New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-07-08
NEW ORLEANS REPUBLICAN, SATURDAY, JULY g. 1875.

dred and fifty million pounds of coffee.
The coffee imported in 1874 into New
Orleans was 21,256, $50 pounds. With
the receipts of other Gulf ports it
may reach forty million pounds. It
will be thus made obvious that more than
one hundred million pounds consumed
along and above the Mississippi meridian
comes to the consumer burdened with ex-
ira transportation from the Atlantic ports
and with the added insurance Of the Flor
ida reefs and Cape Hatteras. The want of
cargoes Of -four that will keep in the
tropics has been assigned as reason why
New Orleans can not import this coffee,
and why the Atlantic ports have mono
polized this direct trade. This grant of q
subvention would furnish the means to
supply the West, the lakes and Canada
West with tropical goods without the ex-
ira and unnecessary cost adverted TO.
1t will be necessary, however, to amend
the bill. Of Mr.. Hancock by striking out
the terminal port of Galveston and insert
ing that of New Orleans. We should
hope that the Western vote will see its
own interest in this respect, and make
such an amendment.
The bill provides that the steamers
shall touch at the Island of St. Thomas
in the West Indies, at Ba hia, Pernambu-
co, and such other Brazilian ports as may
be deemed necessary and expedient We
learn that it is contempt ated to propose
the further amendment Of the bill by re-
quiring the steamers departing from New
Orleans to touch at such ports as Port
Lemon, Aspinwall, Savanilla, La Guayra,
Port Spain, and certain Brazilian ports.
It would seem to US that the Brazil line
should offer the most direct and certain
intercourse between the United States
and Rio.
To condemn through passengers to
cruise around the whole west coast of the
Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
would prolong the expense Of subsistence,
the loss Of time and the risk of health too
much. Many Of these coast ports named
have an uncertain depth of water with
roadsteads dangerous in case of storm.
The difficulties of making mail, and even
passenger connections are serious, and
must be attended with delay or injury to
persons or property. We believe our line
to Vera Cruz is required by contract to
lay of the port of Tampico for twenty
four hours for the delivery of the mail.
It thus occasionally happens that the
mail steamer is exposed to an expensive
demurrage, and to imminent danger of
shipwreck upon a dangerous coast. We
would indeed doubt whether in taking the
Yucatan channel, and running along the
coast of Central America and Venezuela, it
would be possible to make twelve round
trips year. 1t would seem best to make
a clean run between the ports of depar-
ture and destination, touching merely at
such Brazilian ports as may be stipulated
by the Brazilian government.
We would suggest to the representatives
interested in this enterprise that the Central
American service could be best performed
by devising such modification of the
mail contract of the Pacific Mail Steam
ship Company as will transfer that line
from between New York and Aspinwall to
New Orleans and Aspinwall. The way
service can be better performed than by
charging the Brazilian line with supply
ing it. The Chamber of Commerce of
New Orleans has asked the attention of
the parties interested to this transfer, and
it would seem so much to the interest of
the government and the contractors as to
be worthy consideration.
We should, therefore, advise the repre-
sen.a.ives interested in turning the coffee
trade from the coast to the interior to
make as few points on the foreign line as
possible If after experiment it shall
prove practicable to make an accommoda-
ton schedule, it will be easy to procure
authority from Congress to do so. We
hope the amendments will at present be |
limited to striking out Galveston and in |
serting New Orleans, leaving as far as
possible to the discretion Of the Post |
master General upon application of the !
contractor to designate such intermediate |
ports as shall be by him considered neces-
sary and expedient.
We have made no further criticism
Upon the bill as it seems to pursue the
common form Of other acts providing for