National Republican., 1886-12-11
OCEAN TRANSPORTATION.
SOME OF the Entcts Upon ono Atlant

Some of the Effects Upon tho Atlantic
and Pacific Carrying Business OF Ger
tain Accomplished and Contingent
Fnots-England's Enterprise.
The following is an extract from an article
under the above heading published in the
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN Nov. IA, 1885, ac-
companied by map Illustrating the lines OF
transportation alluded to, aud which re-
ceivcs additional interest from the fact that
the lines then spoken of as possible now
appear to be accomplished facts;
To show the necessity of immediate &c.
tlon In regard to ocean mails II Is only
necessary TO demonstrate what has been
aud is being done. The Pacific Mail Steam.
ship Company has established lines across
the Pacific from San Francisco to Japan
and China. to Australia and New Zealand.
Those lines which touched the British col
onies were subsidized by the authorities of
those colonies to the amount OF 100000,
which enabled them, in connection with
the support secured from the United
States government, TO subsist while pay.
ing trade was being built up, but the
British subsidy was only given on the con.
ditlon that each alternate steamer should
be an English vessel.
A reference to the map on another page
will show how the lines were run and what an
immense trade was being diverted to this
country through their establishment. The
withdrawal Of all aid by the foolish action
Of Postmaster General Villas, with the com
pletion OF the Canadian Pacific railway, has
entirely changed the situation. The Aus
tralian government has given subvention
Of three hundred thousand pound tSl,500,-
OC0) for the establishment OF an English
line of steamers from Melbourne to Tacoma,
the terminus of the Canadian Pacific rail
way. The commissioner is now In the
dominion TO see what arrangements can be
made with the authorities.
To show how highly the English aud
colonial governments appreciate the service
on the Pacific, IL is only necessary to state
that the heavy closed mails between Eng
land end Australia have been dispatched
across this continent by way of New York
and San Francisco
The postmaster general Of the Australian
colony has repeatedly applied to our owu
government to JOIN him In the maintenance
of this contract In the hope that the com
merciel relations between the two coun.
tries would soon reach point where the
carry ying trade alone would be OF sufficient
value to guarantee paying support to the
struggling lines. Every appeal which has
been made has been rejected, and now the
contract passes entirely into the hands OF
English companies with the certainty that
the steamers will 90 direct to Puget sound
to connect with the Canadian Pacific rail-
way, thus cutting San Francisco off en-
tirely from trade which was constantly
growing, and which promised so much to
the enterprise Of our merchants and busi-
ness men.
A glance at the map viii show that the
distance is but little more from Tacoma TO
Hawaii than from San Francisco to the same
10
service, once established, would naturally
change the sailing course Of the English
trans-PacliiC steamers, so that connection
would be made at Honolulu with the China
service, and thus another blow would be
struck at our commerce by divertlng the
entire trade Of China and Japan over the
Canadian Pacific. The distance fran San
Francisco to Hong Kong via direct, or
great circle track. is Case miles, while from
San Francisco to Hong Kong via Honolulu
1t is only C,750 miles. Here, then, we see
our trade quietly but surely slipping away
from us, under the patronage OF the Eng
lish government, ana unless prompt action
is taken, the American flag, flying upon a
steamship, will be known no more forever
in the trade between San Francisco, Sand
witch islands, Fiji islands, Australia, New
Zealand, Japan, and China.
English steamship lines are now regularly
established and running between
/. New York, st. Thomas, and the Wind
ward islands.
9. New York and Brazil.
g. New York and Aspinwall.
4. New York and Jamaica.
5. New York, Cuba, and Mexico.
8. San Francisco, Sandwich Islands, Fiji,
and Australia.
z. San Francisco, Japan, and China.
We need not refer to the numerous Eu-
ropean lines, but to those enumerated here
we do ask the serious attention of our law
makers. The English flag has supplanted
our own and tapped every port which was
was within our reach, and which by geo.
graphical position belongs to US. How
long can this continue?