Ocean Steam Navigation and the Ocean Post

by Thomas Rainey

"The objects which appear to have led to the formation of these contracts, and to the large expenditure involved, were—to afford a rapid, frequent, and punctual communication with those distant ports which feed the main arteries of British commerce, and with the most important of our foreign possessions; to foster maritime enterprise; and to encourage the production of a superior class of vessels which would promote the convenience and wealth of the country in time of peace, and assist in defending its shores against hostile aggression.

"These expectations have not been disappointed. The ocean has been traversed with a precision and regularity hitherto deemed impossible—commerce and civilization have been extended—the colonies have been brought more closely into connection with the Home Government—and steamships have been constructed of a size and power that, without Government aid, could hardly, at least for many years, have been produced.

"It is not easy to estimate the pecuniary value of these results, but there is no reason to suppose that they could have been attained at that time at less cost."

After noticing the objects of the postal contracts, the Report says, in speaking of their results:

"To show what the system is capable of accomplishing, it will be sufficient that we should call attention to the two great lines of communication which have been opened, the one between this country and India, the other between this country and America. The mails are dispatched twice a month in the one case, and once a week in the other, and are conveyed to their destination with a regularity and rapidity which leaves nothing to be desired. The time occupied in the voyage to and fro between England and Bombay, which, before the establishment of the Overland Route, averaged about 224 days, is now no more than 87 days; and the time occupied in the voyage to and fro between England and the United States, which before 1840 varied from 45 to 105 days, is now reduced to an average period of 24 days. Nor is the service simply rapid, it is also regular; and the mercantile community can reckon with the utmost certainty on the punctual departure of the mails at the appointed times, and can also calculate with great precision the times of their arrival.

"The same results have not been so conspicuous on some other postal lines; but, taking the service as a whole, it has undoubtedly been brought to a high state of excellence, and its value to the country, both politically and commercially, is very considerable."

In speaking further of the objects of the Government postal service, after inquiring whether the foreign mail service should be extended any further, it says:

"The object of the Government in undertaking the transmarine postal service, whether by packets or by the system of ship letters, is to provide frequent, rapid, and regular communication between this country and other states, and between different parts of the British Empire. The reasons for desiring such communication are partly commercial and partly political. In cases where the interests concerned are chiefly those of commerce, it is generally more important that the postal service should be regular, than that it should be extremely rapid, though of course rapidity of communication, where it can be obtained without sacrificing other objects, is of great advantage. It would clearly be the interest of persons engaged in an important trade, provided there were no legal impediment in the way, to establish a regular postal communication in connection with it, even without aid from the state. This, however, would not extend to many cases in which there are political reasons for maintaining such services, while the commercial interests involved are of less magnitude. Nor is it probable that private communications would be nearly so rapid as those directed by the Government; for a high rate of speed can only be obtained at a great expense, which will generally be found to be disproportionate to the benefits directly received from it, unless under peculiar circumstances of passenger traffic. Lastly, it is to be considered that there are several services which, if they were not carried on by the British Government, would probably be undertaken by the Governments of foreign states, and that it is not likely that private individuals or associations would in such cases enter into competition with them.

"From these considerations we infer that, even upon the lines in the maintenance of which the greatest commercial interests are involved, private enterprise can not be depended upon for providing a complete substitute for Government agency; while it is clear that in others, where regular communications are desired solely or chiefly for political purposes, such agency is absolutely indispensable. It is, however, obvious, that to establish a Government system in some cases, and to leave others wholly to private persons, would cause much inconvenience. The conclusion therefore follows, that it is right that the Government should have the management of the whole of the transmarine postal communication, as it also has that of the communication within the country.