constantly'reefed' the whole run she made; and although she was very light in the water, it was necessary, to drive her at the speed she did attain, to consume such a large extra amount of coal over the calculated quantity, as to anihilate the hope that she can carry coal enough to work her to Australia and back; if she does not achieve success herself, she may show others how to do it by avoiding her mistakes, She has, however, proved, and established the belief, that very large ships are highly beneficial in many situations. It must be in the recollection of many residents in Nelson, that about October, 1851,1 stated at a public meeting that I thought it quite possible to construct vessels that should enable a person to make the trip to England and back in four months and was verylgenerally laughed at for the suggestion; yet we have lived to see a gentleman now in bur town, who lately arrived from England in fifty-eight days: and can now write letters, and receive replies pretty regularly in four months. Since 1851, science has done much to advance our knowledge and justify well grounded expectations of still better things, and thatin more waysthanone. Glad as we all are at the improvements that have taken place, it is admitted that the present state of affairs does not fulfil our requirements. At the present moment, great efforts are being made in Australia to obtain an additional amount of steam service, and there is a species of rivalry between the Panama route and the Suez route. I do not take part in a question wherein I think both are wrong, simply because they are wrong. The Suez route requires (if you adopt the speediesttiino) leaving London by rail, crossing to

France by sea, travelling across France by rail to Marseilles, therice by sea, to Alexandria, across Egypt by rail to Suez, thence by sea to Australia and ultimately, if your journey to New Zealand, transhipped again in Australia! so here you have three land spells, and four sea spells. Via Panamaj you would have, possibly, two sea trips, and one overland : but in either case the transhipment would amount to a prohibition of the conveyance of heavy goods: therefore, the present prospects only relate to Postal communication, personal convenience (or inconvenience) and the transport of very light or very valuable goods, and this at a very high rate of charge, and at some sixty days, expenditure of time. Now, what 1 have a desire to show is, that all this may be greatly improved upon, and, if taken up by New Zealand and Australian interests, there is no reason on earth why it may not be easily accomplished. It is a matter that affects all the colonies in the South Seas alike, without giving or attempting to give an advantage to one over another. The plan I propose is to build steamers, such vessels as can, and shall run from England to Australia in 30 days, and on to New Zealand in five days more, including stoppages. If this can be done, via the Cape of Good Hope, both out and home, what is it worth to all the South Sea colonies? By this route you satisfy all demands, postal communication, personal ease and comfort, and every other particular embraced in what is called the overland route, with this incalculable additional advantage, of transporting, heavy, goods, which no overland route can afford, and all this in a space of time and with economy that defies overland competition. As a tangible proposition, provided the South Sea colonies will jointly guarantee £300,000, I will undertake to produce a vessel 1000 feet in length by 100 feet wide, that shall run from England to Australia, via the Cape of Good Hope, in thirty days, and on to New Zealand in the same proportion of time, and return to England by the same route in the same time.

The present is not the proper time to go into the details of such a vessel; I will only remark I am confident it can be accomplished; neither will I occupy your valuable space by dilating on the advantages that must of necessity accrue to all concerned, because my friend, Mr. Wiseacre admits that if it can be done, it would be, as he says, " first rate : " and may be shortly summed up thus—a great saving of time, greater safety, greater comfort, and a great saving in expense.

I am, &c, W. L. WREY, Mineral Surveyor.

To the Editor of the Colonist. Sir, —Having recently returned to Nelson over-, land from Christchurch, perhaps the following brief sketch of our journey may amuse some or your readers, and induce them to go and judge for themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, Mr. Oakden, Mr. Willy Moorhouse, with a female and two men servants, left Christchurch on a Tuesday afternoon, and arrived at the Kois, 27 miles, at dusk, wliere I joined them. The next morning up before daybreak, and on our saddles before sunrise. We proceeded over a flat country along a beautiful level road without rut or stone, at an easy hand canter 18 miles, to the station of a Mr. Moore, where we found a repast which would have done credit to a candidate for the next vacancy of an M.P.ship, or Churchwarden-ship in the good old times as they were called. After doing ample justice to the worthy host of the Woolshed, we started for a 45 mile ride for the Cheviot Hills, the residence (as Paterson's Road Book would tell you) of William Robinson, Esq. After a ride over some undulating downs, embracing some hundred thousand acres, with some forty thousand sheep scattered over them, forming the run of the abovenamed gentleman, we descended into a valley through which, and the adjoining land the pigs, have so completely rooted up the ground as to render it unpleasant, if not unsafe, to proceed above a foot's-pace, after a ride of upwards of three hours. With high ranges of hill on both sides of us and crossing some deep ravines we stopped to lunch in the-bed of a deep gully called the Geta, into which and out of which there- are some a; pretty little ups and down as any one would wish to meet with in a summer's ramble; they be best described as short, sharp, and decisive, and the smallest deviation from the right line would send you down to where you set out, with a very great chance of making a. full stop, and a very small chance of trying again. However, not being the youngest of the party, and resembling Richard the Third, who is represented as offering a kingdom for a horse rather than walk, and moreover recollecting that "naught is never in danger," with permission of Mr. Robinson, I stuck to the pig skin, and fortunately escaped, not only then, but throughout the whole of the way. As your readers may have recognised in the Examiner, wherein is ; described "an elderly gentleman upwards of 70 having performed this wondrous feat." Here I would notice the very erroneous idea some persons have who are not accustomed to make country excursions, of the cruelty of people riding their horses up steep hills, or over such countries as lam describing. People often walk to ease themselves than their beast, and if those who sat in their rocking chairs would recollect that on such occasions the party is generally accompanied by a pack horse, who carries at least an equal if not a greater weight, and at all times a more distressing weight than those which carry live weights, so that if their sympathy is so keenly enlisted for the animal in the one case, it ought to be still more so in the other. Again, the distance you can go in any one day is necessarily regulated by the ability of the one to keep pace with the other; and here 1 would hazard an opinion that it is more distressing to a horse to carry a load down a steep descent than to carry one up; and further, we frequently see pack horses climb up places where no driver would think of urging them.

Having diverged out of my track, I will resume our journey. We proceeded after quitting the bed of the Gesta over much the same broken ground for a considerable distance, with little variation of scenery or incident, when we came across two unfortunate pedestrians who were about equi distant from the point where they had started from two days before, and the place were they were going to, that is, 15 miles either way. It appeared they had not only lost their way but they had lost their pack donkey, which they had tethered, but who not liking his billet thought proper to tak.9 French leave in the night, which proved at all events, that he was not the donkey "what would not go," but quite the contrary, and. to their'cost. l What made their case worse was, they had no provisions with them; neither had we any to give- them, seeing that we needed only a bait before reaching home. On proceeding further we saw this said donkey at some distance, under the hills where we left him; the men having started back to where they came from. At length we descended to the banks of the Hurunui, which, though at times a formidable body of water, we crossed with great ease, as we did all the rivers in our route. On landing on the opposite bank we entered upon the property of our Commissary-Ge-neral, and after a hand gallop of some ten miles arrived at dusk at the stations, thus terminating a delightful ride of 45 miles in nine hours; where we found Uncle Sam ready to receive us ; and after ample justice to the Commissariat Department, we turned each of us into our separate blankets, with no small satisfaction. (To be continued.) Yours, &c, SENEX ALBUS,