The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1852-03-23
How the South lost her Direct Foreign
& Trade?

Maury, in the following. extract from
u. magnificent. article OF his which lately
appeared in the Southern Literary
Messenger The extract is one ofnot
d little historical interest:
The course of.pavigation from Eu-
rope to this country used to be down
along the coast of Africa, to the region
of the NJ. f. trade winds. There
winds are fair winds for getting to
tile westward. Ships took them, and
with them ran over, falling in with the
southern epast first, and making the
land Of Charleston, Or the capes Of the
Cardinals, ,aE; Of 5Nirgipia, they would
then take fresh departure for New
York, Boston, or their port of dcs-
tination, wherever it was among the
New England States:
: This made of Charleston and Nor
folk, a3 SORT ofyeiaY station, and placed
them. on tic Way:slde ofthe commercial
highways leading from Old to New
England:
;, It was rarely tlrat vessels were
found in those days to sail more than
four or five knots under the most fav-
orablc {. circumstances. About two
miles the four was the average rate Of
speed for, merchantmen in those
days. 1t was not SO fast as the
gulf stream would carry log.
Il Along the route now pursued by
vessels bound from Liverpool to New
York, the winds are adverse and the
gulf stream has to be stemmed nearly
all tho way. The merchantmen of the
last century was incapable Of beating
up against the wind and tile both; con-
srqnently the northern passage was
closed to them and the usual route
Was to follow the track of Columbus;
pass through the Sargasso Sea, catch
the N. L. trades, and getting OH the
parellel of some southern port in Am
erica, to steer due west they madc
tile land. r:':.E
'aslf che ;nercllantmeh ofthat day after,
,thus.maAihg her land f;,ll-ascert;,ining
hef.p position and keeping away from,
her port, met a n. W. gale or SNOW
storm; as ilEwihter, ,shc was very apt
70 do" off NeW, York or Boston, her
course. was to run back south, and to
lay in Charleston until the next spring
waiting for good weather, ara IL fair
sapportnnity. for going northward ugaiu.
Though. the existence of the gulf
stream'was known more than two cen
turies ago, the fact that its waters
were warmer than those OF the sea
along side Of it, and the idea that this
difference of temperature could be
made available for longitude at sea,
was not promulgated to navigators
Until. 1867.
This; is an epoch in navigation,
and from it commences an era in
the course of trade, between the
.old.world, and the new.
In those days if the mariner at sea
could lay his ,out-sprcad hand down
upon his chart, and say thut it Ger.
tainly covered the place Of his ship
Ne was called ''lucky dog and ell
titled to be considered II navigator.
=, Snth was the course of navigation,
such the difficulties in the way ot'tradc
.prGss the Atlantic prior to 1896, that
Charleston and. Norfolk, of necessity,
became the halfway houses, the great
cntrepots Of traffic, the points Of COM
munication between Europe and the
colonies.
. From 117G dates new era in the
political affairs Of this comtry-and
from l796--twcnty years aftcr-and
SO on at intervals oftwenty years dates
regularly a new era in tho affairs of
, commerce and navigation.
Z. Then in 0G-it was made known
to navigators how, by dipping Il thor.
mometer into the water as they ap-
preached our shores, they might tell
whether they were in or out of the
gulf stream-whcther they were on
this or that side of it, and consequently
known their longitude. This was a
discovery. 1t was hailed as such by
the whole sea-faring community.
Works were written on "1hernnl
Navigation;" and the streaks of hot and
cold water in and near the gulf
stream were likcncd to blue and red
ribbons, which Providence had stretch
ed upon the green bosom Of the At
lantic, to warn the navigators of his
approach to our shores, and tell him
his longitude. Here was removed
.one great obstacle to the Northern
Passage. ".,
Again, grcatr improvements in naval
architecture took place about that
time! The keels of the fastest ships
that we, have in our navy at this
day were laid then. This removed
the other difficulty.
These discoveries and ndimprovcmcnt
enabled ships bound from Europe to
..the coast of, the United
States with the gulf stream for n
'bcacon and they, moreover, enabled
merchantmen, by being swift of
foot,i to turn to the windward better,
aad consequently to beat over from
Europe against the gulf stream and the
prevailing westerly winds OF the direct
route.
Thus Traders began to come direct
to onr Northern ports, instead of
first touching at the Southern for