Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-12-17
A NEW OFFER.
IN. neellna Of ;mrrlean Commrree.

American shipping interests have received
considerable attention during the present
season. The almost total suspension Of ship
building in this country, and the prospect
that the American hlg will soon cease to
float over merchant vessels engaged in foreign
trade. are matters which ought to and do
awaken the serious apprehensions Of ali intel
ligent citizens 1t appears from carefully
collected statistics that in 1854 we not only
riyaued England in the contest for the 81
premacy Of the seas, but We babe iair to
leave her behind. In lo6l the total tonnage
Of the world amounted to L 30 ,949 tons, a.
follows
Owned by the United States, 5,539,Sl3
Owned by Great Britain, 1,o25,5t9
OWnei by al other nations, o,oOO,ioa
10 1867 the total tonnage Of the United
States, as given in the report Of the Treasury
Department, was $500, 6lj tons, and since
that date our tonnage has steadily decreased.
In 1863 the Hon. John Bright, President OF
the British Board Of Trade, stated that the
tonnage of Great Britain and her dependen-
cies amounted to 7,232 900 tons, prePon-
derance Of nearly 5 100000 tons in favor Of
Great Britain. The United States Govern
ment refuses to register foreign built vessels
and as ship building in this country is at
present ruinously difficult, we are threatened
with the probability that American commerce
will soon be carried on exclusively in foreign
bottoms.
Three different committees have been IN
vestigating this subject, and two OF them
have made noteworthy reports. \ congres
sional committee has been employing the
recess in visiting our chief commercial cities,
and conferring with the leading importers
and ship contractors. in order to obtain sta
tstics Of the decline of American commerce,
and also the opinions Of experts as to its
causes. The most striking result of their
Investigations was obtained in Boston from
the testimony Of leading merchants Of that
city. These gentlemen assigned as the main
cause Of the decay Of ship-buildins in tins
country, the high duties on iron and other
ship material. They showed by elaborate
figures that an iron ship can now be pur-
chased in England and brought To this coun-
Try at less actual expense than it can be
built in our own yards They consequently
recommended the removal Of the duty upon
iron which is to be employed in the con-
struction of ocean vessels. The report OF
the committee has not yet been made, but il
is expected TO embody substantially the re-
suits of their inquiries in Boston.
A committee Of the New York Chamber
of Commerce has also been studying up the /
subject it report was presented last week.
This committee comes to the same general |
conclusions as the Boston merchants and 4
builders but the report advises, in addition
to the removal of the duty upon ship iron,
the issuing Of American registers to foreign |
built vessels, and the granting Of subsidies
to American steamship lines. The last fea-
ture of the report Is not received with much !
favor. But the other two recommendations
are generally endorsed by those who have in
Vestigated the subject. The report Of this
committee was drawn up by Mr.. A. A. Low,
whose recent paper entitled - The SOreraga-
IL Of the Seas, in one of the magazines, at
tracted much attention.
The third Committee to which we sllude, is
one appointed by the Ship-owners' Associa-
ton Of New York City. Its report Is just
made public. 1t goes more fully into details
than the report Of Mr.. Low, and presents an
modifying account Of the decay Of American
ipbuilding. 1t appears that with the ex-
ception of the Spanish gunboats at Delama-
ter's yard, not a single marine engine or iron
steamship Is in course of construction and
those gunboats were built here by Spain at a
pecuniary sacrifice, because they can be
more easily transported to Cuba from New
ork than from any European port. THIS
recommended the allowinga draw
back on iron to be employed in ship-building
n American yards, and also the issuing OF
egisters to foreign built vessels. They OPP
'ose any government subsidies, however, and
Irgue that they are both unjust and unwise.