Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-06-26
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP

anxiety displayed by the New York city press,
amounting to intense jealousy, concerning the
solution of the problem where the Great East
ern's route shall terminate on this side of the
Atlantic. Our subsequent newspaper reading
has brought to our notice the fact that there
now exists great alarm among the business men
of the North, Including New York. least the
rapid changes of trade may ruin nearly all the
ship owners of the United States. The New
York Times tells the tale briefly and succintly,
and we accordingly quote below so much of its
article on the subject as may be necessary to
enable the Stars readers to comprehend the
condition and prospects of the American navi-
CATION interest. Unfortunately for the general
interests of the country, the improvements and
changes therein referred to cannot so soon work
advantageously In our cOastwise commerce, be-
cause the owners Of the behind lineage vessels
ENJOY monopoly of it under the existing navi-
CATION laws of the United States, which prevent
the foreigner from competing for it, though he
may stand ready through his employment Of
improved ships, to transport the freight for half
the price and in half the time.
The Times, from which we quote, 1t will be
recollected was not long since a protectionist
print. We hail its evident comprehension of
the truths of the free trade theory with great
pleasure, because it is now so conducted as to
give 1T widespread influence We commend to
the reader whose affections still linger around
the exploded doctrine of protection, its ire
fragibe facts, which show that doctrine to be in
these times but clog to the desirable progress
OF the State or interest that continues to cling
n In fhn .c L..
Times Tor which We have no room just now, it
is shown that English iron screw propellers are
rapidly driving off the ocean every other de-
scription of burden ships-so rapidly as to make
it probable that by the end of the present CEN
tury the carrying trade of the whole world will
be done in iron vessels worked by steam-and
that wooden merchant ship navigated by sails,
will be thing unknown to the generation Of
that day. Quite as strange changes have al
ready occurred in man s methods and modes. as
will be realized on rejecting that railroads have
come to their present condition of perfection
and universal application in very little more
than half the time to elapse ere 1900 rolls
around. There are now, by the by, so iron
screw propellers on the stocks in England and
not one in the United States. But the Times
says In THIS connection:
"Among the fercest opponents of the F rec. Trade
England, were the ship builders and shipowners
OF London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Belfast Sun
oeriand and Newcastle Many of the most i'm
portant OF the boroughs sided in the strugole
with the landed interest If the cbeaplv con
structed vessels of the Baltic and the fast SAILING
clippers of America Were to be .imDorted,, for
sale, they declared it would be a death blow to
the ship-building trade in England, and what
guarantee would she then have for her boosted
mastery Of the sea! English ships would not
sell in the market for the value of the materials
OF which they were built, and the sun Of England
whose disappearance from the political horizon
had been SO often falsely prophesied would
really and truly set for ever. The public
however, refused to recognize the right of the
nome snlp-oullders to d monopoly Of the dear
and slow craft. The interests OF the whole peo
pie were decided to be paramount to the interests
oil a class, and the Free Trade principle tri-
umPhed. There was panic at first but il soon
turned ont that in reality the public interest and
that Of the ship builders were identical If il
suited traveller better to make his voyage OF
merchant better to forward his cargo in month
than in six weeks, il assured suited shipowner
10 have the trip shortened, just as well as either
OF them. The voyage shortened, the expenses
are diminished, and the fare and freight increased
and returns quickened. The result of the aboli
non OF the navigation laws was accordingly the
importation Of large numbers of American clip
Pers and cheap Baltic craft, to carry on the Eng
hsh carrying trade. The most huniliating chap
ter In the whole history of Eng lish protection is
to be found in the prophecies Of ruin and disaster
which followed the change. No Vaccinations,
since augury first became a profession we're ever
so completely falsfed -
And not simply We're the prophets put to con-
fusion, but the fact was established beyond all
question or cavil. that any trade interest which
is OF suulclent importance to need protection has
vitality enough TO live without It, Protection
was demanded for the English farmers. they
have not only survived its overthrow but flourish
without it. Protection was maintained for the
benefit of the British shipping int est Int no
sooner was II Withdrawn than the shi builders
proved What they could do, ii put On their met
Tie. They built as fast clippers AS ourselves, and
succeeded in the face Of free competition IN keep
ing the bulk of the China trade to themselves
Al the same time the Colonial shipwrig hts woke
up as we'll. With abundance of timber and
youthful enterprise and activity. the builders of
the 81. Lawrence and the Bay Of Fundy had an.
nualy sent fleet of both large and small vessels
for sale to the mother country. But they had then
only the oId-fdshioned, Oak-l uilt craft of the
English builders 10 compete with, and the com
bination of the old heavy model with the new
light wood produced but poor result AS soon
a. the new regime bToug ht them into direct rival
ry with the United states, they found they would
either have to change their ways or starve; they
chose the former 10y
The general result is, that while the oak built
ships OF Great Britain are preferred by the rner-
chants OF the Old World for the more valuable
Eastern cargoes, the British colonial ship are
preferred by those who seek lightness and cheap
ness. But TO have the command of the market of
the world. shipowner cannot live i'm the limited
States if he does, he is confined in his choice To
American built ships We say this without i'm
,ne least intending to dePreciate the splendid
specimens of naval architecture which we pro-
duee. But we wish TO call attention to the fact
that while the British shipowner has the four
maTkets-his own, the colonial, the Baltic and
the American-to buy in, the American ship
owner has only ours. This, we must confess.
entails on our merchants very formidable dis
advantage in competing with their rivals in Lon
don and Liverpool, and is Of itself sufficient to
check our maritime progress, as compared with
that OF Great Britain.''
A CAT IN THE MEAL TUB.-The New York
Tribune after growing for years over the tar
diness with which Congress took measures to
secure overland communication between the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the country, has
suddenly turned against the law of the last
session to that end alleging as an excuse that
the Government here are seeking to make it
lnure especially to the benefit of the South.
W, in other words, it complains that its bread
IN no INIT A.