The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-08-16
the Steam Marine OF Great Britain.


We gave DAY or two since the names, ton
mage, horse power, lines of traffic and all other
interesting particulars Of the steam marine of
Great Britain engaged as contract packets in
the foreign and ocean mail service.
Any one who supposes that the list includes the
entire steam mercantile marine OF the British EN-.
pre- will have to revise bis opinion Many of the
largest ocean steamers, like the Himalaya, were
never surveyed for the mail service, and conse.
quently do not figure in the list Of mail steamers
The Himalaya is screw steamer of about 1000
tons burden, cor el32,000, was built for the
Peninsul@ and Oriental Steam Navigation Com
pany, and during the Crimean war transported
from Malta TO Varna 5000 men and 500 horses
OF single trip. The Great Eastern, not yet
finished, will soon a6d near 10000 tons to the
present steam feet by late official report we
learn that there are owned in the United
Kingdom 1869 steam vessels, being an
aggregate Of about 100000 tons or
theee are owned, or at lcast registered, in Lon
don 51i steamers with tonnage Of 1904
representing power Of 60,2.3 horses Liverpool
comes next in the list, owning ls4 vessels, of ST.
of 2O.7l5 tons; Newcastle o. of l2,lO6 tons;
Leith a., Of IL, ia5 tons; Dublin i5, OF lO,.S9
tons; and Shields l05-principaily small river
craft-of 6, $50 tons. Poor Bristol that set the
earliest example to oil Europe Of the fest sue
cessful trip across the Atlantic of European
steamer, owns sc steam vessels, OF an aggregate
capacity Of STAG tons-a tonnage but little more
xcc
or Adriatic. The modest port Of Dundee has
steamers, Of 2,469 tons. We do not find that
Plymouth, Dartmouth OF Southampton figure in
the list at all, or Cork, Belfast, Aberdeen or
Sunderland They seem TO be too Insignificant
10 chronicle. But wherever the steamers may
be owned or registered we bave seen that South
ampton has the bulk Of the business Of sending
of and receiving the large feet OF steamships
that convey her Msjcstys mails TO foreign coun-
tries Sixty ak vessels of an aggregate ton
mage Of 9l,699 tons, make nine departures
and nine arrivals monthly at Southampton.
The annual subsidies paid for the mail ser.
vice Of these steamers is bat one thousand
dollars short Of three millions and half.
But the palmy days OF large contracts for con-
veying the foreign mails Of the kingdom are gone
by Their steam fleet is 20 large, the competition
30 great and the improvements 10 screw vessels
70 pslpablc, that after the present contracts are
out there Is no chance that many Of them will
be renewed on anything like as favorable terms
o. the present Tho present contracts are all
terminable at six or twelve months notice, ex-
cept the Australian, the India and China, the
West Africa aud South Africa, the North Anne
ricsn and the West Indnn and Brazilian, and
these terminate 10 1862. The postal deficit. or
difference between the postal receipts md the
contract price, for the service amounts TO some
G32j 900 per annum, or q million and half of
our money. The report Of the Committee on
Contract Packets, after announcing this result
Of the mail service, says:-"Although this cirum-
stance shows the necessity for careful revision
OF the service, and although we believe that much
may be done TO make that service self
supporting. we do not consider that the money
thus expended is TO he regarded, even from ifs.
cal point of view, as national loss" That report
was made in 1853.
Since that time great changes have taken
place The Russian war has begun and ended,
and the mercantile steam feet OF the kingdom
has increased some forty per cent Nearly
one-baf Of the ocean steamers that touch
at Southampton are foreign vessels. Collins
sends half a. many steamers TO Liverpool as enter
there Of the Cunard line. The subsidy granted
TO THE, the pioneer line Of American steamships,
has been cut down more than one half. The
Canadian government has made a contract for
$4,000 year to run line from Liverpool 10