The New York herald., 1873-12-12
NEW YORK HERALD FRIDAY DECEMBER r. ls7a-TRPlE
Our Shipping Interests-The Duty Of
Congress.

Our Shipping Interests-The Duty Of
Congress.
One Of the most important duties devolving
on the present Congress is that Of fostering
the shipping interests of the country. The
prosperous condition of the iron trade and
the difficulties that have occurred in Europe
have tended to give an impetus to shipbuild-
ing in the United States which needs very
little encouragement to lead to important re-
suits Since the commencement of the war
Of the rebellion we have been losing our
position on the ocean until an American line
of steamers has been almost unknown. We
now appear to have a fair prospect Of
recovering from this depression If our
Representatives will lend helping
hand by wise legislation. What we
laws as will enable American lines to
buy ships in the cheapest market and obtain
for them American registry. A plain, COM
mon sense view of this subject must convince
every reasonable man Of the wisdom OF such
policy. We have to-day facilities for ship
building, if we would only encourage them,
superior to those Of any other nation and yet
We cling to the folly which has heretofore
prompted us to throw obstacles in the way OF
this important business for the sake of special
interests and seem unwilling to learn the
lessons taught us by every years experience.
The great evil against which we have had
to contend has been the disposition of such
| ebi in limos how ha1 fO6
the country for subsidies. This is altogether
wrong. line should be made to support
itself without direct aid from the government,
and we could have several successful American
lines in operation to-day if our laws were such
as to enable them to compete with foreign
companies, without taking dollar from the
Treasury in the shape Of subsidies. The Pa
ciic Mail line has recently learned the wisdom
of making revolution in its man
agement, long needed, and has been
quietly introducing modern iron propellers
in place of the old sidewheel steamers, thus
saving in consumption of coal and increased
space for tonnage more than any years subsidy
granted by Congress could realize. But the
company has not, for all that, given up the
idea of being still beggar at the public treas
ury. A scheme is on foot to unite the Pacific
Mail line with the Philadelphia European line
in grand united company for the establish
ment of an American service between Liver
pool and New York and Philadelphia. The
project embraces also the consolidation of
erpool in the general American COM
pany. 1t is the intention of the projectors
of this grand scheme to ask Of Congress, first,
subsidy, and next such an amendment of
our navigation laws as will enable them to buy
their ships in the cheapest market and procure
for them an American registry. The subsidy
should be refused. The amendment to our
present unwise law should be granted. We
need free market for ships, and when we
have one our own shipbuilders will soon awake
to the knowledge that we can build ships
cheaper and better in the United States than
they can be built in any other country.
The Position of Our Citizens i'm Ha-
In another column we publish letter from
our correspondent in Havana, which depicts in
forcible terms the position full of peril occu-
pied by large number of American citizens
whose business compels them to remain in
that city. Notwithstanding the warnings
addressed to the government at Washington,
no steps have been taken to secure American
residents in the Cuban capital from the posi-
BILE violence of the mob or to afford them
refuge should popular passion attempt to
wreak vengeance on their unprotected heads.
It is a sad and humiliating sight to see our
citizens fleeing for their lives before the
shadow Of danger because they have no con-
fidence in the will of their government to
protect them. The tender sensiblities of a
cutthroat rabble are considered by the Wash
ington government as more worthy Of atten-
ton than the interests or safety Of American
citizens. The prompt action of the English
government in sending its war ships to the
scene Of disturbance offers to us an example
well worthy of imitation. But, so long as the
foreign policy Of the country is controlled by
Mr.. Fish, American citizens will probably con-
tinue to look in vain to their flag for protec-
ton from Spanish rufianism. The appre-
hended resistance to the delivery of the
Virginius noted in our later dispatches makes
it imperatively the duty of the government to
send sufficient force to Cuban waters to
overawe the violent rabble whose hostile atti-
tude is a source of danger to our citizens.
The Cheap Transportation Question.
There is unusual interest manifested just
now in the subject of cheaper transportation
for the products of the remote parts of the
country, and from the West particularly, to
the seaboard and market Congress, during