The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-06-27

got to come in collision with these very liberal
Mexican authorities, the sooner the better
Despite the bad legislation of Congress our
commerce, at which such staggering blows
have been levelled, appears to be creeping up
ward. The returns for the first quarter Of 1867
show the value Of the imported cargoes at this
port to have been, in American vessels,
$50, 302,574; foreign essels, $93,783,S79. For
the first quarter of 1866 the imports in Ameri-
can vessels were $3O,745,607; foreign vessels,
Sl22, 002,4 AS. These figures show that in 1866
over three-fourths of our trade was carried on
in foreign bottoms, while 1867 shows that only
two-thirds is thus controlled.
Slowly, very slowly, we are regaining our
commercial supremacy. Before our late war
our tonnage was greater than that of Great
Britain; to-day it is sadly reduced, and its
efforts to struggle upwards under all the diff
fcultes that hamper it are wonderful. The
only real hope we can have to see its old glory
restored to US is by broad national encour-
agem snt of commercial efforts, and the first
great foundation of il is an extensive
system OF steamship enterprises; but no
sooner is an application made to the
United States Congress to obtain the
subsidy necessary for the purpose than a
blindness appears to cover their eyes, and
none of the members, except those from COM
mercial States, will vote the appropriation.
The West says, eve are agricultural take
care Of your own commercial interests and do
not expect us to aid you" But nothing is
more radically wrong and blindly suicidal; for
the larger trade we develop with the coun-
tries of the world the greater demand there
will be for our products the higher price those
products will bring and the greater will be the
revenue produced upon imports. All this not
seaboard, but him who lives on the summit
between the Atlantic and Pacific, and the diff
ference OF interest which each has is infnites-
imal
Narrow, indeed, must be the brain that
shapes the policy of our country when we see
our magnificent and unequalled seaboard al
most deserted by ships. A nation, born as we
are to great commercial destiny, is poorly
ruled when, up to the present date, we have
no great commercial system. It is not SO with
our formidable rivals, England and France.
The former long since discovered the golden
key to the trade Of the world, and has used it
to such good effect that she absorbs the into
rior and commercial trade Of the countries
lying at our very doors; while to the chagrin
Of our merchants the influence which the
steamship system Of England gives to
English traders leaves scarcely any room
for American enterprise, which really has
10 flourish under control of a COM
mercial rival This is not alone the case
with England; for France Is now in the field
ahead Of Us. The far seeing policy Of the
French government long since discovered that
for . people to be commercially great they
must possess the means for the most rapid
transit for letters, passengers and exchanges;
otherwise they could only hope to get the
crumbs OF trade that fell from the overloaded
table Of the nation that might be in advance Of
them.
As an illustration Of these truths take the
E0RllDu COkum0IC0 Will Otd1lls Az AoOx y llUC
of steamers was subsidized, and the first year
the British exports to that country increased
one million Of pounds sterling, and the five
years following the opening of the line showed
an increase OF imports and exports Of England
with Brazil of two hundred and twenty-five
per cent, while the increase for the previous
seven years under the old sailing ship system
was less than one per cent per annum. The
British steamship system may be said to have
been created since 1912, and the net annual
gain since tina. time in trade with British
North America and the United States has beer
more than twenty millions of pounds sterling
while three steamship lines to the West In dies
and Spanish America have brought them a net
annual gain Of moro than five million sterling
per annum. The imports aud exports of Mex
loo in normal times amount to eleven million
sterling, and England, by secure and rapid
steam communication, has not only been able
to seize one-half Of this commerce, but nearly
all the enormous expectation Of the silver with
which Mexico pays for her Imports All thi:
with country more densely populated than
and whose trade, if properly developed by
steam communication, would be absorbed al.
most entirely by u. Great Britain, by open
ing steam communication with the west coast
Of Africa and the Canary Islands, Immediately
reaped net annual gain Of seventy-nve pei
cent in her commerce. They commenced their
subsidized mail lines with China, Egypt and
India in 1915, and the result was an annual
gain Of eight million pounds sterling in their
trade with those countries.
We have in Spanish America . population
OF thirty-fve millions, and these furnish an
annual export and import trade Of over one
hundred million pounds sterling, Of which, by