FROM AUSTRALIA TO LONDON, Via PANAMA.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 80, 30 June 1866, Page 3

FROM AUSTRALIA TO LONDON, Via PANAMA.

[From the Australasian.'] When'the brave old Dutchman, in his good barque the Sea Lion, gave the name of his favourite ship, in his native language, to the south-west extremity of the continent of Australia, he little dreamt of the changes which would come upon the land he had discovered in little more than a couple of centuries. Then Cape Leuwin stood grimly out, the Land's End of an unknown country, and looked upon a sea of which the mariner knew almost as little. What land lay to the north was partially known ; but eastward the veil of obscurity had not been lifted. Whether the Cape of the Sea Lion guarded the shore of a long narrow island, or was the outlyiug fortress of a great continent, against its perpetual assailant, the sea, was an utter mystery. Dampier and Tasman may have thrown their imaginations forward centuries into time, and have prophesied great futures for the lands which they discovered — may have foreseen great navies traversing oceans which, till their appearance upon them, had been unvisited by white men — but the boldest dreamer of that day could never have predicted the immense changes which have occurred within the lifetime of three generations. New countries have sprung up on shores then, as the Dutch sailors believed, guarded by monsters; and wealthy colonies exist where scarcely the Bmokc of a native fire was visible. These lands have poured out gold as richly as ever did Peru, and have sent home as richly-freighted ships as those which stimulated the enterprise of Drake. These new lands have furnished the stimulus which has given so great an impetus to the trade and commerce of the age ; they have covered the seas with ships ; and now they are about to accomplish one of the most remarkable achievements even of this enterprising generation, by completing the work of belting the world with steam. A few days more, and the traveller who leaves London-bridge with his face to the eastward, may fcravel by steam, on and on until he returns, still travelling eastward, to the spot from which he started — gaining a day upon old Sol as he travels. One-half of this journey has now been performed, with more or less regularity, for years past, and the opening of the Panama line — Melbourne to London, via the Isthmus of Darien — completes the girdle of steam we have put round the planet Earth. The purport of this article is to give our readers some information as to the nature of the new enterprise. Victoria having declined to contribute to the subsidy of the Panama Mail Service, and New South Wales having consented, Sydney is the Australian terminus of the line, and from that port the pioneer ship sails on the 15th instant. Direct mails will be made up there for the following places : — New Zealand, Panama, Lima, Valparaiso, San Francisco, Honolulu, British Columbia, Jamaica, Barbadoes, Demarara, St. Thomas's, New Orleans, New York, Quebec, Halifax, and the United Kingdom. The rates of postage will be as follows : — For New Zealand, British Columbia, America, West Indies, and Canada, not exceeding ioz., 6d. ; exceeding $oz., but not exceeding loz., Is. ; and for every additional \oz., 6d. For the United Kingdom, not exceeding ioz., 6d. ; exceeding ioz., but under loz., Is. ; and for every additional oz. Is. Books for New Zealand, not exceeding 40z., will be charged 6d. ; over 4ozs. and under Bozs., Is. ; and for every additional Bozs. 6d. Books for the United Kingdom not exceeding 4ozs. will be 4d. ; over 4ozs.. and under Bozs , Bd. ; and for every additional Bozs, Bd. All books sent to British Columbia, Amerioa, West Indies, and Canada will be subject to the latter rate. Newspapers will be sent to all ports for Id. each. We are also informed that letters, books, and newspapers may be transmitted via the United Kingdom, to the Continent of Europe, West Coast of Africa, and the Cape of Good Hope, at the same rate as are charged by the route of Southampton, via Suez ; and that trade patterns for the United Kingdom, and for all places to which these are transmissible, via the United Kingdom, may also be forwarded at the same rates as are charged by the route of Southampton, via Suez. No mail (so far as we can ascertain), will be made up in Melbourne for this route. From Sydney the mail steamer will make for Wellington, on the north shore of Cook Strait — a town now the seat of the General Government of New Zealand — and there all the branch Bteamers of the line, from Auckland on the one side, and Otago, Lyttelton, and Nelson on the other, will concentrate, to place their mails, goods, and passengers on board the ocean ship. There also will she be joined by one of the company's steamers, direct from Melbourne ; and then the cabins will be allotted for the long voyage across the Pacifio Ocean, according to priority of application, the fares to be paid on board the vessel by the passengers, or by the agents, before the ship sails, if the money has previously been paid to them. The passengers on board, all the arrangements perfected, and the ship cleared, on the 24th of each month the steamer proceeds to sea, coaled for a voyage of twenty-eight days — two days more than the time allowed for the return journey. Once clear of Cook Strait — where the winds usually are strong, either up or down the channel, and where a stormy sea beats upon an ironbound coast — the course of the ship will be about north-east, in a straight line for the Bay of Panama. The French Government are making efforts to induce the company to call at their settlement at Otaheite, This would occasion a considerable detour, but a glimpse of the beautiful islands with which the name of Queen Pomare was so long associated would agreeably vary the voyage. The