twerp and
Brazil; and some between Hamburg and Brazil. None of these lines have
paid, except, perhaps, the New-York, which has had large cargoes of
emigrants; and Mr. Croskey freely acknowledges that the new Company
would have been ruined but for the Indian Revolt, which enabled him to
charter five of the vessels to the Government at good prices, for the
conveyance of troops by way of the Cape of Good Hope to India. Had the
lines on which they were running been profitable they would never have
been chartered to the Government. But like the whole propeller service
of the world, this Company took the chances; and it may be safely
asserted that but for the opportunities which vessels of this class
find for chartering to the Government they could not live on their own
enterprise three years. The number of these vessels is now very
unnecessarily large; and many of them have been built to supply labor
to the establishments, and for taking the chances of Government
employment at high prices. Their largest employment results from
casualties rather than from the pursuit of legitimate trade. But the
business is overdone, even for the English market, when foreign war is
rather the rule, and peace the exception. But few propellers are now
building; these few being small and intended for the coasting, or the
short-line Continental trade, where they will readily pay. (_See page
42 for propeller stock; also pages 44 and 45 for the propeller
coasting service._)

It does not materially alter the complexion of this question to say
that propellers are generally constructed of iron. There is not such a
difference in their prime cost or their stowage capacity as to enable
them to take the large receipts necessary to their support; while
certainly there is no advantage to be gained in speed from iron as a
material of construction. The iron propeller can be constructed
cheaper than the wooden in Great Britain, because of the great
scarcity of timber and the large and redundant quantity of iron; and
an iron vessel has some advantage in being able to stow a larger
cargo, from the fact that her sides and bottom are not so thick as
those of wooden vessels; but these considerations do not very
materially affect the consumption of fuel, and the quantity necessary
to carry a ton of freight. Iron is probably a better material than
wood for the construction of propellers, as the part about the stern,
where the screw works, can be made stronger, and a