The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-01-15 00:00:00

AMERICAN OVERLAND ROUTE TO
AUSTRALIA.

The opening of the Union and Central Pacific Rail-
ways of the United States in the year 1869, by forming
a connecting link between the steam-ship lines of the
Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, rendered possible a
means of speedy communication between the mother
country, New Zealand, New South Wales, and Vic-
toria, of which our enterprising Australasian colonists
have never lost sight (remarks the Stanctard). The
capabilities of this new route have been amply
demonstrated during the past few years, when, with
an inferior Pacific service, the merchants of Sydney
and New Zealand have frequently had their
duplicete communications delivered in London before
the originals, sent rid Point de Galle and the Suez
Canal. Convinced, therefore, of the advantage of having
two strings to their bow, and desiring at any cost to
increase the facilities for brikiging emigrants and tourists
to their marvellous country, the Australian colonists
have decided to stbsidise a new line, vid St. Francisco,
at a cost of £90,000 a year, and the contra-et has been
taken by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company of the
United States, who have asseciated themselves for the
purpose with British capitalists in the persons of
Messrs. John Elder and Ca., of Glasgow and Mr. D.
M`Gr4or, who provide three out of the six splendid
steamers that are to run from St. Francisco, calling at
the Sandwich Islands, thence running to the Feejeee,
where the line bifurcates, one branch going direct to
Sydney, while the other diverges to New Zealand, the
steamer calling at all the principal ports of that
thriving colony. Three fine vessels for this line have
been built in the United States, and the other three
splendid Clyde-built screw steamers, of 3,000 tons
each, will soon be on their stations, when the feat
of putting "a girdle round about the earth" will be
practicable—if hot in Ariel's time of 40 minutes—in
the marvellously short space of 71 days. The calcula•
anti is that Liverpool to New York will occupy eight
days, New York to "'Frisco" six days—American
railway men promise to do it before long in five days—
St, Francisco to Hong-Kong 21 days, and thence
to London 56 days. Intending visitors to Austra-
lasia, however, will be more.interested to know that the
estimated time from St. Francisco to Auckland, New
Zealand is 21 days and to Slrciney 25 days, giving a con-
tinuous speed, including stoppages, of 11 knots an hour.

One of the British contingents, to the Pacific fleet,
the Zealanclia, has been already dispatched to take up
the senvice, and on Thursday in last week a gathering
of the representatives of the Australian colonies and
the several Atlantic and Pacific steam-ship companies
took place on board ihe Australia, the second on the
list, to celebrate her approaching departure. She is a
fine vessel, of 376 feet in length, 37i feet breadth of
beam, and 28 feet 8 inches depth ot hold; of 3,000
tons, and engines of 540 nominal horse power, with two
cylinders of 62 inches and one of 45 inches; length of
stroke 4 feet 3 inches. The Australia, which is lying
in the South West India Dock, has been fitted with
every modern appliance for comfort and with special
referenoe to her long inter-tropical passages. The
first-class cabins are fitted on deck in the forepart of
the ship, with a promenade hurricane deck over alt,
after the fashion of the American river steamers and
especial care has been taken to ensure ample light and
ventilation, and, the hurricane deck being as wide as
the spar deck, there are ample covered spaces outside
the sleeping cabins on either side for shelter from the
intense heat and the rain-floods of the tropics.
At a luncheon which was given the chair was taken
by Sir Daniel Cooper, and no inconsiderable amount
of congratulation was exchanged between the repre-
sentatives ef the Australian colonies and of the United
States at the prospeet which the establishment of the
new line opened up of increased communication be-
tween Great Britain an.d that "Greater Britain" which
is probably destined in years to come to be the seat of
Anglo-Saxon pre-eminence.