The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-04-25 00:00:00

POSTAL COMMUNICATION WITH
AUSTR ALIA.

DETAILS lately received of the passage of
the American paddle-steamer Golden Age, from
Liverpool to Australia, furnish interesting sugges-
tions regarding the ultimate prospects of rapid
communication, not only with the gold colonies,
but the cape of Good Hope. This steamer, which
was capable of carrying 1,200 persons, and had
just made one of the best trial trips ever known
across the Atlantic, left Liverpool in November
last with a small number of passengers and an un-
remunerative although a considerable cargo, the
Post-office authorities having refused to pay her
the slightest extra sum for taking a mail. She
reached the Cape in 26 days and a half, thus mak-
ing to that point the shortest passage upon record.
Indeed, the difference from any passage previously
known is alleged to have been as much as eight
days. At the Cape she was detained 10 days coal-
ing, but she nevertheless reached King George's
Sound so as to effect the entire passage from Liver-
pool to Australia in 61 days, including detentions,
and in an actual running time of`47 days. Con-
sidering that in future trips the advantages of
experience would enable distances to be saved and
greater speed to be attained, the possibility of the
communication toAustralia being regularly brought
withing 50 days, even by the Cape route, seems
consequently to have been demonstrated. Accord-
ing to the statements of the commander, Captain
Porter, he made the whole distance to the Cape
with four furnaces blocked off, and with a con-
sumption of only 30 tons of coal per day, five days'
consumption remaining upon arrival in port. By
less economy, therefore, greater results might have
been accomplished, and it is believed, moreover,
that 300 miles might be saved by stopping at
Goree to coal. Taking these things into account,
Captain Porter asserts that the Golden Age could
regularly perform the run from Liverpool to the
Cape in 23 days. These points having been deter-
mined, the question arises as to the probability of
the benefits which they show to be within reach
being speedily established. If the Post-office had
offered a fair remuneration to the Golden Age for
the conveyance of a mail, the loss by her experi-
mental passage would possibly not have been such
as to deter her owners from a continuance of the
undertaking ; but, as it is, there is not only little
prospect of its repetition on her part, but also the
certainty that the want of encouragement she
experienced will long prevent any other companies,
English or American, from venturing indepen-
dently on this branch of enterprise. Hence the
prospects of future steam communication between
the colonies and the mother country are discou-
raging. The Australian Pacific Company and the
Royal Australasian Company have entirely aban-
doned the field, and have either sold their vessels
or chartered them to the Government, while it
seems doubtful if the General Screw Company, also,
may not eventually find it more tempting to keep
such vessels as the Golden Fleece in the transport
service, rather than to send them on their original
destination. The only hope of a more encouraging
character appears to lie in the opening up of a route
from Sydney to Liverpool vid Panama, or Nicaragua
and New York. Supposing proper coaling arrange-
ments to be made, Captain Porter considers that
the Golden Age could reach Panama or Nicaragua,
from Sydney, in 27 days. Thence to New York,
by the existing steamers, would occupy eight days,
while from New York to Liverpool the average
time is 11 days. The total from Sydney to Liver-
pool would thus be 46 days, or, allowing three days
for stoppages, 49 days. The chief probability of
such a route being established consists in the fact
of the link between Sydney and Panama being all
that is required to bring it into existence. Whether
the New York Company, to whom the Golden Age
belongs, intend now to carry out their original plan
of putting it into operation, remains to be ascer-
tained. During the present demand for steamers,
it is probable that that vessel may immediately be
sought for other purposes, but there is strong rea-
son to anticipate that, sooner or later, by the natural
tendencies of commerce, the route in question may
grow into the most important line of traffic between
the northern and southern hemispheres,—Times.

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL.

FRANCE.

Thefgte given on Monday by the Empress at the Palace
of the Elyse 4 to the Duke of Cambridge and the English
officers was exceedingly brilliant, and went off with great
Iclat. Lord Raglan, Lord De Hos, and their staffs, left
Paris on Tuesday by the Lyons railway for Marseilles. A
telegraphic despatch from Toulon announces that Prince
Napoleon left that place on Monday by the Rolland. Mar-
shal De St. Arnaud has arrived at Avignon, on his way to
Toulon. Colonel Ardent, who accompanied Sir John Bur-
goyne to the East, has arrived at Marseilles, on board the
Longsor.
The Duke of Cambridge left Paris on Tuesday evening
for Vienna and Constantinople.
The belief that the Duke of Cambridge has a political
mission at Vienna made a favourable impression on the
funds. Some people, however, believe that he only goes
there to attend the emperor's marriage ; but, in any case,
it is supposed that the duke would not visit the Austrian
capital unless the emperor continued firm in his professions
to the English and French governments.
The Duke of Cambridge arrived at Strasburg on Thurs-
day on his way to Vienna, and left again at half-past ten
for Frankfort, accompanied by one of the emperor's aides-'
de-camp.
A correspondent at Portsmouth says :--" Orders have
been received to expedite the Queen's yacht Victoria and
Albert, and the painters and decorators are to work from
six, a.m., to eight, p.m., to hasten her progress. She is to
be ready by the 10th of May, on which day it is expected
that her Majesty and family will embark for a visit to the
French capital.
The Moniteur announces that the Baltic squadron un-
der Admiral Parseval Leschenes has left Brest, and sailed
for the Gulf of Finland. Including the Austerlitz, it con-
sists of nine line-of-battle ships, nine frigates, and nine
corvettes. It has taken a body of artillery and marines
on board.
The French navy has 56,000 sailors afloat on the different
seas.
The convention between the French and English govern-
ments which was signed a few days ago in London has al-
ready been ratified. The object of the allianceof the two Courts
is ,stated to Ile the re-establishment of peace between the
Emperor of Russia and the Sultan on a permanent basis,'
And Ile poservotion of Europe from the dangers valid

have disturbed the general peace. For this purpose, and
in order to rescue the dominions of the Sultan from
foreign invasion, the English and French goiernments
agree to combine their military and naval forces in a
manner sufficient to accomplish the result they have in
view. They bind themselves not to accept any proposi-
tion for the cessation of hostilities against Russia without
having communicated to each other the nature of such
overtures. They distinctly disclaim all exclusive advan-
tage to themselves from the events which may arise, and
they invite the rest of Europe' to co-operate with them in
an alliance destined solely to protect the public interests of
Europe.

A letter received by the Emperor from the King of
Prussia is agreed to be of a favourable character, inasmuch
as the King of Prussia would not write to the Emperor if
he had not something satisfactory to say to him • but
persons who are likely to be well informed, assert that the
letter is an answer to one that was written to the King of
Prussia by the Emperor, and that it does not go further
than declaring that Prussia will be faithful to all that she
sanctioned in the conference of Vienna.