Society Islands are the chief islands of the South seas, and lie between 16° 11' and 17° 73' South latitude, and 148° and 152° West longitude. The scenery is so beautiful, the water so tranquil, the land bo fertile, the forests so perfumed, and the natives so gentle and intelligent, that, by the whaler and wearied tar, the land has been regarded as a paradise. Should the direct course be followed, however, the steamer will pass close to (and probably sight) Pitcairn Island, made famous by the mutineers of the Bounty. This lovelyisland will be a finger-post by the way, and after it is passed no land will be sighted till the Galapagos Islands, lying on the equator, are reached. On one of this group it is proposed to establish a depot of coals, where the ship's fuel may be replenished in case the voyage has been protracted beyond calculation. Ex> cept in such an event, however, the steamer will not Btopat these islands, which, though possessed of natural beauty, have no other attractions, the population being mainly convicts sent thither from the republic of Ecuador, on the opposite shore of North America. Arriving in Panama Bay on the 21st of the month, and being conveyed to the shore by a steam tender, the traveller desirous of seeing the world has various routes open to him. If he wishes to visit the republics of South America, and set foot on the scenes which the romantic story of the Spaniards in Peru has rendered so attractive, he can proceed by the luxuriously fitted steamers of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company (British) which ply along the coast, between Valparaiso and Panama. If he prefers going northward towards San Francisco, the American steamships make the voyage (about 3,000 miles) in fourteen days. From thence Vancouver's Island and British Columbia can be reached by the Hudson's Bay Company's steamers, which have lately begun to trade from those settlements to San Francisco. The passenger bound from Melbourne to London, however, crosses the isthmus to which the name of Admiral Darien has been given. The railway journey, Panama to Colon, is made in four hours, through scenery graphically described in Dickens' Christmaß story, " The Island of Silver Store." Here, unfortunately, the thoroughly tropical character of the heat, and a very slight chance of fever, will probably leave the traveller little wish to spend more hours than may be possible even on such classic ground. The vessels of the Royal Mail Company lie alongside the wharf at Colon (Aspinwall). Leaving Colon on the 23rd, the traveller will have an opportunity of seeing the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, us the ateamor calls at Kiugston. The reader of " Tom Cringle's Log " will not require to be reminded of the delicious landscape painting by Michael Scott, drawn from his recollections of the fine scenery of Jamaica. From Kingston the course lies by way of Haiti (th« black re*

public) to the Danish island of St. Thomas, where the vessel arrives on the 28th, coals, and leaves on the 29th, calling nt the Azores, and reaching Southampton on the 14th of the following month. But the traveller is not limited to the direct Wc3t Indian route. From Colon ho can proceed per steamer to Now Orleans, sailing up the Caribbean Sea coasting Cuba, and thence up the Gulf of Mexico— seas well-known in the days of old as the Spanish Main, and dreaded for the truthlessness of the buccaneers who frequented them. From New Orleans the Mississippi can be ascended, and then the Ohio, and from thence to Philadelphia or New York. Another route is that followed by the American mail steamers, which sail between Cuba, and Haiti, visit the beautiful Buhamas, and thence by the dreaded Hatteras along tho Gulf-stream to New York, a voyage usually performed in eight days. At that port the traveller who desires to makes his voyage across the Atlantic expeditiously can proceed bj the Cunard steamers to Liverpool, which usually make the run in eight or nine' days; or by the less expensive but rather slower though very splendid steamships of the Inraan Company. The Mississippi route necessarily occupies more time than that by the seaboard, but by the direct New York route the traveller can reach Liverpool or London even sooner than if he proceeded direct from Colon to Southampton. From Sydney to London by either route, the journey can be performed in fifty-nine days ; and as the P. and O. Company's time is forty-seven days, the traveller who starts from London-bridge bound round the world can be back again within sound of Bow bells in 104 days— an extraordinary achievement, when we remember that it is scarcely thirty years since the time allowed to the mail packet between Falmouth and New York was forty days ! The vessels which are to perform the ocean service between Sydney and Panama are four in number— the Mataura, of 1,767 tons, and 400-horse power, Captain Bird; the Kaikoura, 1,501 tons, and 400horse power, Captain Machin ; the Ruahine, 1,503 tons, and 850-horse power, Captain Beal ; and the Rakaia, 1,450 tons, and 350-horse power, Captain Wright. The branch steamers are ten in number, varying from 900 tons and 180-horse power to 400 torn and 80-horse power. Of the ocean steamers, which are all screws, we have as yet seen the Kaikoura only, and her great feat— steaming from Plymouth to Melbourne in fifty days, exclusive of etopa res— proves that she is well fitted for the work ore her. Built on the Clyde, she has all the modern improvements, and cabins which for size, comfort, ana elegance, have never been surpassed in then waters. Sne is to be followed by the Ruahine, now due here—London built, a twin screw, from whioh much is expected. The fares to be charged are much more moderate than those of the P. and O. Company. From Sydney to Southampton the saloon price is from £95 to £105 (according to