TO BRITAIN VIA RUSSIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XI, Issue 3996, 2 September 1874, Page 5 (Supplement)

TO BRITAIN VIA RUSSIA.

The Olago Guardian, in a recent issue, says-: —Probably the moat important of all the tems of intelligence brought to New Zealand >y the Cyplirenes relates to Russia, a country wth which we are not offceD brought into 'ery close contact. It appears that the iussians, like other European nations, have ound that there are certain results which .re only to be attained through united ifforts. They have, in short, found that a ociety may do what individuals would be mwerless to accomplish. The particular >ody in whose operations we are at present nterested is called the Society of Manufacures and Trade. This body appointed a pecial Commission, who have favorably re>ortcd on the proposal to construct a line of ail way from Europe to China. The route idopted would be through Siberia. The Chinese terminus of the line would be Pekin. This line, we arc told, and the branch lines belonging to it, would, in parts, go through ;hickly peopled districts, and would, moreover, open up a large extent of pastoral country and bring these districts into direct communication with commercial centres, Few «f our readers probably will see at once how we are particularly interested in this proposal. A little consideration, however, or, at all events, a glance at a terrestial globe, will shew that a line from London through St. Petersburg, thence continued towards the mouth of the Obi ; through Siberia, then going south through Mongolia to Pekin, and lastly from the mouth of the Pehio across to Japan, and running thence to Auckland ; — it will be found, we say, that such a line -will not differ from the arcof a great eircleso much as do the lines described by those other routes which are at present being made use of. That is to say, this would be the shortest rout from New Zealand to England. But its shortness is by no means its principal advantage. If this railway can be made, it is evident that a very large portion of the journey will be able to be made by land. On the whole, speaking roughly and without having made any very elaborate calculations, it seems to us that this route should place Auckland within about 40 days of (London. By no means the least important of the circumstances, which will probably make thin the most eligible mail route to England, the following is worth considering : A very large and profitable trade with China and Japan might be carried 011 by this colony, if it were not that these two countries were at so great a distance from us that freights of al kinds are necessarily very high. If, how-1 ever, trade with these countries could be made merely subsidiary and subordinate to a mail service, it might be possible to have freights so much reduced that't would then be possible to carry many - deles between the countries which would not at present bear the high charges for transport. Our readers need not think that a very great time must elapse before the railway in question can be constructed. Russia is not a nation to flag in the prosecution of a scheme that she has fairly set herself to carry out. And we should not be at all suprised to find that in five years from the present time it may be possible to travel from Dunedin to I London, via Pekin and St. Petersburg, at a rapid rate, and at a reasonable expense.