The daily gazette., 1882-05-10
sO0,OM,OO0W

| have n total Of ana OnO O0o fO
| OF this American
shipping earned 10
| per cent. in 1881, a
little less than: .$lo,oOO,0 900 90
And the foreign ship
| Our share OF this on the basis Of
our proportion in 1851 would be
% per cent Observation-Disclosures. $04 000, 600 90
| So that to restore our shipping to
its relative position in 1851 In
the carrying trade we must In
crease our freight earnings..... $1,000, 900 90
He did not hold this 10 be the most seri-
Gus loss. "We want navigators we want
mariners; men whose skill Is not to be I'm
provised In a day or year; we want the
American sailor in all that the word implies,
with its attendant meaning of patriotic
American pluck, enterprise and navigating
skill.
"These are qualities and capacities which
are not to be measured in money, and which
we cannot as a nation afford TO lose When
the volume of the vast internal trade of the
United States is considered however, and
even an approximation is reached Of its
magnitude, the total exterior trade of both
imports and exports of$l 600, ,000, ,00O, ,shrinlSs
into comparative insignihcance with vol
ume which by those most competent TO COM
pute, Is estimated at not less than twenty
and perhaps even thirty times as great.
The speaker now passed to the recital Of
the cause of the disappearance of the mer-
chant ships. The raids of the Alabama and
her kindred cruisers swept our vessels from
the sea from 1861 to 1865, and necessarily
stopped absolutely the building of merchant
vessels during the war. Such as were not
burnt and sunk were driven to take shelter
under foreign and neutral flags, and nearly
1,0OO,OOO tons of American shipping were
sold outright TO foreign purchasers.
A blind and silly act of Congress was
passed I'm February, 1855, preventing any
vessel which had been recorded or registered
as an American vessel, and which was
licensed to sail under foreign flag and to
have the protection of foreign government
during the rebellion, from being deemed as
an American-registered vessel or having the
rights and privileges Of vessels of the United
States.
This unwise legislation, which stands un-
repealed to-day on our statute book, was
especially untimely, for 1t presented even
the nucleus of a Merchant Marine being
formed, around which growth could have
been encouraged.
The Neutrality-suspicious., officers and
sermon, were thus disbanded, and were
soon scattered in other occupations all over
the country, and enlisted In other pursuits.
In 1864, the policy and system of the
Government was commenced of stimulating
by the grant of public lands on an imperial
scale, and the loan of public money TO ineor-
poratcd companies, the building of lines of
railwa, across the continent 10 the Pacific
coast ai.l throughout the Western States
and Territories In various directions.
Within 10 years after the war closed,
Congress had given In aid of inland trans
portation the almost incredible amount of
l10, ,g22 ,52S acres of the public land, and in
addition had issued to the favored companies
bonds bearing 9 per cent interest TO the
amount of S65 200, 600. And by a con
struction given TO the act by the Supreme
Court, no interest can be collected from
these bonds by the Government until the
principal natures 30 years from their date,
which, subtracting all credits for transpor-
tation of army supplies, will be at least
SB5,OOO, 200 In addition, making q money
loan of $3.50, ,000, 900.
A feature of these land grants was the re-
tention OF alternate sections of land by the
Government, which remained open 10 pri-
vate purchase and entry TO settlers. The
effect of this immense and unprecedented
subsidy by the Government can scarcely be
described or estimated Every branch of in
dustry was locally stimulated, but ships and
ship building, the ocean and It's shores, in
short our maritime interests and duties were
utterly neglected, disregarded and forgot
ten. With capital, energy and enterprise
thus absorbed inland, what has been the lot
Of our ship builders and owners In their COM
petition with their rivals In the carrying
trade from every quarter upon the high
seasl Their business had been actually
stopped for five years and at once they had
to compete with the newly acquired skill Of
Great Britain, and the start her workmen
had obtained just when we could not COM
pete In the great and remarkable change In
the substitution of iron for wood in ship
building.
This had begun shortly before our civil
war commenced, and was an invention born
of necessity TO Great Britain. Communica-
tion by sailing and steamships with her colo
nies and dependencies must be constantly
and uhbrokenly maintained.
This insular position compels skill In the
construction and navigation of ships-that
which is important to us is absolutely vital
to her. Ships are to Great Britain what
railways are to the United States. Hence
the energy displayed, and the invention OF
iron as substitute for wood, of which last
she had none, but what at great expense was
imported from distant points of supply.
But skill is the hardy offspring of expert
ence and endeavor-and this England ac-
quired during our period of civil strife and
subsequent disorder, and every effort of her
Government has been lent to assist her ship
builders They can buy all their materials
in the cheapest markets, and bring them in
| free from taxation. 1t may truly be said
that nothing which enters into the cOnstruc-
| ton of a British vessel is taxed by that
| Government, and that nothing enters into
the construction of an American ship but Is
taxed by our Government.
But American shipbuilders will be able to
equal England, and In time surpass her in
the field of modern ship building. To sus-
tain this remark Senator Bayard read the
following letter which he had recently re-
ceived
| WILMINGTON, DEL, April f6, '82.
| Hon. Thomas H. BGyard, Wdshingtoal--
Ny DEAR SIR! ! have yours of yesterday
and take pleasure in answering your in
quiries.
las to the difference in value between
labor and material in the constructing OF OH
iron ship, refer TO the construction account
of one lately built by my own company and
find the costs of the various details as
follows:
Iron Hull, Labor, .sI6, ,O62 Material. .s7o, AZ
/ Engine, '......... y, $40 "...... AVA
| Boilers, "....... 1880 .,,.... le,Ooz
| Sundries, consist
ing of anchor
chains, masts, sails,
| rigging, cooks de-
partment steering r
gear bouts, life pru- Il
servers, outfits in 90
| general, ,....,,,...... o,OOO Mhtererini' ,io'Voo
ro,ois s117 o5a $lt2Ie4