f South America, bought the steamers of a bankrupt French line,
put them under the British flag, and went on with their accustomed
regularity in carrying the mails--all that was required at their
hands.

Now, if any of the companies who are seeking for postal contracts
from our government are to have their proposals acceded to, it should
be with the express proviso that they and all of us may be provided
with the best and cheapest ships wherever they can be obtained, as
in this way the public and individuals can be most profitably and
advantageously served.

I have observed in the preceding pages, that the reason why our
American shipbuilders are unable to compete with those upon the Clyde
is, in a great measure, owing to the fact that a high tariff, making
it more costly for mechanics to live, necessitates the demand, on
their part, for higher wages.

In the construction of an iron steamship, as will be seen in reading a
communication herewith presented, the labor may be estimated at 27-1/2
per cent. of the total cost. The writer, of course, means to be
understood as speaking of the labor in putting the ship together,
having the material in shape of angle iron, plates, &c., &c., already
prepared.

If the labor from the time of extracting the iron from the mines,
reducing it to ore, and working it up from thence to the shape
required by the shipbuilder, had been included, nearly the whole cost
of the ship would be comprehended under that term. Indeed, in working
out this problem, we ought actually so to consider it. It will be seen
that the difference in the cost of labor, even in its depressed
condition in this country, without taking the higher cost of materials
into account, is so great as to absolutely preclude any attempt at
equality upon our part, notwithstanding what may be said to the
contrary by Mr. Roach, when it suits his convenience to boast of his
ability to compete with foreign shipbuilders.

At Dumbarton, I once carefully went over the books of Messrs. Wm.
Denny & Brothers, a member of whose firm, Mr. James Denny, now
furnishes me with some statistics. It was found that to build the
_Parthia_, a Cunard steamship of 3,000 tons, 162,500 days' labor
was required; I mean with the materials already prepared.

Now, although the figures given in the tables below ought to be
convincing at a glance, it is easy for any one with an ordinary
knowledge of arithmetic, to make a close calculation of the labor
d