884 Transactions of the American Institute. 



leas^ue hoots," and just taking one or two steps ahead of tliose who 

 have distanced ns in the race. Our seven league boots must be sliips 

 of greater length, lighter draft, and finer lines than those of our 

 rivals. These conditions can be effected without any increase in 

 dej^th of hold ; and they will give an important gain in speed, with- 

 out 'any addition of engine power; but, as their actual tonnage 

 capacity will exceed that of such ships as the Qiina, Ville de Paris, 

 and others of the same class, by 1,500 to 2,000 tons, I would recom- 

 mend that half this increase of tonnage shall be used to obtain 

 increased power and speed, and the other half for the carriage of 

 freight, and increased passenger accommodations. 



When we have once successfully recommenced ship building on a 

 large scale by the use of iron and steel, we shall be able to hold our 

 own, not only in the transport of mails and first class passengers, but 

 in all other branches of ocean trafhc. 



If Congress, liowever, takes a narrow and sectional view of this 

 great national interest, in order to be consistent it should abolish our 

 registry laws and give up the coasting, as well as the trans-Atlantic 

 trade, to England and France, Allow our merchants to buy their 

 ships in the markets of the world and thus forever abolish ship build- 

 ing from our shores. I leave this part of the question here, for the 

 consideration of the public, and especially of members of Congress, 

 in order briefly to point out the urgency of action. 



In a few months we shall have completed the first great national 

 highway across our continent. This, like the ocean, is destined to 

 become the highway of all nations. The trade of three continents 

 will immediately flow over it and enrich those who may possess the 

 facilities to control it on the two oceans. A single line of rails will 

 soon be found to be unequal to the requirements of this vast foreign 

 and domestic inter-oceanic trade, and two or three other trunk lines 

 will speedily follow. We shall transport the mails between Asia and 

 Europe, from ocean to ocean, and our own letter and other postal 

 business will be increased several fold in half a dozen years more. 

 The time is also at hand wlien passengers and express freight will be 

 transported betwee-n Europe and San Francisco in a fortnight, that i^, 

 when we have found out that steamers can be built to cross the Atlan- 

 tic economically and with unerring certainty in seven or eight days. 

 The journey between China and Japan and Europe will then be per- 

 formed in about the same time that it now takes to do it between 

 "N^ew York and San Francisco, or in less than a month. Wheii that 



