which naturally belongs to the United
States; not so much that she conducts that trade by _steam
facilities_, to the detriment of us who have none; not so much that
she has _lines of steamers_ by the dozen, and weekly communication, as
well as the advantage and use of all the other European lines; but
that the citizens of the United States are not permitted to enter into
a fair competition for this trade. Our people probably surpass every
other people in the world in individual and aggregate enterprise and
energy. They ask as few favors of the Government as any people on
earth; doing every thing that is practicable, and that energy and
capital can accomplish, without the intervention of the Government.
But there are some things that, with the entire concentrated skill and
ability of the nation, her citizens can not accomplish; and one of
these is the maintenance of steamship mail lines upon the ocean. In
ordinary enterprises competition necessitates improvement; and
mechanical improvement and skill, in due course of time, enable
individuals to compass ends otherwise deemed impracticable and
unattainable. These attempts have all been made, in every form, with
ocean steam navigation. It was supposed, as elsewhere stated, that, by
superior engines and great economy of fuel, a speed high enough for
all ordinary mail purposes could be attained, and yet leave enough
room for freight and passengers to enable the income from these, at
rates much higher than on sailing vessels, to pay for fuel,
engineering, and the great additional cost of running a steamer. Vast
engineering skill and ability have been directed to this point both in
this country and Europe; and this object has been declared the
commercial desideratum of the age. But all of these efforts have
failed in their design; so much so that there is not, to-day, more
than one permanent steam line upon the high seas of the whole world
which is not sustained by a subsidy from some government. Many
attempts have been made by British merchants to do a freighting and
passenger business in _propellers_, without any mail pay, and
depending on their receipts alone. These, too, have all failed. No
permanent line of these propellers has been established to any of our
American cities, except by subsidized companies, owning side-wheel
steamers also.

The only trade in which it has ever been supposed that steamers of any
description whatever could carry freight is that between Europ