THE WEBB LINE OF STEAMERS. DEBATE IN THE U. S. SENATE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 158, 4 July 1872, Page 2

THE WEBB LINE OF STEAMERS. DEBATE IN THE U. S. SENATE.

The Cpngresdomd^ Globe gives a report of theydeliatetitfthe iSe^atevpn tbei proposed ; subsidy of. this line,. from which we take the following eiVrabts:-- '"••*' 5 Senator Cote, of California, moved to

amend the House appropriation of 75,000 dols. for a steam line service between San Francisco and the Sandwich Islands by adding n paragraph appropriating *sn additional 425,000 dols. per annum to extend the service to New Zealand and Australia. He hoped this sum would not be refused to the Pacifii; Coast States, with which to continue the good work of extending American commerce in the Pacific. So far as he knew, the stars and stripes did not float over a eingle steamer that crossed the Atlantic. The commerce of that ocean bad been secured, through the, Alabama and other means, by our British rivals. What they had lost on the Atiautic, it wris in their power to regain in the Pacific. Senator Edmunds, of Vermont, expressed his astonishment that this "job" Bhould show its head again. The ugly thing had, he thought, been long since killed; but tbe thing wouldn't stay killed. How often was it to be "resurrected" to waste their time and try their patience, ivnd all to please a lobby, to whom success meant money. The thiag had been so often exposed -that it really hardly admitted of a serious argumeut at this time of day. Senator Nye, of Nevada, read a list of the subsidies now paid by Great Britain, and hoped the United States I would profit by the example. He hoped the day would come when the Star- ( spangled Banner would sweep the Pacific Oceau, as the Union Jack now did the I Atlantic. He supported the amendment. I Senator Chandler, of Michigan (Chairman of Committee on Commerce), said : ! Mr. President, I thought we had done with this steamship job of a corrupt lobby. ! Once for all, lot it be understood that we | won't have these old hulks at any price. [ Nothinc that can be said in favor of them will suffice to loot this Treasury of a I single cent. When this subject was first I broached, a year or two ago, the lobbies were ablaze with statements of " a vast trade to be secured " and of " other advantages " to be gained too wonderful to be named. The Senators from the Pacific States were quite enthusiastic. I thought, however, before we took this new step, I would look JDto this matter and see ex- ! actly what the truth was, and I found it I a good deal as the sailor found his wife. i He was brought up for beating his wife, j and the judge said, "Why, Jack, you | married your wife for better, for worse; j you agreed to love and protect her, and ! support her; now you should deal with her kindly." " Oh, yes," said he, " your honor, I took her for better or for worse, but I found her a precious sight worse than I took her for." (Much, laughter). Just so I found this mail contract. Upon coming to examine it I found it a great deal worse than I „ had supposed.' The whole thing is a job, a gross job, not on the part of Senators who know nothing about it, but believe what is told them. I found that the vessels to For remainder of news see fourth page.

