The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-02-05

l
in the Senate in favor of free ships
and in faver of revival OF Amefl>
can commerce to which, Senator
Blaine replied as follows
AS soon as Senator Beck tlnlshed
his speech Senator Blaine hurried 10
his seat and was recognized by the
Vice President. AS he rose to speak
the chamber was husEed in deep
silence, and even Senator Conkllng
paid respectful attention-a thing SO
unusual AS to elicit remark. Mr..
Blaine spoke without notes. lie
could not, he said, let pass unnotlced
even for one day, the words OF the
Kentucky Senator, whose policy
| looks to the perpetual dependency OF |
! this country on Great Britain IN the |
building of ships. Raising his voice
to a high pitch. he declared that Tor |
twenty years the Congress of the
! United States had not done one soil
tary thing 10 uphold the maritime
interests Of the United States. The
decay of American shipping had been
gong on steadily, year after year,
and the representatives OF the people
of the United States sat in the two
b0uses as dumb as though they could
not speak, and offered no remedy,
until the Senator from kentucky
arouses the country to its danger,
and rises to make a declaration in
favor of our perpetual dependency
on Great Britain, as perfect and abb
solute as that OF the District OF Col
umbia in its legislation on the Con-
gresS of the United States. During
the same period Congress had passed
ninety. two acts of internal transpor-
tatiOn by rail. Two hundred million
acres of public lands and $40 100000
in cash have been given for this pur'
pose, and yet we have not extended
aid to II single bark that sails the sea.
: An energetic man who found the
great ocean highway uneccupied, and
, had enough enterprise to build Amer
lean ships on American soil for the
benefit of American commerce, has
been the object OF scorn and derlSion
because he came before Congress and
/ asked that body to do for him as
much as the empire Of Brazil. and
which that government now declines
| to do on account of the refusal OF the
r United States to aid the enterprise.
| If the Brazilian line is taken off, as
, it will be unless the necessary aid is
extended, the letters of the mer
chants of New York, Baltimore and
Philadelphia will be taken to Brazil
) by way of Liverpool. Mr.. Blaine
gave his hearers plainly to under
STAND that it was his opinion that the
1 United States will never rid itself of
e its perpetual dependency on Great
r Britain, our great commercial rival,
. unless she pursues the same subsidy
system in aid Of its shipping as that
country. He pointed out that in the
4 last forty years from the time when
j. the first iron steamship landed iii
: Boston up to l878-Great Britain has
= taken apt Of her treasury, in aid ct
steamship lines, sum exceeding
forty million pounds sterling, equal
e to more than two hundred million
, dollars. She has never abandoned
!. that policy, and withhoids aid only
: from those lines that Can do without
! it. Last year she appropriated four
: millions for postal service by steam
g ships. France, Italy and other conn
q tries are pursuing the same policy.
The American states cannot win in
this international struggle without
adopting The same i4iesasilS. A,et &c
' American merchant marine feel that
the government of the United State
o is behind them. Let the United
:, States take from the treasury Ioar
millions year -the amount that
Great Britain is paying in a ldih0n
I 10 her investment of two hundred
e millions and you Will see the re
/ yiyal of the American steam marine.
We have nine navy yards, without a
navy. Laughter. Put the expen-
: SEES of these yards into the building
t of merchant ships, and you will afford
, aid enough for the grand scheme con
templated. We not only withhold
= our aid from the merchant marine,
! bus are expanding money for an inn
D avinary navy. Great Britain, with
t navy fifteen times as great as that
! which we nominally have, has only
j.. three navy yards. Senator Beck's
scheme would disappoint everybody
: except the British shipbuilder. 1t
Y off RS no possible temptation to a
Y man to purchase vessel III Great
, Britain and have her registered in an
e American port, where he VIII have
= to pay taxes, on her, and he would
: prefer to have her registered aDrf al.
a In five years there would he such an
@ utter abandonment of this system
e that the American marine Will cease
j. to exist. IfyOu extinguish the mer-
e camille marine you will have no naval
establishment. During the war the
maritime states were able to put into
; service fleet of 1000 vessels, with
d over 70 900 men. The United States
Y can regain its supremacy on the high
;. seas and play an important part
thereon as seon as it makes up its
mind to adopt the same policy as
!, England.
The merchant marine and the ma.
I val este blishment go hand in hand.
y The Congress of the United States is
derelict in its duty if it passes an.
: other naval appropriation bill with
n out Il provision extending liberal aid
:, to the merchant marine. AS to what
was said about free trade by the SEN
q ator from Kentucky, he would only
/, refer to the unfortunate venture OF
i the Democratic party in the last cam
| n x.l. Ia inh