The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-28 00:00:00

TilE AUSTRALIAN AUXILIARY STEAM

CLIPPER COMPANY.,
Ths directors of this company, incorporated under the
Joint Stock Companies Act (1856), for the purpose of
facilitating communication between this country and
Australia, by mean 3 of clipper ships furnished with the
screw-propeller, to be. used when necessary, invited yes-
terday a party of the shareholders and a number of gen-
tlemen conuc:•ed with the colonial trade, to inspect their
splendid vessel, the Istanboul, now lying in the Victoria
Dock.

The Istanbotil is a clipper ship of 1,470 tons register,
and upwards of 2,000 tons burden. She was built by
Pyle, of Sunderiand, and is considered to be a master-
piece' of naval architecture. The engines, constructed
on the best principles, are of 100 horse poser, and her
propelling agent is the screw. She is 230 feet long by
36 feet 6 inehrs beans, with 23 feet depth of hold. The
Istamboul is the first ship purchased by the company,
but she is to be followed by two other vessels of 1,100
andel,4oo tons, and.is under orders to Fail from London
on the 10th of November, and from Paymouth on the
15th. , She has cabin accommodation for a large num-
ber of passengers, and, including her ship's company,
will carry about 400 persons. It' is confi antici-
pated that sbe will make the outwardiourney in 60 days,
and accomplish the return voyage in about 60 or 70.
She Is in all respects a noble vessel, and the' company
look'forward to her realising the most sanguine expec-
tations that have been formed of her sailing capabilities.
She has already taken in nearly the whole 'of her
freight, and almost taller cabins are engaged by passen-
gers proceeding to the colony.
The vessel was gaily decorated yesterday, and pre-
sents' a very pretty appearance:, The ships ,in the
Victoria Decks displayed all their bunting to-do honour
to tOe occasion, arda, military band was stationed on
the quarter deck.
Shortly before three o'clock the. Right Hon. the Lord
Mayor of London, accompanied by the Lord Mayor
Elect, the sheriffs, and a number of gentlemen connected
with some of the leading firms in the Australian trade,
were shown over the vessel by the directors and Mr. J.
E. Cole, the commandant. His lordship expressed him-
self much pleased with the appearance of the vessel, and
the arrangements made for the safety and comfort of the
passengers._ •

A very elegant dejeuner was afterwards served in the
steerage, where covets were laid for 300 pfrons. The
saloon, if such it could be called, was ornamented with
flags, coloured lamps; and flowers, and presented a pic-
turesque and novel appearance.
The chair was taken by the Lord Mayor, who was
supported by Sir S. M. Peto, Bart., Mr. Gooch, Mr.
Sheriff Mechi, !Ir. Sheriff Keats, Mr. ex-She'riff Rose,
Mr. W. Lindsay, M.P., Sir Joseph Paxton, and
other gentlemen largely connected with the shipping in-
terest.

After the cloth was removed,
The LORD MAYOR, iu proposing "The health of her
Majesty," observed that he felt grateful to the directors
of the company for having afforded hirn an opportunity
of inspecting the magnificent vessel in which they were
now assembled. She was indeed a noble ship, in a noble
dock, and was a proud tribute to the enterprise and in-
domitable perseverance of the Anglo-Saxon race. (Ap-
plause.) In giving the health of the Queen, he might say
that so long as such vessels were seen in the merchant
service, so long would the royal navy be the most
powerful in the world, arid so long might it he said of
the Sovereign of Great Britain that she was the Sove-
reign of the Seas.
" Tao health of Prince Albert and the rest of the
Royal Family" having been given and responded to,
The CHAIRUAN, in proposing "The Army and Navy,"
observed that we had been lately engaged in au obsti-
nate and sanguinary-war, and that the result was suffi-
cient to justify us in congratulating ourselves upon the
prowess of our army and navy. The mercantiee navy
was the nursery from which our men-of-war's-men were
drawn, and it was, therefore, of the last importance that
the mercantile service should not degenerate. He was
glad to see such vessels as the Istauboul fitted out by
private enterprise, for he was assured that whether in
peace or i❑ war they were most important agents in the
progress of national greatness.
Captain LANE, R.N., returned thanks on behalf of the
navy, and said that having had an opportunity of ex-
amining the ship on which they were then assembled,
he could vouch for her construction, and could affirm that
she was one of the finest vessels iu which he had ever set
his foot. (Hear, hear.) He believed she would perform
swift and certain voyages, and give satisfaction to all who
were connected with her.

