The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-17 00:00:00

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r PRICE SD.

AUSTRALIAN MAILS.

The following inquiry has been received whether any
more overland homeward mails are to be expected from
Australia

" Sir,—Belonging to a numerous class who are deeply
interested in, and anxious to hear from Australia, we
should feel obliged by your informing us (through the
Medium of your world-wide journal) whether there will
be an overland mail from Australia at the end of this
month ; but should it be out of your routine so to do, the
insertion of this inquiry might produce a reply from one
of your numerous commercial readers which would give
us the desired information.

" Apologising for giving you this trouble,
. " We are, respectfully yours,
" COLONIAL MERCHANTS."
. .
The replyis' that there are two more to arrive,—one
which will be due via Marseilles about the 27th inst.,
and another which will be due by the same route about
the 27th of March.

The subjoined communication . suggests a now
mail route for Australia; to remedy the fatal inr-
convenience likely to arise from the withdrawal of
the overland and other steam lines :

" Sir,---:Tite most direct, safe, and speedy mewls of
reachin,s, Australia from this country seems to have been
entirely overlooked.
. _

" lithe overland route to India be followed as far as
Aden, and clipper sailing vessels be provided to'• run
direct between Aden and Port Philip, it would place
Australia uitlio 50 to 55 days' passage from London,
and bring the return of post in about 110 days.
"It will be seen on reel once to a map, by following
a lino over land and sea via Paris, Marseilles, Alexan-
dria, and Suez to Aden, that a passenger from England.
at the latter place would be nearly half-way on his direct
journey to Australia. As it is possible by existing means
of boat, rail, and road to reach Aden ou the 19th day
from leaving London, allowing necessary time for rest
and refreshment, it only becomes a question how soon
the space of ocean intervening between Aden .and Port
Philip—say, 6,720 miles—can be traversed by a sailing
ship. Judging from antecedents, 30 to 40 days would
be a reasonable time to allow a fast vessel, to .effect this
distance.

" The employment of steam-vessels, instead of sailing
ships, would reduce the whole time between London and
Melbourne to about 43 days ; but, looking to the diffi•
culty of coaling, and the enormous expenses 'attendant
on steam navigation, it is doubtful if capitalists could be
found to take the risk of providing them, until the traffic
and other inducements could be clearly shown as suffi-
cient to justify the experiment.

" Tin Lightning, a clipper sailing vessel, has lately
performed tne distance from Port Philip to Liverpool,
via Cape Horn-13,760 miles—in 64 days ; other vessels
less celebrated have run the same track home in various
periods under 75 days, while from 80 to 100 days is the
time usually occupied by vessels built to secure carrying
capacity rather than speed. We see shipowners eagerly
contending for their respective vessels to be chosen as
Post office packets, guaranteeing, under•penalty, to per-
form the passage from England to Port Philip-13,200
miles—within 65 days. We have repeated instances
of passages being made from New York and Boston
to England-3,800 miles—in from 12 to 15 days, and
between other places of various distances apart passages
have been made with relative speed. It is fair to as-
sume, therefore, that winds being as favourhble as those
ordinarily met with by ships sailing over long distances,
the ocean lying between Aden and Port Philip can be
crossed in the thee stated. _ •