======================+=====+

which, deducted from 30,333, will leave 22,333 seamen in the foreign
trade; who, with a slight intermixture of Swedes, Danes, and, more
rarely, Americans, may be asserted to be all British seamen.

The next item is that of the men employed in the whale fishery; and, as
near as I can ascertain the fact, the proportions are two-thirds
Americans to one-third British. The total is 5,633; out of which 3,756
art Americans, and 1,877 British seamen.

The coasting trade employs 39,000 men; but only a small proportion of
them can be considered as seamen, as _it_ embraces all the internal
river navigation.

The steam navigation employs 6,500 men, of whom of course not one in ten
is a seaman.

The fisheries for cod and herring employ about 4,333 men; they are a
mixture of Americans, Nova Scotians, and British, but the proportions
cannot be ascertained; it is supposed that about one-half are British
subjects, i.e. 2,166.

When, therefore, I estimate that the Americans employ at least _thirty
thousand of our seamen_ in their service, I do not think, as my
subsequent remarks will prove, that I am at all overrating the case.

The questions which are now to be considered are, the nature of the
various branches in which the seamen employed in the American marine are
engaged, and how far they will be available to America in case of a war.

The coasting trade is chiefly composed of sloops, manned by two or three
men and boys. The captain is invariably part, if not whole, owner of
the vessel, and those employed are generally his sons, who work for
their father, or some emigrant Irishmen, who, after a few months
practice, are fully equal to this sort of fresh-water sailing. From the
coasting trade, therefore, America would gain no assistance. Indeed,
the majority of the coasting trade is so confined to the interior, that
it would not receive much check from a war with a foreign country.

The coast fisheries might afford a few seamen, but very few; certainly
not the number of men required to man her ships of war. As in the
coasting trade, they are mostly owners or partners. In the whale
fishery much the same system prevails; it is a common speculation; and
the men embarking stipulate for such a proportion of the fish caught as
their share of the profits. They are generally well to do, are
connected together, and are the least likely of all men to volunteer on
board of the American navy. They w