, 1854-11-18

in the coastlng trade, and of course all
vessels are always insured, either by the
owners or organized companies. And no
mercantile man will pretend that the Co
lumbia river and its bar is either good or
safe navigation. The large amount of life
and property lost going into or out of the
river, shows the character of the naviga-
tion. The insurance offices at the east un-
dcrstand this matter. There is now a fine
clipper built at the east, expressly for our
lumber trade, and she is on her first voyage
around the Horn. She is insured by the
year for the Pacific coasting trade, and by
the express terms of her policy, can go
anywhere on the Pacific coast erceptiag
only the Columbia rirer. There is no har-
Dor worthy the name, from Cape Flattery
to San Francisco; none much better than
the Columbia river none where mills are
located that are of good and safe entrance
and departure. The mill owners in Hum
boldt Bay find it necessary to support a
steam tug boat, expressly to tow their own
lumber vessels in and out of their harbor
And where shall we add the expense of
running these steam tugs, and the towage
on the Columbia river 7 Shall we add it
to the cost of making lumber, or to the
freight of itH Just which, you please, gen.
tlemen, as the accommodating Snowman
said, but figure it in some where, and it
must add just so much to the cost of deliv-
ering lumber in the market These ex-
penses of extra insurance and towage, re-
sulting from difficult and unsafe navigation,
will always give good advantage to the
lumbering interests of the Puget Sound
country, and will very nearly, if not quite,
overcome the difference in the price Of lum-
Der freights from their mills and from ours,
to market.
These considerations lead us in the next
place to examine the kind and quality Of
the various kinds Of lumber in the San
Francisco and other markets. Generally
speaking, the Washington and Oregon
lumber is very much alike; q considerable
quantity Of white FIR lumber, however, goes
down the Columbia river, whereas none
goes out Of the Straits Of San Juan de
Fuca. But this is not the case with the
coast mills south Of the Columbia-their
lumber Is either red wood, white FIR or a
kind Of spruce 49,
And herein consists our great advantage;
recollect have shown that their lumber
costs as much in market as ours, but our
lumber is north more in the markd than
thGrs; ours is Of red and yellow FIR Of best
quality, clear, strong, stiff aud durable in
all situations; theirs is either white FIR, red
wood, or a kind Of SPRUCE, never good or
durable in damp situations, and never as
good as ours for any purpose. Our lum-
Der is the best in the world for wharves,
planking streets, and general building pur-
poses-theirs, is good for neither Of these
uses, and only used for particular building
and few other purposes at diminished
prios.
am aware that the lumber prophets
have told us for three long years, that the
mountains of Oregon and California would
groan and bring forth multitude of sugar
and pumpkin pine boards TO our serious In
jury, and the utter humiliation Of the
down east trade around the Horn. Why
don't they do itl Because il cont pay
But will not our Puget Sound cedar
lumber sell for finishing purposes in the
San Francisco and other marketsY The
question is yet unanswered, because un-
tried. .....
But after all, the most important ques-
ton for US to ask is this Shall zoe find
a narkst for our satocd lumber at remunsra-
tirs prices That is the question.
My present purpose is not to go into an
elaborate exposition Of the whole numbering
interest of the entire Pacific coast. / have
said nothing about hewn timber, piles or
spars; / reserve those subjects for another
communication. sg D.. .,,a 4r Hi 3. .
Ny intention is rather to provoke inqul-
ry, that thereby we may elicit the truth,
and l believe when we look at the whole
question in all its phases, we shall find our
selves, as to the lumber trade, standing in
the same relation to the Pacific as the
State Of Maine does to the Atlantic coast
We are all apt to look on San Francisco
as the only market in the western world
a compercial sun, around which all the
satellites Of Dicker must revolve. We look
upon it as created at once by some power