THE PANAMA ROUTE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 26, 31 January 1912, Page 10

THE PANAMA ROUTE.

FUTURE OF WELLINGTON. 4 A FORECAST. [FEOM OVB. OWN COKBESPOKDBNI.3 LONDON, 22nd December. The fact that the White Star Line has ordered an 18,000 ton vessel for he Australian service has caused little Eurprito to those who know tho trade and its possibilities. Natural advantages, says the Shipping Gazette, improved where necoseavy by the engineer, have placed the' principal ports of ourxolonies in tho Antipodes in a- position ( to deal with a much larger class of ship than is now eng3ged in its oversea trade. It is fitting that the White Star should introduce this big type of ship to the colonies, for it was that line which first gave the public that degree of comfort and those healthy* conditions of travelling which are ouly obtainable in large, ships. Despite tho fact that ' passengers • and cargo ;co largely controlled by the 6eaeons, it may be predicted that the liners using the Suez Canal route would, had that waterway permitted, have been even .bigger than they are today. The vessels proceeding via the Cape are not thus handicapped. To make the colonial demand for big ships clearer, it shoulU be noted that the size of. the colonial-owned steamers employed in the inter-State services on both the New Zealand and Australian coasts has increased by leaps and bounds, until at the present time 16-knot passenger vessels of 8000 'tons are the accepted type. Such vessels are working the principal ports with the same punctuality a 6 did the smaller class of ships which, they are superseding. THE SHORTEST DISTANCE. It is within the bounde of possibility that the White Star Line, with, its yipe experience of the Australian service, has a new departure in view. A service of 38,000 ton vessels between, say, .Sydney as a terminal port and this country, via. Wellington, New Sea-land, and the Panama Canal, wtould, in regard to paseengers, simply "scoop tho pool." t Not only would fresh fields be opened up, but the cold and stormy weather ot the Cape route, or of the Cape Horn route, the discomfort of the south-west monsoon, and the enervating heat of the Red Sea would all be avoided. With it all, the distance travelled by sea would be shortened. Again, in the off-season, when cargo is scarce in the colonies, with but a slight- divergence of the route, some of the principal ports of Chili, Peru, and Ecuador could be visited in order to fill the liners' enormous cargo holds to their utmost. Should the vessels be intended to use the Panama route, they will pass close to ports which handle the vast output of the Mexican and Texan oilfields. Therefore, it is "quite a possibility that they will be fitted to burn liquid fuel. A Liverpool correspondent writes: — '"In the local berth trades the chief activity of late has centred in those of New Zealand and Australia. These have been brisk, and the berthed tonnage unable to cope with the volume of caxgo moving. _ It is perhaps not to be wondered at ' that the White Star Line is building larger vessels, with increased passenger accommodation as well ac more room for cargo." TRADE PROSPECTS OF PACIFIC PORTS. THE QUESTION OF TOLLS. By Telegraph.— Press Association.— Copyright. LONDON, 30th January. The agents of several British shipping companies havo lately investigated trade prospects of Pacific ports with -a view of opening the Panama Canal route. Herr Ballin, of the Hamburg- Amerika Line, is visiting the route. WASHINGTON, 30th January. Senator Bristow has introduced a Bill reducing the membership of the Panama Canal Commission from seven to three, fixing the ship toll at one dollar per net registered ton, but allowing fifty cents a ton only on American ships whose owners agree to allow the use of their vessels as auxiliary cruisers in war time. The tolls will be twentyfive cents a ton for coastwise craft complying with the same conditions. The Bill prohibits railroad-owned I steamships from using the canal.