The LORD MAYOR next gave "Prosperity to the Ails-
tralian Auxiliary Steam Clipper Company," and observed
that the cccasion on which they were met was tine of
more than ordinary interest. Nothing could be more
astonishing than the sudden rise of the Australian trade,
in •which the Istanboul was to be engaged. Australia
was only known efew-years ago as a place to which Wiese
who bad forfeited their liberty to the laws of their
country were transported- The persons chiefly selected
to colonise the country were men of great enterprise,
talents and energies had been exerted in a wrong direc-
tion, but in course of time they formed the nucleus of a
great colony which was destined to exercise an extra•
ordinary influence upon the trade and commerce of the
mother country. Tne recent discoveries of gold in the
colony had given a wonderful impetus to trade, and bad
caused a cry for quick communication. Several corn-
panics had been established to accomplish that desidera-
tum, and during his year of office he had been called
upon to preside over the most important meeting that
had ever been held in the City of London on the subject.
of transatlantic communication. It was strange to
reflect that gold, which could supply so many wants,
and administer to so many of man's luxuries, had
hitherto been impotent to promotes rapid postal commu-
nication with Australia. Great steam ships were built
for the purpose, but when the war broke out the Govern-
ment claimed them all, and they were employed in the
transport of men and stores to the Crimea. The result
was that the postal service was neglected, and the
traders of London, Liverpool, and the other large towns
of the empire ivere suffering the utmost inconvenience
from the want of remittances from Australia. It seemed.
to him that the project about to be carried out by the
Australian Auxiliary Steam Clipper Company would do
much to facilitate communication between the two coun-
tries, as the vessels proposed to be employed would lie
enabled to avail themselves of the two great motive
powers, wind and steam, as occasion offered, without
incurring the enormous expenditure of fuel necessary for
vessels which depended upon steam alone. In his opi-
nion the man who entered into such a speculation de-
served the. thanks of the public. It might be said that
they were influenced by a desire to promote their own
ulterior objects; but the same might be said of every
noble action ; and he, for one, considered it was a duty
to stimulate such persons by kind words aad public
countenance, and therefore it was that be was present
that day. (Hear, hear.) He was sure that it was the wish
of all present that the company should succeed in the
great work it had undertaken ; and as he believed such
men roust be good subjects an good citizens, he had
great pleasure in proposing prosperity to the company.
(Applause.)
Mr. Gooey returned thanks on behalf of the company,
and observed that the great public importance, of estab-
lishing quick communication between Australia and the
mother country, and the stress that had been laid upon
the subject by the press, had induced the company to in-
quire what exertions had already been made to supply
the deficiency. They then found that clipper sailing-seips
were the best nude of communication, and that some ex-
traordinary pas ages had been made by that description of
vessel. They w Re, however, subject to some difficulties
which they could not overcome—such as calms in certain
latitudes, and the prevalence of head winds in others. This
led to the ice of full steam vessels, but these required
that a large portion of their space should be devoted to
the engines and fuel. The consequence was a very small
space for profitable cargo. The expense also was so great
that the disbursements exceeded the receipts for passen-
gers and freight.. The undertaking, in fact, failed, and
there were now two other projects before the public—
the monster vessel of Mr. Brunel, which had yet to be
tried, and the introduction of a small auxiliary steam
power into the original sailing clipper. (Hear.) The
company held that economy in the first cost, and subse-
quently in fuel and management, were all-important.
He had made a comparison of the cost of a full power
steamer, and be found that two clipper screw ships of
the size in which they were then assembled could be con-
structed for something less than the cost of one large
steamer on the former plan., The result of the compari-
son was immensely in favour of the two ships, as would
be seen from the following statement :—The cost of one.
large ship was 65,0001.—0 f tstfo ships (such as the Istan-
boul) 62,0001; the horse7power of the large ship was
450—0 f the two ships 160; the registered tonnage of
the large ship was 1,900 tons—of the two ships 2.861 ;
the cargo carried by the large ship was 450 tuns—that
by the tsio ships 2,800; the coal carried by the large
ship was 1,950 tons—that by the two .ships 300 ; the
cost of the coal in the large ship was, at 2/. per ton,
3,9ool.—that of the two ships, 6001. ; the cargo of the
large ship, at 31. per ton, would produce 1,3501. ; that
of the two ships, 8,400/. The sailing expensee, he cal-
culated, would be about the same, and also the income
derivable from passengers. The comparison, however,
would show a saving in favour of the two ships of 7,0501.
on freight, and of 3,3001. on coals, making a total in
one passage of 10,3501., or 41,4001. upon two passages.
(Hear.) These were the figures upon which the company
had formed their estimates, and they believed that they
had hit upon the right principle on which to vim-4. They
expected to mako the passage from shore to slime with ex-
pedition and reasonable certainty, and these o essidera-
tions, they believed, would insure full cargoes and full
passengers. (Ilear.) The Istanboul had only been in
the Victoria Deck a fortnight, and she was full to within
a few tons of her cargo. Applidations were also daily
made for passages, and he had no doubt that by the 10th
of November she would be a full ship. (Bear.)
Mr. peewee; in a highly complimentary speech, pro-
posed " The health of the Lord Mayor," and stated his
belief that the right hon. 'gentleman had connected him-
self with a company which had started on a right prin
ciple, and which would, in cour e of time, prove one of
the greate-t navigation companies in the empire. (Hear.)
The company 'was, metaphorically speaking, stansing on
the shoulders of those which had ',receded them. They