PANAMA STEAMERS.

New Zealander, Volume XVI, Issue 1486, 14 July 1860, Page 5

PANAMA STEAMERS.

Abo..* two months ago we directed attention to the alleged merits of a new improvement in the marine steam engine, patented by Mr. Rowan of Glasgow, and which promised to do great things ill the way of economising fuel, and thus overcoming the great difficulty that has existed in the way of making full-power steam navigation practicable and remunerative for long voyages. Mr Rowan’s patent had long attracted the attention of many persons interested in ocean steam navigation, and amongst others that of our townsman, Captain Eldred, who made a special voyage from Liverpool to Glasgow in the Thetis, a vessel fitted with the pew patent, for the express mirnose of watching the working of the machinery. Ho "was so thoroughly,satisfied with what he thus saw. that he sought an intervew with the patentee, ami' having more fully investigated the merits of t) ie patent, he drew the attention of the Australian Association to it, as to a matter of vast importance to the interests of these colonies. Captain Eldred ] ia s now returned to Sydney, in the capacity of fluent for Mr. Rowan, with a view of giving practical effect to the virtues of the patent, and that, too, in the direction most ardently desired hv the colonists, viz., the opening up a steam mail service to Panama. In another column will he found a letter from Captain Eldred explanatory 0 f the peculiarities of Rowan’s engine, and detailing the method by which the economy of

fuel is obtainable. _ The Parliament of this colony has already sanctioned a large annual outlay for the purpose of stimulating some Company to undertake the steam navigation of the Pacific from Port Jackson to Panama, but hitherto without effect, 'ihe heavy subsidies demanded by some of the companies have been justified on the ground ot the enormous cost of the fuel required for the service. Hour large a part this item plays in the estimates of expenditure is evident from the fact that it is a common calculation to reckon the cost of the fuel at one half of the gross outlay. To reduce this expenditure is to strike at the heart of the great difficulty, and this Rowan’s patent promises to do. Such a solution of the problem at the present time is especially welcome, when the prospects of a gpeady realisation of the Panama service are otherwise not very bright. Our special agent despatched to England had returned without having achieved any success. The home Government has hung up the whole question of contracts to be ventilated indefinitely by the House of Commons, the company that at present monopolises the mail service has taken advantage of the crisis to attempt to secure that monopoly more completely by a plausible but dangerous offer,and a member of our own Legislative Assembly Las, under the circumstances, succeeded in securing a division in the House, which for a moment seemed to indicate that public opinion in Sydney was getting dispondeut or vacillating At this juncture Captain Eldred comes opportunely to prove, by facts and figures, that with the aid of Rowan’s patent, the coaling difficulties of the Panama trip cun be eutirelv got over; and that, with the assistance of a subsidy such as this colony is willing to bestow, the enterprise may be placed upon a sound and remunerative footing. The colonists have had their share of troubles in ne"ociating with the English ocean mail companies. These corporations have proved sometimes slippery, sometimes exacting, and sometimes incompetent*. Captain Eldred’s proposal is to get over this difficulty once for all, by establishing a colonial company to do the work on our side of the isthmus. There is capital enough, and there ought to be enterprise enough. And if the undertaking can be shown by calculations that approve themselves to practical men to be sound, there ought to be no difficulty in gathering the capital together. Some of the money lying in the banks aUnterest at five per cent., might be very advantageously diverted to an employment which would yield a higher interest than that, which would add to the reputation of the colony, assert and secure its position as the naval metropolis of Australia, and develop its resources. Ihe subsidy, too, contributed by the colonists would then be spent in the colony, and our coal-fields and our ship yards would reap the benefit. ihe English companies naturally enough do their utmost to limit the colonial expenditure, and are too much bound up with English producing interests, to care to develop the resources of the colonial market..» Captain Eldred lias submitted to us an outline of the probable expenditure and receipts ot a company such ns he proposes to form. It does not lie in our line to offer an opinion of any value upon the accuracy of the items in this balance sheet, which wifi have to be scrutinised _ and tested by those whose occupation and experience fits them for criticising them ; hut, as compared with othes similar estimates that we have seen compiled bv quite different authorities, it seems to he fair and by.no means over sanguine. The whole calculation is of course based on the successful working ot Rowan’s patent; and this, though never yet put to the test of a long sea voyage, has bad a continuous of equivalent value in repeated short voyages without repairs, so that it is no longer a theory that we have to deal with. It is proposed to have specially built four steamers, of fifteen hundred tons each ; and, when fitted with Rowan’s patent, these vessels will not only be able to dispense with coaling station at Tahiti, or any other island in mid-ocean, but they will be able to take from Port Jackson coal enough to carry them all the way’ to 1 anama and back? The patentee will guarantee this. The calculation is that seventy-live days’ running will not consume more than nine hundred and eighty tons of coal; and, except in singular adverse weather, there will not be seventy-five steaming days in the trip to Panama and back. The heavy expense, therefore, ot buying coal in foreign ports, or shipping them there, will be avoided, while the vessels being able to steam the whole distance at full power will be a guarantee of speed and punctuality. Rowan’s patent promises to revolutionise ocean travel, and to no part of the world will it yield greater advantages tuan to Australia, which is separated by wide oceans from all the great centres ot civilization, population, and commerce. We hope Captain Eldred’s scheme will succeed. At any rate, it deserves to succeed, and it is for the interest ot ie colony that it should succeed.— Sydney Heraid, Jnne fi.

