To the
steamers authorized under contracts made by the Secretary of the Navy
should be added five other steamers authorized under contracts made in
pursuance of laws by the Postmaster-General, making an addition, in the
whole, of eighteen war steamers subject to be taken for public use. As
further contracts for the transportation of the mail to foreign
countries may be authorized by Congress, this number may be enlarged
indefinitely.
The enlightened policy by which a rapid communication with the various
distant parts of the globe is established, by means of American-built
sea steamers, would find an ample reward in the increase of our commerce
and in making our country and its resources more favorably known abroad;
but the national advantage is still greater--of having our naval
officers made familiar with steam navigation and of having the privilege
of taking the ships already equipped for immediate service at a moment's
notice, and will be cheaply purchased by the compensation to be paid for
the transportation of the mail in them over and above the postages
received.
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