The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-02-26
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY &c.
The Australian Steam Zinc.

q lil4HR 10 luIS great cuIcf pEIHc, NuICu lS Oh IIe
; eve of commencement. These articles all prove
, what We have stated several times, that between
. the English or Cunard line, the Holiday and the
! Webb companies. we are sure to see the line
: established within sixty or ninety days at the
farthest. Among our kilograms from London,
j under date of January 24:h, is the following:
- project has been introduced here looking to the establish
Z zsaiaEd and LonIo o. ra SAN FT.ncisco, Portland tde). and
pIssed through those Joints ia about forty days"
This refers to the Cunard project to which we
alluded two months or more ago. The ships are
full rugged propellers, capable of making 300
miles a day, and arc in every respect adapted to the
trade and route. The company is wealthy, and
all it has been waiting for is the guaranty Of
subsidy from some quarter. The colonies having
offered this, as before announced, it is now
fastening to secure the prize. The Alta of Feb
ruary lst, IN an editorial, refers to this company
as follows:
"a statement has reached this city that the pro-
prietors of the Cunard line are about TO transfer
certain Of their steamers from the Atlantic to the
Pacific Ocean with a view to occupy the proposed
route from San Francisco to Australia, and 1t has
even been positively asserted that the first steamer
will be quietly despatched from Ireland in a day or
two. If this be so, Cunard evidently means to realize
the value Of the old adage, It Is the early bird that
catches the worm" There is reason, however, to
believe that this haste is more apparent than real.
In other words, there is the strongest ground to
suppose that the talk about taking such immediate
action * indulged in to frighten of other competitors.
If this be so, II will defeat itself. There are men
concerned III this matter the speed of whose move
ments will be rather accelerated than retarded by
talk Of the nature referred to. We have very strong
ground TO sag that the most that has been done by
an English Company has been to send by the mail to
Australia which lett London on Friday last, certain
proposals as to carrying out the line ria San Fran
I siero Il mo ha n that a first claSg steamer
at once be sent to Melbourne from Liverpool with
freight and passengers (Which ae there always
obtaina6le), so as to be in readiness if the Colonial
Government should fall in with the proposals sent to
them. If they should not, such Il steamer would get
freight back again, and so nothing, under any cir
cumstances, would be lost by her trip. This, there
is little doubt, is the most that has been really pro-
posed in England yet, kilograms and letters to the
contrary Notwithstanding. That being 80, American
steamship proplietors are certainly ahead in this mat
ter, as viii hereinafter appear"
Regarding the movements of the two great
American steamboat kings-Holladay and Webb,
tho same paper has the following:
1t is known that there are at least two different
steamship prOprietors who are competitors for the
line, and within the Fast two days it is said that u
third and formidable one has arisen in New York.
The two competitors who are openly and ~ayOWedly in
the field are Messrs. Holiday s. Brennan, of this
city, and Mr.. w. ii. Webb, of New York. The
former gentlemen, it is said, propose to send their
present Honolulu steamers through to Sydney, or
connect with a line from Honolulu to Sydney. BY
way Of making commencement, 1t IS understood that
n steamer has been chartered in Sydney, called the
Claude Hamilton, and that she is already on the
way TO Honolulu, and that her passengers and mails
may be expected in San Francisco ON the Dist of
February, by the Idaho. 1t is to be feared that
these steps have been taken with more haste than
speed. Not a little of the chances OF the success Of
the line for passengers, at least, depends upon the
impression that is made at first. Interested parties
will try to decry the route. 1t is III the highest
degree, therefore, desirable that the first steamers
should be frst-class, that good men at the Australian
end should have the business in hand, and that no
hitch Of any kind should take place. For these
reasons it is TO be regretted that the first steamer to
come through should be the Claude Hamilton, a
vessel that is looked upon as so inferior that she fails
to find employment as a coaster III Australia. Had
the parties here been well informed OH the subject,
they would have known that the persons who have
sent the Claude Hamilton forward have an lake to
grind, - and that they are about the last who would
be likely TO make such a line a success. We speak
entirely in the interests of the trade of this port, our
only desire being that nothing shall be done TO mar
so worthy an enterprise. and that in the end the line
shall prove n successful one. 1t is also 4 matter for
consideration whether such comparatively small
steamers as those running between here and Honolulu
are sufficient for the through route. No one having
a knowledge of what is required by the necessities of
the trade can possibly say with truth that they are
sufficient. Let US make no mistakes IN starting such
an enterprise as shall lead to f failure. Depend upon
it our every movement will be watched by the
wealthy shareholders of the Peninsular and Oriental
Company, which at present mOnOpOllZeS the trafuc,
and our every weakness will be pointed out.
The last, but by no means the least, of the COM
petitOrs is Mr.. w. II. Webb, the wealthy ship-builder
and steamship proprietor, of New York. Mr.. Webb
recently paid this city a visit, and although it was
not known at the time, yet it was a fact, that his
business related to this matter of establishing Il steam
line to Australia. From the facts that were within
our own knowledge it is safe to say that Mr.. Webb is
as far ahead in the progress lie has made in his
negotiations as he is in his capacity to effectively
carry the line out. Already have the Governments
of New South Wales, New Zealand and Queensland
pledged themselves to his agents to pay 4 certain
subsidy. With his well-known influence at Wash
ington, and with the steps he has already taken there,
it is pretty certain that he will obtain any subsidy
our Government may offer.
THE STEAMERS READY.-The great capacity of Mr..
Webb's steamers are well known. Certainly they
cannot he beaten in point of accommodation or speed.
He proposes to put the following steamers on the
route, viz:
.NebrGskd-A 1 at Lloyds 2,143 tons register
5000 tons builders measurement $50 horse power
2S6 feet long, and Al feet beam built in May, 1866,
and averaged 151 knots on her trial trip.
NsUadd-A 1 :, Jas tons register So inch cylin-
der, u feet stroke 2S4 feet on main deck, and
licensed to carry S3S passengers average speed on
trial trip, 10 knots, and built in December, 1867.
DacOiah[ l at Lloyds 2,l50 tons register 2S1
feet long and Al feet beam SO inch cylinder and II
feet stroke licensed to carry 72O passengers.
Santiago de Cu6a-1,627 tons $50 horse power
81 feet long So feet beam /; built in 1861, and
rebuilt in 1867.
These boats are unequalled for speed, passenger
accommodation, comfort and safety, and were orig
built for the North American Steamship Com
pany, regardless of cost.
The Nebraska is now laid up in this port, await
ing orders to proceed to Australia so soon as it may
be deemed desirable for her so TO do. She will prob
ably be the pioneer ship of the line. She is well
known as n magnificent vessel, and will do full credit (
TO her owner. No such steamship has ever appeared
in the Australian waters, and should she proceed
thither, she will, to use an expression common in
country, g surprise the natives"
Unro NO oil tho foafc 90 FIR 90 Lpou,, non
corning the three competitors for the subsidy and
traffic on this route, which is destined to become
not less important than any other in this ocean.
So important is it considered in California, that
the Legislature of that State has passed a reso-
luton urging Congress to grant aid at once. The
are the preamble and resolution:
'sWHEREAs, Action is about to be taken by the
British Government and the Australian Colonies to
L. d.. O..-.. E-A-E