Death or M. Jullien.— It is with regret that we record the death of M. Jullien, in the neighbourhood of Paris. For some weeks past the exertion and anxiety consequent on the getting up of a new series of concerts, upon which he calculated establishing in the French capital the high reputation he had gained in tho course twenty years in England, was too much lor a temperament at all times keenly sensitive an excitable, and loss of reason was the result. On Sunday week, M. Jullieu s first concert was to be given, and the greatest curiosity and interest preailcd throughout Paris. l ie first conceit was never destined to take place. Two days previously M. Jullien was conveyed to a private lunatic asylum, having exhibited the worst phases o madness, and his medical attendants entertained no hope whatever of a speedy cuie. . . not ascertained particulars ot his demise lurt iei than that, in consequence of some scveie c - ot antiphlogistic treatment, the caug severe cold which fastened on his lungs, and tu SSt'iSmhation. M. Julliert reason rcti.rneti l.ouvs prsrluu, to decease, amUi« passed away in perfect consciousness ot what vvas Using. around. Tho subscription which was adevtised, and which in a few days amounted to a tinsideniblo sum, will, no doubt, be appropriated . his widow and family, and to the expenses a - tending his sickness and death. Shut M. Jullien’s last words related to JJ" which he had not long since composed, and call a Napoleonienne, from its being m honour ot the Emperor of the French. “ Let it be sent, aid, “ to his Majesty. It will, perhaps, pifJJ 1 * bread fur my poor wife.- »i- JulUua r ias Vr£ , widow and two adopted children, one ot whom, i fine young man of two-and-twenty, engagedd im self some months back in a French I nca regiment, in order not to be a burden on M Jullien in his misfortunes. Ihe othei, OJ lives with Mine. Jullien, and is, like the vudov

totally unprovided for.—Jullien "was first noticed by the public as leader of the concerts at the “ Jaidin lure,” at Paris, since built over. A five-story house now stands where he once stood, as we have also so often seen him in London, with primrose gloves and shirt-cuffs turned up to the elbow, wielding the sceptre of king of the orchestra. It was during his reign at the “ Jardin Ture” that, according to M. Lccomte, the following accident happened to him :—“ lie had an extraordinary duel, unprecedented save amongst Ariosto’s fabulous heroes. One of his musicians, who had been a fencing-inaster in a regiment, had a dispute with him, and sent him a challenge. Jullien asked a week to prepare for the duel, mid his request was granted. At the end of that time the encounter took place with swords, and he received a furious thrust, which ran him through the body, the hilt of the weapon actually resting upon the wound, and his antagonist having naturally let go his sword, Jullien rushed upon him, and in his turn dealt him a desperate blow ; after which, having thus revenged himself, he remained erect, with a sword sticking out of his hack ! Nobody daring to withdraw it, he himself had the energy to pluck it from the wound, it had made itself a passage which, wonderful to relate, interfered with none of the organs essential to life. A month afterwards, Jullien had resumed his baton and his primrose gloves, and, palid and in elegiac attitudes, he once more presided ove.i (hose concerts to which the fame of his adventure now attracted all Paris. The circumstances

