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New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6400, 23 May 1882, Page 4

"While we ai*e intelligently endeavouring to damage the waters of Our port, ; and (see the Engineer's statement at the' i Harbour Board meeting on Wednesday) witk continued success,, it may be interesting to observe by recent news .from England how astonishing is the, progress which is being made in the number and power of ships, with a view ; to the extension of trade in general and especially of trade with these colonies and other parts of tho Pacific. Wβ- were Si ware that of late an extra- ' ordinary amount of work was going on in the British shipyai'ds, and we find it now definitely stated that last year alone steamships were built to the registered extent of one million tons, at an outlay, in round numbers of £20,000,000"; and that this steani shipping, built during the year, .amounts; to one-seventh of the - tonnage of all vessels- both sailing and steam, which were employed during the previous year in British trade, both home .and foreign. It is further stated; that of this vast quantity of steam ■ shipping built last year!, about one-half of it is to be employed in the trade with the Australasian colonies and the East. When we hear of this immense increase of steam shipping, and what a share of it is designed for the trade with these colonies, we must also bear in mind how great are the improvements effected in the steam vessel within these forty years—in its size, power, npeed, and economy of fuel. In IS4O, the average speed of ocean steamers was slightly ovei v 8 knots an hour; it already averages on some lines nearly double that —between 15 and 16 knots ; at the same time, the consumption of coal per horse power has diminished about sixty per cent. But we see that, in America further extraordinary improvements are contemplated. At present, the voyage between England and America occupies nine days, and on one occasion at least, it was done in eight and a-half. But now they talk in JS r ew York of building a line capable of doing the same distance in six days : and to do it in five and a half—as hours count for so much in these fast times—they propose to run it. not to Liverpool, but to Milford Haven, as 200 inile3 nearer London. Each of these ships—to be called the "American Express Line " —will cost from one million to a million and a quarter dollars, and will accommodate 500 passengers. Simultaneously with this New York project, we find that "The Quick Transit Steamship Company^ , of Boston are building a ressel which the inventor (Captain Moreland) believes will revolutionise the construction and .speed of steamers, and indeed, if it should prove successful, it is likely to have that effect. The account says, " She is of wood, with a turtle back deck, no masts, and nothing on deck except a pilot-house, ventilators, and the smoke-pipe. She will have three screws, the main one of four blades and of such pitch as to-be capable of a speed of thirty knots an hour." Tin's vessel is to be called the Meteor. Her engines, boiler, and machinery, are on new designs, and " capable of developing enormous power." Even if these particular projects should not happen to succeed, others will probably take their place. The restless science of the clay forbids standing still, and each great improvement is mere footing for a further stride forward. As for what will come about from tlie use of electricity as a motive power--a thing now quite certain after a while—there is really no forecasting the changes in navigation or other matters. Coal is a very bulky and expensive article, and as it is only found in certain places, supplies .have to be stored in depots scattered over the ocean. Then, as the consumption advances at such a rate, there

have been" theL gravest "apprehensions'] thftt some da.7 th'e "supply' rcoulcl not fail to run short in the most important quarters. "We see by a paragraph in the Times that the "output" of coal in the United Kingdom was seven million tons more in 1881 than in 18S0. According to the statistics compiled by M. Ville'rmin, the world's coal production increased from 104 million tons in 1855 to 294 millions in 1880—that is, the quantity was nearly trebled in the twenty-five years. As for the expense, taking the value in Great Britain at 6s 9d the ton, and in other countries at 10s sd, he estimates the value o£ all the coal raised in 1880 at over £108,000,000. But these figures have to be at least doubled by the price of transport, profits, and sundry expenses, and so he sets down the total cost of the coal consumed in the world in that year at £216,000,000. By considering these things we have a conception of the new facilities to be afforded for navigation -whenever steam should give place to another motive pcrwor, of which the supply would be inexhaustible, handy, and comparatively inexpensive. And, according to the facts which we lately put before the reader in these columns, no doubt is now entertained afe the headquarters of science that a revolution in the means of locomotion, as in divers other great matters, is certain to come about through the newly discovered powers of electricity. It may or may not be soon, but in these clayp, when the way is seen, change marches fast. The effect on navigation and commerce from the employment in. this manner of electricity still lies in the future. It may be a few or many years off. But we have not to wait for it to see wonderful change's. The others we have referred to, which are already proceeding, are of intimate consequence for us in Auckland. The gigantic exertions now afoot to enlarge commerce by more rapid voyages ; tlie. how general substitution for canvas of steam as at present the chief motive power;"the extraordinary, number of, great steam vessels now preparing in Great Britain, and of which so large anumber are designed for trade with these colonies; the remarkable enlarge-, ment of \he size and speed of ships ivith the experiments to further quicken their present great swiftness ■; and last, not least, the international convenience of the, Panama Canal, when our port will be the first port of call on the great highway from the Canal southwards. With a grand harbour to back her geographical positioH, Nature has cast Auckland in the gangway to catch that coming tide of shipping and trade, itfo opportunity, no prospects were ever more plainly marked out. But Nature only offers opportunities. It is for man to use or misuse them. Our advantage . here is not in the position alone. As compared with the other eastern New Zealand ports our superiority is the harbour, unlike what any one of them possesses. Yet, curious to say, all sorts of tricks are being played with the harbour. Here is the latest announcement from the Harbour Engineer:— The Engineer said that since he had last reported on this subject the silting up in front of the main server had been very rapid; that the sewer bank had extended from 150 to 160 feet, and that the city should be requested to prevent solid matter being carried with the sewage. And if the sewers already do so much mischief, how will it be when they are complete and in full force?