n account of the French revolution
arrived, and the merchants, there and at New York, were in high spirits,
thinking that war was inevitable. A war in Europe is always hailed with
delight in America, as it opens a field for commercial enterprise, and
gives employment to the shipping, of which at present they are much in
need.

During the long and ruinous war in Europe, the mercantile and shipping
interests of the United States advanced with an unexampled degree of
rapidity. The Americans were then the carriers of nearly all Europe, and
scarcely any merchandize entered the ports of the belligerent powers, but
in American bottoms. This unnatural state of prosperity could not last:
peace was established, and from that era the decline of commerce in the
United States may be dated. The merchants seem not to have calculated on
this event's so soon taking place, or to have overrated the increase of
prosperity and population in their own country, as up to that period, and
for some years afterwards, there does appear to have been no relaxation of
ship-building, and little diminution of mercantile speculations. At
present the ship-owners are realizing little beyond the expenses of their
vessels, and in many cases the bottoms are actually in debt. The frequent
failures in the Atlantic cities, of late, are mainly to be attributed to
unsuccessful ship speculations; and I am myself aware of more than one
instance, where the freight was so extremely low, as to do little more
than cover the expenditure of the voyage. On my return to Europe, while
staying at Marseilles, twelve American vessels arrived in that port within
the space of two months; and before my departure, nine of these returned
to the United States with ballast (stones), and I believe only two with
full cargos.

In a national point of view, the difficulty of obtaining employment for
the shipping of America may not have been so injurious as at first view
it appears to be; on the contrary, I am of opinion that it has been
advantageous. Whilst a profitable trade could with facility be carried on
with and in Europe, the merchants seldom thought of extending their
enterprises to any other parts of the world; but since the decline of that
trade, communications have been opened with the East Indies, Africa, all
the ports of the Mediterranean, and voyages to the Pacific, and to the
Austral regions, are now of common occurrence. The museums in the Atlantic
cities bear ample testi