The Express.
London, England, 1851-08-27 00:00:00

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LONDON, 11-EDNESDAY, AUGUST 27.

WHAT threats and vauntings, bickerings and
jealousies, rival articles and combative essays, have
we not had upon the question of whether the
Medi-
terranean was to become a French lake or remain a
sea, in which the English flag Je facto, as well as dr
lanbrin predominated! If these two had a competitor,
Russia, it was considered, was that competitor. No
one thought of Austria. She never entered tho lists,
nor was thought worthy of a fear. And yet that
country, su unknown as a naval one, has, not merely
in the plenitude of her old strength,but in the midst
of the rum and financial disorder occasioned by re-
cent struggles and revolutions, succeeded in equipping
IL atom fleet of some forty vessels, and what is more,
made them self-supporting as a commercial specula-
tion, and thus independent of the crazy Austrian
budget. The Triode Company of theAustrum Lloyd's
now keeps up a weekly communication with Con-
stantinople, extending to Trtbizond and the ports in
the Black Sea. With Alexandria and with Psyrout,
and all the coast of Syria, it has a bimonthly packet.
Its boats run up to Sulonica and to .‘thens, ply in
the Gulf of Lepanto, and serve as communications
between the different ports of the lonian Islands. No
circuit is too great, no trade too trilling fur them.
Hitherto the French boats, being government con-
cerns, regularly touched at the Pincus, for the purpose
of meintaining political friend hip. Itot the French
rs having now passed to a private Company,
decline milking the boutlesa voyage up to Athens,
where there is no trade. No sooner, however, do the
French give up the service than the boats of ie Aus-
trian Lloyd's undertake it. A postboy's errand
softies* them. Oar Peninsular and Oriental Cum-
in ny wrens inclined to abandon that important Tre-
hisaid line which it was the lint to arm ; but the
Austrian plies still, and seems to base its success on
universality.
The French steam company which plies along the
eastern coast of Spain is said not to be prosperms.
'llw Austrian Lloyd's is about to take its place, and
will run fnen Marseilles to Gibraltar, giving Prince
ticitwattxs.stifatt; and his Russian allies truer infor-
mation of what isdoing on the Spanish coast than could
be done by u host of diplomatic agents. But the ambi-
tion of the 'lrieste Lloyd's flies much higher than
this. It would cut thiough the Isthmus of Suez and
launch its fleet tat the Indiati Seas. It is taking ac-
tive steps to compete with our great Companies in
supplying tainant ;;; i ; stion with the other hemisphere.
Nor dial it appear that the Austrian Lloyd's will be
contented with less than circumnavigating the
globe.
Admiring sincerely the activity and perseverance
of the Austintu we must may we think this I
ambition misplanal. The NUITCSI; of the Company
has hitherto been us a Mediterranean Steam Com-
Imuy, traversing calm stns, and never at any time
malty miles fiont a sure port. Then the uavigutioa
is conducted mil the must economical principles. Two
officers and a dozen men constitute the crew of an
Aunt, inn steamer; but a vessel so manned could nut
face the (slain, and has nothing in common with
ocean tiaviiration. It does not even rear sailors fur
it. For they are not sailors, the dirty, lubberly
fellows, not one of whom has need to go aloft in nix
weeks, and whose sole labour consists of alternate
dirtying and elt • g, coaling and scrubbing. Ths
services, however. of such sailors are cheap. If
them is gnat essimany in the manning, as there has
been in the building and outfit of the Austrian boats,
there is also economy in the repasts provided for the
passengers, which are of the mint frugal kind. They
would by no means suit the palate of those who find
it fweetstry to keep up the animal system, in under
to make up even before-hand for the inevitable
wear and tear of health in a tropical clime.
No one going to ur (sailing from India would be coo-
tented with such fin. us is furnished by the cook,
and steward, or by the person who unites both offices
in an Austrian steamer. With all this, too, the
charge. are high, and the rates at which foreign
money is valued so greatly depreciated. that it rea-
ders the price much dearer than it is really put down,
sod that on the whole the boats of the Austrian
Lloyd's are fully us dear as our most costly fitted, ably 'I
manned. and sumptuously provided steamers.
'fhere are other advantages which Austrian
steamers enjoy, and must enjoy over English taws,
iu willing amidst oriental ports and transporting
oriental passenger.. No one can teach Greek or
'lurk the difference between the rights of the third-
thus and the first-class passenger. Your Oriental
pays invariably a third-class fare, and then stalks to
lay down his mattrass on the quarterdeck, where be
men leaves no room at all fur a first-class passenger.
An English captain tights "pima this, not
always with nieces; the Austrian 'ebonite
coolly. The consequence is, that the Austrian
Lloyd's boats are infinitely more popular in
',draws Now, the Englishman who
likes the Oriental very well, dues nut like to lie
down with him. The Germans are not so particular;
and indeed the impossibility of making any dis-
tinction between the classes on board, or, in other
wurds, drawing any line between the vermined
and the unvermined travellers, renders the Da-
nubian boats of Austria, those we menu that ply
towards the mouth of the Danube, quite into-
lerable. English travellers, however, either in the
Black Sea or the Egean, are not numerous
enough to support a mode of conveyance peculiar to
their habits. And orientuls are fast finding out the
way of coming to the home market to buy goods,
instead of awaiting them at their own door. At
first the Persians bought Manchester goods at Trebi- ,
road. They now come to Constantirople to choose
tad to cheapen. Itysnd-bye they will go, as the
Greeks did, to Manchester, and vessels laid out kr
the conveyance of oriental, and their. goods will
maintain the preference.
We have thus enumerated not a few of the reasons
which have told in favour of the Austrian Lloyd's
Company, and militated against our own Companies
and against those of France; and we confess it ap-
pears probable that the Austrian steam navy should
increase rather than decrease in the Mediterranean;
that this is a revolution, political as well as com-
mercial, in the relations and pontleranee of Medi-
serranean powers that should be taken into account ;
although we see no reason whatever for its exciting
either the jealousy or enmity of England.

TOE slatutable half-yearly meetings of the great 1,
English Railway Companies, held in August, con- ,
eluded with that of the Eastern Counties on Mon- j
day. and that of the Great Northern yesterday.
The public has now before it all their policy, their
disputes, their contests, their hopes, and their fears.
What they are we have before endeavoured to ex- ;
slain. Let us briefly recapitulate. Mr. IiCtiSELL
:lakes a right for the Great Western to get opposite
to Liverpool if it can. No, says Mr. °LYN, Liver-
pool is the North-Western's. Mr. DENtsoN claims,
a right for the Great Northern to get to Manchester,
and to Bradford and Halite', by the natural routes
which lead it into these towns. No, says Mr. 01. re,
Manchester is mine; Bradford belongs to my elle, the
Midlands; and Halifax is the property of my friends I
of the Lancashire and Yorkshire. Adhere to Bristol, I
the Great Western is told; stick to York and
Leeds, the Great Northern is bid. And, on the same
principle, Mr. WADDINGTON draws a line before--or
a cordon round—Wisbeach, Norwich, and Cambridge.
and bodily asserts that no one ought to go to or to de-
part from these important places except by the
Eastern Counties and its feeders. In such preten-
sions, and in the means by which they are restated,