504 Mr. Sheldrake 



immediately great and rapidly in- 

 creasing advautciges from lliese under- 

 takings ; tiiey have gained nothing, and 

 are now venting their disappointment in 

 censures upon steam-boats, witii as 

 mucii unjust exaggeration as they over- 

 rated their expected advantiigcs in tiie 

 outlet. 



The extent to which steam navigation 

 lias been carried in America has been 

 held ont as an example to be Followed in 

 this country: if those who have held this 

 language were aware of the different 

 circumstances of this country and Ame- 

 rica, as they bear upon this sulycct, they 

 have taken care not to produce their 

 knowledge. America, considered in a 

 large sense, is an extensive counlry, 

 very imperfectly peopled, intersected by 

 enormous rivers and waters, affording 

 means for inland navigations to the ex- 

 tent of many hundred miles, in many di- 

 rections : as steam -vessels, to convey 

 many thousam's of passengers, and thou- 

 sands of tons of goods, may be built and 

 supported for nnicli less expense than 

 roads could l)e made upon which pas- 

 sengers and goods niay be conveyed to 

 and from the same places, there is every 

 encouragement given to increase the use 

 of them. As this stimidiis liasbeen given, 

 an<l, from the nature of things, must be 

 continued, wc may, with great proba- 

 bility, look forward to the time wlien 

 the whole inland navigation of Ameri(* 

 will be carried on in steam-vcssels only. 

 In other coiuitries, the same invention 

 %vill bo adopted only in proportion as the 

 circumstances of those countries may re- 

 semble the Circumstances of AmeViea. 



Britain is very fully inhabited, inter- 

 sected by roads in almost every direc- 

 tion, for the conveyance of goods and 

 passengers, witli great expedition, and 

 at a moderate expense; and intersccled 

 by canals, in many directions, upon 

 which goods may be conveyed at much 

 less ex|)ense of money than they can be 

 by land, to (he great benefit of those to 

 whom a certain portion of time is an ob- 

 ject of inferior consideration ; this being 

 the case, it is evident that steam-vessels 

 can only enter into competition with 

 these established modes of conveyance, 

 by doing the work in less time, Ijut at 

 the same expense, or in the same time 

 at less expense — which, so far as relates 

 to the conveyance of goods, is, at pre- 

 sent, and I believe ever will be, utterly 

 impossible. 



As this view of the subject is diffrrent 

 from what has been usually enfet-tained, 

 I fhhik you will permit me to eudea^ our 



on SteatiimBoats. [Jan. 1, 



to bring it home to the conviction of 

 your readers. 



1 lately walked from Kcw to Rich- 

 mond by the river side ; the' tide was 

 running up, and it was near high water; 

 in the same direction was going a coun- 

 try barge, marked upon the stern 208 

 tons, and so loaded, that the top of her 

 gunwhale was within six inches of th« 

 water, so tliat she nni.st have had her 

 full loading a-board ; she was towed by 

 three horses. I know that 1 walked 

 three miles per liour, and, judging by 

 the manner in wliich the barge went a- 

 head of me, I am certain that she must 

 have gone fovu' miles and a half per 

 hour; and I am equally certain, by the 

 rate at which I went before certain light 

 materials, which were floating at the 

 time, that the tide did not go more than 

 two miles per hour ; so that we had here 

 208 tons of goods drawn two miles and 

 a half per hour by three horses. 



Some time ago I was walking by th« 

 Thames side, between Hampton and 

 Sunbury, and perceived a west-conutry 

 barge towed upwards by twenty-two 

 horses : the barge was of the largest .size, 

 but, I think, could not exceed the bur- 

 then of 400 tons ; supposing that to be 

 the case, and making every allowance 

 for the extra power that must be neces- 

 sary to overcome the resistance of the 

 summer stream, which runs constantlj 

 downwards, 1 could not account lor the 

 necessity of employing so many hor.ses 

 to tow this barge ; the fact remained ju- 

 explicablc to me, till, some time after- 

 wards, I met with an intelligent person, 

 whose business is to supply horses for 

 the purpose of towing these baiges; he 

 told me it was common, in Uie higher 

 parts of the river, for barges to take Uie 

 grt)und unexpectedly, when the water 

 was something lower than usual ; au<i, 

 ns this could not always be foresei.'u, it 

 was common t() take the number of 

 horses I saw towing that barge, that, in 

 case she did take the ground, they niigl-.t 

 be able to draw kcr, iiy main strength, 

 over the shoal or flat, till .she got into 

 deep water again. 



This is an oeeurrcne^e .so common, 

 that it is expected and provided against 

 by the barges whieii go up the river at 

 that season ; and is, of itself, an ob.stacle 

 that must ever iirevent the adoption of 

 steam-vcssels in tliat part of the navigu- 

 tion, supposing they could bo otiiei- 

 wise adopted — for, it is ecrtuiu, liiat, if a 

 steam-boat once strikes tlie ground, icr 

 own power must be at an end, iuid she 

 must iTiBraia till cither drawn elf by 



some 