which decided him to quit Paris were, like everything in his life, singular and out of the common way. Having some cause of complaint against the authorities, he revenged himself by the composition of an odd posting-hill, in which a combination of letters, put in larger type than the others, formed, when seen at a distance, words offensive’to the police. Ho had to run for it, and then it was he went to England.” IVcolomxni’sEakf.well is Dublin. —On Saturday last, Maddlle. Piccolomini took her farewell of her Irish friends. At the close of the “Traviata” she was called forth repeatedly, till at length, yielding apparently to the expectation of the audience, she advanced with obvious diffidence, and spoke with a charming accent, and in a manner' full of feeling:—“My kind Irish friends, let me thank you in my very bad English. I now return to my homo—to my native Italy. There other claims and duties call me. I shall never stand on this stage before you again. 1 must tell you now how grateful I am to the Irish. How dear to me is Ireland ! How much 1 thank you all for your kindness —so much greater than I have deserved ! 1 wish you all happiness. In Italy I shall never forget you. I cannot say more; but my heart is full. My kind friends, farewell!” —This little speech was naturally received with the greatest enthusiasm, and was interrupted by the loudest applause, and by a variety of exclamations from the “gods,” as well-meant as amusing. After the performance a large crowd awaited her exit from the theatre, and renewed their applause. Immense numbers escorted her carriage to the Gresham Hotel, and would not ho satisfied till she once more appeared on the balcony and again spoke a few words at parting.— Daily Express. Hytue School of Musketuy. —A visit to the above interesting establishment just now gives one a curious notion of how the British army is composed ; for, among the detachments who have arrived here for the purposed commencing the spring course of instruction, will ho found some from the regiments ot Guards, a sprinkling ot the Line, Zouaves of the West India regiments, soldiers of the East Indian army, cavalry from the Canterbury depot, and an endless variety of militia regiments. Platoon parade on the barrack green shows a curious conglomeration, if one may use the term, here a full-blooded negro, black as ink, in the undress uniform of a sexjeant-major of an infantry regiment, drilling a squad of negro and half-cast non-commissioned officers belonging to the West India regiments, in the picturesque dress recently adopted tor those regiments, being somewhat after the fashion of the Zouave costume of the French army; whilst next them we find a squad of the East Indian Army, sturdy, short fellows, of about an average height ol oft. Gin, Glance further along the parade, and the eye is attracted fi}' a line of stalwart fellows in a higli state of drill, a kind of dark green rille uniform, with black belts, averaging about sft. Him; inquire what regiment they belong to and you are told that they are a detachment ot Irish constabulary force, sent here for instruction. And then comes a line of volunteers, in all sorts of medley uniforms, with some in no uniforms at all, but dressed in their ordinary costume; all hard at work, not a word spoken but a short quick word of command from the instructors,

“ prepare to load,” —in four, six, or some other number of motions, —“ fire a volley, rear rank standing,” at five, three, or two hundred yards; and so on. Altogether the school deserves a visit from any wayfarers in search ot the picturesque. —Army and Nary Gazette. The Paper Difficulty.— How far it may pay to grow crops in this country expressly lor the paper mill no one can tell without a Perhaps not on good land; but on poor land it may be and on waste land must be otherwise. There are mallows, nettles, and Jerusalem antichokes; hops, Hags, and sedges, furze, and broom ; all worth a trial. We would strongly advise our country friends to see what can be made of some of these plants. A quarter of an acre would be sufficient fora trial. They should take care that the crop is cut before the stems begin to die—not much sooner, not at all later—because at the time when growth is ceasing fibre is most abundant, and at its greatest toughness; afterwards it is very likely to become brittle. Such trials would be easily conducted by intelligent gardeners whose employers have a little land to spare. Of course, they should keep an exact account of their expenses, and of the weight of fibre obtained, the market value of which will he easily ascertained when the fibre is prepared. That by some ot the means we have indicated plenty of good paper material may be procured wo cannot doubt; for we do not believe that, as a correspondent remarks, it will be for ever a condition precedent that mankind must first wear out shirts before they can have bihles .—Gardeners' Chronicle. The Irish Church.— The deanery of Kilmore, vacated by the death of Lord Fitzgerald and Vesay, has been conferred by Lord Carlisle upon tiie Rev. Dr. Carson, rector of doom ilis Lxcellency has nominated the Rev. Frederick 1 itzpatrick, son-in-law of the Marquis ot lleadfort, to the valuable living of Cloon, vacant by the promotion of the Rev. Dr. Carson. Ilis Lxcellency has also nominated the Rev. Mr. Drougham to the living of Templeport, vacant by the promotion of the Rev. 1* rederick 1' itzpatrick.