A General Plan for a Mail Communication by Steam, Between Great Britain and the Eastern and Western | Page 2

any undue advantage over another. These points can never be lost sight of in planning or arranging any mail communication, but more especially a communication like that at present proposed.
No narrow or parsimonious views on the part of this great country ought to throw aside the plan particularly alluded to, or leave it to be taken up and split into divisions by parties, perhaps foreigners, who will then not only command the channels of British intelligence, but be enabled to demand what price they please for carrying a large and important portion of the commercial correspondence of this country. The Public, moreover, can only repose implicit confidence in a mail conveyance under the direction and the responsibility of Government. Further, it is scarcely necessary to point out, or to (p.?ix) advert to, the immense advantages which the Government of Great Britain would possess, in the event of hostilities, by having the command and the direction of such a mighty and extensive steam power and communication, which would enable them to forward, to any point within its vast range, despatches, troops, and warlike stores. From Falmouth, letters might be at Sydney, New South Wales, in seventy-five, and at Canton-China in seventy-eight days, by employing sailing packets only, to cross the Pacific from the Isthmus of America. Letters from Falmouth, by way of Barbadoes, Jamaica, and Chagre, could be at Lima in thirty-five days.
To give greater security to the mails, and comfort and accommodation to passengers, &c. a class of sailing-vessels rather larger than the generality of those at present employed in the West Indies, ought to be engaged; and for this purpose, a larger sum annually must be allowed to defray the expense. Some of those at present employed, such as the Charib, may do, but sloops are too small for the service.
It is only within these few months that a mail communication, and that very uncertain and irregular, has been commenced with the British Empire in Hindostan, containing 100,000,000 of people. With the rapidly rising colonies in British America, containing 1,700,000 enterprising inhabitants, there is still but one ill-regulated mail conveyance, by a sailing-packet, each month. Such a state of things (p.?x) is neither creditable nor safe to a country like Great Britain. The population of these colonies must be left far behind their neighbours in the United States in all commercial intelligence, and the interests of the former must consequently suffer greatly.
The steam-boats to be employed in the service contemplated, although of the high power mentioned, need not be of the same tonnage as vessels of an equal power which are built for the sole purpose of carrying goods. Consequently, a considerable expense in building the former will be saved. Mails never can be carried either with regularity or certainty in vessels, the chief object and dependence of which is to carry merchandize. The time which such vessels would require to procure, take in, and discharge cargoes, would render punctuality and regularity, two things indispensably necessary in all mail communications, quite impracticable. Any attempt to resort to such a system, more especially in a quarter where steamers would have so many places to call at as these will have in the West Indies, would throw every thing into inextricable confusion. Steam-boats carrying mails and passengers should be the mail-coaches of the ocean, limited as mail-coaches on land are to cargoes, and as near as possible to the tonnage pointed out in the following pages. The steamers to be employed in the service contemplated should also be built broad in the beam, of a light draught of water, and in speed, accommodation, and (p.?xi) security, must be such that no others of equal powers can surpass them.
The liberality of MR. JOHN ARROWSMITH, so well known for his geographical knowledge and geographical accuracy, has enabled me, without the labour of constructing it, to present to you and to the public the Chart of the World, between 70° N. lat. and 60° S. lat., on Mercator's projection, which accompanies the present sheets. On it I have laid down all the routes of both steamers and sailing-packets, to every quarter of the world that has been adverted to; and further added a Chart of the West Indies, and of the Isthmus of America, drawn by myself, and corrected by the latest authorities.
The timid and the interested will throw every doubt upon the success of such an undertaking. What is going on in the world is the best answer to doubts and fears on this subject. What takes place in other quarters will take place in the quarters alluded to, namely, success where failure was anticipated.
In a vast undertaking like the plan proposed, the interests of the Government and the general interests of the public must be specially kept in view and particularly attended