The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-01-08
From the London Times, Dec. 9.
The American and British Steamers.

The United States mail steamer Frapkiin) of the
Nh, yorl, a,,l Have l,,l I. ,.x nor,a IN ,rr;,. n
80 Al ,'t ~ ,1,, ;,Il,art 80 Sh 80 80 i,'a
N,,v Ynrl on thc 5ib Tbe American steamer
Wasbin rton Contain Flovd. will reach Southarnn
ton on the I7th, from Bremen in order to depart
bence for New Yorls IN The 90h na,ant Our mi
yate av;cea from, Have 6,rno ma th.t ,bc cnnne
tit;on hetwcen The Rr;t;sh and American mail
stoa,nors far the carry;pg of Ercnch Yncrcb,nd;se
nv the Tnited St,te. 10 int hee;nn;nr 10 JeyeJone
itself in e,rnest Till The rcneaI of The English
nav;g,t;on aus and tho rec;nrccal relief ,fForded
Inv Britiah shins by the Goyernment. Of the United
States il will be recollected that A.c Americ IN
steamers from SOUTHAMPTON had a complete mo-
nopolv of conveying foreign Goods to New York:
and that in CONSEQUENCE vast Quantities of goods
of the most valuable character were sent 10
Southampton for transhipment by the Paris Ly-
ons and other continental merchants In JanI-
ary last the privilege of landing such merchan-
disc in the United States was thrown open TO Bri-
tish vessels and the North American Royal Mail
Com many Immediately preparcd To avail itself of
this important trade by putting on line of steam
ships between Liverpool and Havre iii conuncl ton
with their transatlantic packets The effect Of this
was not TO decrease the quantity Of goods cent to
SOUTHAMPTON for transit 10 America by the United
States steamers but rather To increase and extend
the trade itself as one mer taking advantag gre
of the rapidity and certainty afforded by steam
conv vance, forced many others TO resort to the
same method of getting goods to market in or
der to compete with their more cnterprising
ncighbors. Such was the position of the matter
till very recently, when another and formidable
CumpetitOr appea red the field the shape
of a direct line of American steamers be-
tween IIavre and New York. Hitherto immense
rates of freight have been paid by the French
shippers and & 40 per ton OF 40 cubic feet with
per cent primage equal 10 nearly rs los per
ton were chcerfuIly given for the CONVEYANCE
of goods sent from Havre via Southampton to
New York The Cunard Company also charged
the same rates for goods sent from Havre via Lv-
erpool Now however that the British Ste .rn
Company has to enter the lists with two American
lines of steamers viz: the SOUTHAMPTON and New
York line and the Havre and New York line the
ships of the latter having great capacity for stow
age and being almost If not quite equal in speed
to the best OF the British steamers the Cunard Com
pany are apparently determined to inonopolize the
der IT unprofitable To the Americans This com.
pnny accordingly lowered it's rate of freight first
| from 4 40 10 $50, and recently TO s 10 per ton,
with per cent prinage, equal to 60 As. sterling;
this charge 10 include freight by steam TO Havre
for LIVERPOOL trans shipmcn mt at tIat port and de
livery in New York A steamer runs eyery week
| between Liverpool and Havre for the special
conveyance of this merchandise, and as the ex-
| pense of goods transferred by steam from Havre
| 10 the Mersey can hardly be estimated at less
! than G2 a ton, the reduction virtually amounts
10 the free conv vance Of French merchandise from
| Iiyerpool To New York While this neck. and
| neck compe tition ia going on there il u strange
anomaly that the freight upon British goods from
| Liverpool ia charged at = 30, or say 81 per ton
and Manchester shipper sending British goods by
the Cunard steamers pays A. a ton more freight
to New York. Supposng t2 to be the cost OF
freight by steam from Liverpool to Havre, and if
two or three days were no object, British goods
could be sent from Liverpool TO France, thence re-
turned to Liverpool, and transhipped for New
York, the merchant saving III ton upon the
freight charged, if he were To ship direct from his
own door. Notwithstanding the competition of the
New York Company, the American packets will
not lower their freights below $50, Ms they affirm
that if British steamers choose convey goods for