cabin), including the railway fare at Panama. From Sydney to Panama the charge is from £55 to £60 ; from Colon to New York, £16 j and New York to Liverpool, £26 by the Cunarders, and £21 by the Intnan vessels. It is possible, therefore, to take New York by the way, and reach London at less cost than by the West India direct line, and in the same or less time, Tho second cabin charge, direct to Southampton, is £65, and to Panama £35 ; thence to New York, £10, and thence to Liverpool £15 to £18. Special and liberal arrangements are made for children. In West India waters, we notice, there ia a great competition for deck cabins, where the fresh air it most freely admitted, and for these an additional oharge of £5 is made, payable to tho purser of the Southampton ship. Return tickets between Sydney, Melbourne, the various ports in New Zealand, and Panama and Southampton, are issued to chief cabin passengers, and to their servants accompanying them both ways, at an abatement of 25 per cent, on the total passage money. These tickets are to be paid for at the time of being issued, and not to be transferable. They are available if the parties holding them embark on the return voyage within twelve calender months from the commencement of their first voyage. No allowance is made if the parties do not make the return passage by the vessels of the respective companies ; but should there be no available accommodation in the ships of either company by whioh the holder wishes to embark on the return trip, he is entitled to a passage by the first subsequent opportunity. In all such cases a certificate must be obtained from the agents or captains of cither of the companies, specifying the dates of application, and that then no accommodation could be afforded. Return tickets, we observe, are not issued to second-class passengers. It is also arranged that a passenger between Southampton and Wellington can remain at an intermediate port till the next steamer of the Royal mail line calls, say a fortnight or a month, and in such a case the arrangements are liberal, if the succeeding ship should be so full that the passenger joining her has to put up with inferior accommodation to that which he originally had. If to these particulars we add that beer, wines, and spirits are not included in the pas-sago-money—a plan now adopted with success by nearly all shipping companies — we have exhausted all that the company's prospectuses supply necessary to enable the intending traveller to arrange his plans for his visit to the mother country. There can be no doubt that the opportunity the Panama line affords of visiting America as well as England, at very much less cost than the mail steamers now oharge between Melbourne and Southampton, will be a great temptation to many. A more delightful trip we can hardly imagine than that upon which the_Kaikoura will set out in a few days.

Origin op Coal.— The Popular Science Review propounds the following new theory respecting the formation of coal — that coal, in faot, is formed from petroleum :— '! A new theory concerning the origin of coal, and of petroleum lias been put forward in America. Our reader* are aware that one of the more generally accepted theories of the origin of petroleum, supposes that substauco to be a product of the distillation of coal by means of the earth'B internal heat. The new hypothesis starts a proposition which is the reverse of this ; according to it, instead of petroleum being formed from coal, coal was formed from petroleum. It is well known that all organic substances which are not themselves volatile, such as wood and other vegetable matter, yield, when submitted to heat below red dulness, tarry oils having in all cases the general character of petroleum, and differing only according to the specific difference in tho materials from which they may have been obtained. Tho new theory supposes that the materials from which our local beds were formed, were converted, in the first instance, into such ' tarry oils,' and that these oils, under long-continued action of heat, lost nearly all their oxygen and the chief part of their hydrogen, the residuum gradually becoming ■olid. The ' pitch lake of Trinidad ' is referred to in support of this opinion. It is alleged that the theory of coal having been condensed from a liquid in the urns way a$ the aaphnlte of tho lake, accounts better than any other way for its purity, seeing that 1 all impure or foreign substances which did not decompose would most likely be of greater specific gravity than the oil, and would naturally sink to the bottom.' Tho high btate of preservation in which plants frequently occur in our coal-beds, and the fact of trees being found erect in them, are easily accounted for upon this theory. Trees grow on the hardened pitch of the Trinidad lake within a short distance of other pitch, which is in a state of ebullition, and one can readily conceive of the hardened pitch, in any similar case, being softened by an eruption of the boiling pitch, and of the trees growing on it being then engulfed, or of the lake overflowing its banks, and so submerging the adjacent vegetation. Tho new theory also furnishes an explanation of tho exceeding teuacity of some coal-seams, which thin out into mere films over extensive areas of solid rock, and might easily be caused by an oily liquid having overflowed the rock when at tho surface, and having, in progress of time, partly uraporuted and partly solidified. The shape and dimensions of many other coal seams arc equally consistent with tho idea of tho seams in question being the solid residuum of what once were lakes of oil, and, indeed the great majority of all coal formations are basin-shaped, ' with long and sloping sides, dipping down to a common and profound centre, a fact which certainly tells with great force in favour of the new hypothesis."