FAST SERVICE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 136, 5 December 1907, Page 8

FAST SERVICE.

. LINKING-UP THE COLONIES. .SGLME INTERESTING FACTS,. '(From Our Own Correspondent.) HONGKONG, 6th November. . There are developments in the policy of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Steamship, Company and 'Canadian-Aus-tralian lino, which indicate that Australia, and. possibly .New Zealand, will bo Jinked to the Home-land by a fast service. Following on mail advice from England, I was fortunate in securing an .interview with a leading shipping 'man in Hongkong. At the- present time the policy of the- company, , or com-pani-Ds, is not revealed, but this much is known: It is proposed to build two magnificent 'steamships for th<> run across tho Atlantic,- and to -transfer the new twenty-knot steamers Empress of Britain and Empress of Ireland to the Pacific trade— that is, between Vancouver and Hongkong. The chief importance of this move- in itself is the shortening 'of the . time from Liverpool to Quebec, and consequently from London to Hongkong, as tho mails and goods go over the Canadian line, and arc then put' on to the fast boats now running, and conveyed to the Far East. If theso magnificent Atlantic boats, which hold the record for tho run from Liverpool to Quebec, are transferred it will mean that' the three Empress steamers' now employed on the Far Eastern run will _ possibly be put on to tho run to Australia, or as tho European manager put it — "Possibly with or without tho 'All Red' rounto making Brisbane in 'twenty-four days after leaving the Mersey." This is the one point which is apparently undecided, and one can only conjecture that the other alterations, coupled with tho announcement of a probable new service to Australia, will mean the transference of the present steamers to the now Mersey-Biis-bane run. • t As the mail contract with the C.P.TI. does, not expire till April, and as the new steamers for the Atlantic run havB not yet been commenced — perhaps not yet authorised — ihero will be no immediate change, but it may not be toe.sanguine to stippose ,that the days of \the Miowcra, etc., are numbered. What the new service would mean for Brisbane and Australia generally can' be imagined by anyone who has seen tho fins Empress line- of vessels, and a short description would not bo out of place. FAST .STEAMERS. The three steamers — Empress of China, Empress of India, and Empress of Japan — are three' of the prettiest boats afloat, and there- is not a steamer running to the Far East which can oven compare with them for grace and apparent finish — from the landsman's point of view, at any rate — and tho three steamers are said to be as good as tho day they were built. With their yellow sides and pretty lines they look more like fast beautiful .yachts than steamboats, and they carry the pick of tho Eastern traffic, because they are flyers, and run to time like a wellregulated \vatch. Though they were built about seventeen years ago, thoy then represented the latest word in shipbuilding, and they were built with a care' and finish which is apparent to-day. They have been nursed more carefully probably than any vessels i}t the world, and every trip to Hongkong they remain nearly thirty days whilebeing docked and overhauled and painted, and when they como out of dock they are the admiration of every seafarer 1 or visitor or resident. I learn on good authority that thoy are firstclass to-day in every detail, and they can place their nineteen knots behind them in emergency. They were- built by tho Naval Construction and Armaments Company at Barrow-in-Furness, England, and under tne contract with tho British Government for tho mail service, tha speed of the. vessels was to be 17£ knots- on the measured mile, and 16 knots at sea. The company, howover, exceeded theso requirements, and contracted for 'a speed of 18 knots on the measured' mile, and 16j knots on a 400-mile trip. On the trial trip they ran up to 19 'knots, and in the Jong sea run also exceeded requirements. The Empress. of Japan has established the record for -the fastest Trans-Pacific trip, as she left Vancouver on 26th June at 10 a.m., arrived at Yokohama at 1;53 p.m. on 7th July, and at Hongkong on 14th July at 12.05 p.m., making the splendid time, inclusive- -of stops at Victoria, Yokohama, etc., of ten .days 10 hours 22' minutes from Vancouver to Yokohama, and 17 days 10 hours 16 minutes from Vancouver to Hongkong. Tho "Empress liners are each ,6000 tons gross, and have an indicated horsepower of 10,000. They are twin-screws. Their - dimensions are' as follow: — Length overall- 485 feet ;• between ■perpendiculars,' 440 feet ; depth, 36 feet ; tonnage. ' 6000 tons gross. They arelightly rigged, with pole masts. There arc fourteen water-tight compartments, and with two compartments open to the sea they would -still havo a large reserve of buoyancy. You will probably have learned, that an accident happened to the Empress of China in Vancouver, but she is evidently all' right, and is on her road out again. If either screw cannot be worked,' tho other can drive tho ship at twelve knots, and the vessel can bo steered' by her twin screws without any rudder. There is electricity throughout, and a great .promenade deck with a clear sweep of 220 feet. Whether the present Chines© servants would bo retained in the "event of the. company making a bid for supremacy 'in the Australian trade is a matter upon which it is unwise to speculate — till you know. I 'may add that tho Empresses are commanded by Royal Naval Reserve men. A CONJECTURE ; ALSO A POSSIBILITY. Having spent much time, working out knottage, and possibilities, with the genial shipping expert, I may spare the detailed results, only remarking. that by • knocking off a clay for the meridian, and making every allowance for the improved service, the time from the Mersey comes to 25 days— where there is only one day's difference wo may fairly imagine that the inspired manager was not wrong, also that the facts point again to the boats which will be used for tho run, as it is improbable that any other boats would bo put on by tho company when they havo these three fine boais at hand. . There are also tho smaller intermediate boats used in conjunction with tho present Empresses on the run to Hongkong. They may be put on to the Australian lino as well. The Tartar, Athenian, and Monteaglo are strong comfortable ships, ranging from 3882 tons to 5500 tons. The trip to Australia would bo worked thus, if worked at all — less than six days, across tho Atlantic by tho company's new boats, and three days across Canada, or nino days altogether to Vancouver. Thence eighteen and a half knots from Vancouver to Brisbane, coaling at Honolulu. That would leave fifteen days for the run from Vancouver to Biisbane, and e\ciy extia knot gained by the newer liners across the Atlantic will make the journey to Brisbane less. If Australia gets tho new service, it will link us with Canada, and with Bntain, and niter m.uyv things. At ' present it v conjetiiue, but it us olaq possibility.