Liverpool and the Atlantic Liners.

Progress, 1 October 1908, Page 426

Liverpool and the Atlantic Liners.

"The renewed reports of a proposed transference of the Cuuard Company's mail steamers from the Mersey to the English Channel may or may not be correct, but sooner or later such a step seems inevitable." sa>s the Manchester Guardian. ""When it comes it am 11 be a serious loss to Liverpool, which has made gallant efforts to overcome natural obstacles and improve natural advantages But it is hopeless to fight against geography " One must remember that this comes from Manchester, a place which can afford to be sorry for Liverpool At the same time it is hard to fight against geography Liverpool did overcome geography by dredges and docks, but geography has formidable allies in the growing numbers of the mammoth steamships of our time

A- a lesult of long experiments made m Sicily,, the Ttalian Ministry of Agriculture has been ad- \ ise<l that rubber trees can be successfully eulti- \ ated in that part of Italy. The rubber secured from the experimental trees lias been carefully tested bv a Milan manufacturer, and ha-- proved to be of good quality. The official report declares that conditions ot soil and temperatuie aie equal m Sicily to those in the best mbbei laising eouutiies. It i< estimated that ten year 5 ! of preliminary cultivation is necessaiy theie to biing tiees to profitable productiveness, and as it is impossible for the country to tide o\er such a period, the assistance of the Government has been asked and isbeing eonsideied. As the proposition lias leached the Ministiv, it is said to contemplate the fieeGovernment distribution ot young trees and money awaids foi successful cultivators. The peti oleum reseivons of the distiiet of Constanza, Koumanni, during 1907 took care of 460,900 tons of petroleum. The quantity exported by the tank steamships represented a value of $63,000. Important improvements aie in progress at the peti oleum station, and it is estimated that ■within a shoit time the poit of Coustanza will be <il»le to expoit 1,000,000 tons of peti oleum per annum. The French automobile exports during the first five months of the year were valued at 53.691,000 fiancs, as compard with 71,099,000 francs for the hist five months of 1907. Only Russia, Turkey and Algiers increased their imports during this, period, all other countries showing a decline. The decline in the total expoits foi May amounted toabout 7,000,000 francs. A chauffeur in the employ of King Leopold of Belgium on Tune 19 was fined £22 for having knocked down and injuied a bicyclist. King Leopold was cited to appeal in the case, but he pleaded diplomatic immunity. The summons for him was subsequently withdrawn. According to the last Belgian automobile census, theie were in that country on December 31, 1907, 3262 automobiles, or 311 more than one year before. Theie were also 4,002 motorcycles. 213 less than the year before.