AMERICA AND AUSTRALIA.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1215, 20 January 1886, Page 5

AMERICA AND AUSTRALIA.

The mail steamer Alameda made an excursion trip from Sydney to Port Jackson Heads on tbe 23rd ult, when there was a large and influential company on board, including Captain Webber, of the Zealandia. In responding to the toast of " The President of the United States/ 1 Consul Griffin thanked Sir Patrick Jennings in the most cordial manner on behalf of his countrymen for the eloquent tribute of praise he had paid to the American President and the American nation. He (Mr Griffin) felt highly grateful at the compliment paid to the ship ; but he was not quite sure that Sir Patrick Jennings was right in saying that the Americans knew best how to take care of themselves, for he did not think the Americans had shown good judgment in their conduct of foreign commerce, especially when be remembered that at one time America had the largest shipping interest in the world, which was not the case now. He rejoiced to see that the Union Company had chartered at least one of tbe American vessels, and that she had made tbe quickest passage on record between San Francisco and the Australian shores, That showed that the Americans knew how to build ships. (Laughter and cheers.) With regard to Australasia — and ho was delighted that Sir Patrick Jennings bad poioted out tbe necessity of taking steps towards cultivating commercial relations — he was amazed at the progress it had made. He believed Australia was a richer country than hie own. An eminent statistician in England had fixed the earnings of the Australians as high as 80 per cent, or 12 per cent higher than those of Great Britain. In a later paper, however, the figures bad been reduced to 70 per cent ; but the chief of the Bureau of Statistics at Washington has fixed it at 77 per rent. These are gratifying results for the Australians and "their children, and he stood amazed when he thought of their brilliant future. He desired to see an amalgamation of the great AngloSaxon people — to see them standing shoulder to shoulder, confronting (if need be) the world in arms — (Cheers.