be,, snbsidieed were ships that had almost passed from my memory — rotten, old hulks that are not fit to run upon any piece of water upon God's earth and pay a profit. .They were built for exceptional traffic up the tropics between Panama and California, when crowds were rushing to the new El Dorado and willing to travel in any cockleshell. That traffic has long I ceased to exist, and these steamers have not earned a cent since. Every other company in the world, when they found themselves possessed of stock that could not be run profitably, have abandoned it. But, sir, this i company has a more excellent way. Here is Uncle Sam's Treasury;' ; put your arm in there, draw out your millions. Five millions !— that's tbe total sum. There is nothing like going for bick licks while you are about, (laughter). Mr. Presidert, in the interests of commerce I am ready and willing to pay reasonable subsidies wherever they can build up a commerce; but to do that we must have commercial ships and not these vessels built for an exceptional traffic to meet an emergency, and for a day and generation that have gone ,by. These side-wheel; steamers will carry but little more fuel than will take them across the water. They will average only 9 knots per hour on 50 tons of coals per day. Indeed I find they have averaged but. 7 knotsper hour during the last six voyages in their present service. Does anyone suppose that will do in these days as a first-class mail line ? The thing is preposterous. You cannot, by any law, or by any subsidy, or by anything you can do, restore the sickle in the place of the reaping machine, You cannot restore these old side-wheel wooden steamers as means of commerce so long as iron ships are used by the rest of tbe world side by side with them. There has been a revolution in the commerce of the world within the last ten years, and we may as well look that fact squarely in the face. It is on absolute revolution in commerce. Ten years ago every steamer that crossed the Atlantic was a side-wheel. Of all the one hundred and seventy-five steam-ships crossing the Atlantic to-day, only one side-wheeler is left, and she is running at a loss. An iron steamship the moment it is finished takes an A 1 register for twenty-one years. During these twenty-one years the only requisite expense is takiDg her out of water once or twice a year, scraping her bottom, and painting her, whereas a wooden steamer, during the first ten years will cost the whole of her original price in repairs. Then a propeller, with the latest compound engines, will make twelve knots an hour upon a consumption of fuel one-third of that which takes it to drive these old wooden ships nine knots per hour. These ships are utterly unable in point of speed to compete with vessels on other and rival routes. For a short while these very ships ran opposition on the Panama trade, and I find that driven at the utmost capacity on that fine weather route, they only averaged, the year round, a little over nine knots. This won't do in days when our steamers upon the boisterous Atlantic are making from twelve to fifteen knots. If a line run with these steamers would pay with a subsidy of 500,000 dollars, then a line of modern iron propellers, with compound engines, would pay with a subsidy of 100,000 dollars, besides which the service would be commensurate with the requirements of the times. Mr. President, it is useless for us to run these old wooden hulks anywhere. They cannot be mn at a profit. These ships on the Australian line were laid up 'for two years, because they could not run on any known line of commerce. They could not run profitably anywhere, and they cannot run anywhere now, for they are going to abandon the line because it is unprofitable, unless we pass this vote; and that, 100, although they have already subsidies more than sufficient to run aline of modern steamers. In the interests of commerce, I protest taking a single one of these old hulks under the pay of this Government. If we were compelled to take them, then T Bhould propose we' should take them for just what they are worth, and you would find them exactly in the position of the Dutchman's dog : — He Bued a man for killing his dog/ " Well," said the Dutchman, "the dog was not worth a curse; but inasmuch' as this fellow was mean enough to kill him he ought to pay his fell' value." (daughter.) ' Now, if we -■ are-compelled- to buy these old hulks, I propose that we take them in tbat way,— that -*c tak'e'theni'at their full value; and then I propose thar they make just one 1 iibat we' put ten r pounds of nitro-glycerine^itif theie fhulls, tow them out to deep sea soundings, and let us hear no mpre of tliese rottenn ? 6ld r hulks. Let <>ne^.voyage be tbeir lvi:;;. l> (LßUghter' and -. '' cheers);- /> •■• y..'.^';* ,r . :■;?. ■" vjfter^bei^ the^^ amendment table the proposition. y^yiSS^siiiX^ and;; carrjed : . /The subsidy I i^aeß^ shelved for •rvvt-thia^eßM^ ■;'/..''" <..';■'■'■'

It is said that an Italian of the name of Gorohi has undertaken to petrify the body of Mazzini within eight months. M. Goroni,has been for years engaged in. special duties of this nature, and has arrived at tbe most, extraordiuary results. Among other proofs of his skill, the doctor possesses a stick of which the head is formed of a human eye in an admirable state of preservation, and as hard as a crystal. Mr. James, one of the members for Ballnrat East, is desirous of preserving greater decorum among members of Parliament. He seems to think that some of the scenes in the House are traceable to the too frequent habit of "liquoring up." He, therefore, last night gave notice of a motion having for its object the prevention of the sale of spiritouß liquors within the precincts of Parliament houses. The Bluff correspondent of the Southland News writes to that journal as follows: — "A singular meteorological phenomenon occurred here on Thursday night. During one of the heavy squalls, accompained with sleet, alight, resembling a ball of fire, of a bluish red color, was seen at the extreme point of each of the spars of the vessel lying at the jetty. The same phenomenon was exhibited on the tops of many of the tress on Bluff" Hill. Sailors give the name of 'corbizants' to these lights. It is the first time they have been seen by the residents, but I understand their appearance on vessel's yards and mast-head at sea in heavy gales is no unusual occurrence." Suez Canal — The London Spectator quotes the official return of the tonnage and nationality of the ships passing through the Canal in 1871 : — British, 546,621; French, 91,841; Austrian, 43,113; Italian, 29,400; Turkish, 16,959; Egyptian, 13,394; Dutch, 6,711; Russian, 4,820; Belgian, 4,400; American, 4,170; German, 3,520; Spanish, 3,168; Norwegian, 1,316; Portuguese, 919; Danish, 660; Burmanian, 408. Total, 771,409. Lord Palmerston spent many years of his life in opposing the execut-oit of this grand undertaking, and thus it was that English capital and English talent were entirely unemployed in its construction; but, as the above shows, English commerce will not be prevented from making use of the French engineers' skill and intrepidity. Two-thirds of the commerce is carried on by English merchant ships.