er
those advantages, and that influence, and that command which she might
have, which she ought to have, which all her great interests require
she should have; and which the power of steam, together with the late
great improvements in machinery, can and ought, in a special manner,
to secure unto her, her commerce, her power, and her people.

In no quarters of the world could the application of the power and the
improvements alluded to prove so advantageous to the commercial (p. 002)
and the political interests of Great Britain as in the East Indies, in
the West Indies, and in those places connected with these quarters;
and also in all those countries and places which afford the safest and
the speediest means of connecting the chain closely which tends to
enable her to communicate more frequently, more rapidly, and more
regularly with these places; and, at the same time, all these
quarters, and her own possessions, with the parent State.

The object being a national one, it ought to be carried into effect by
the nation, without reference to the mere question of pounds shillings
and pence; that is, whether it is to become a directly remunerating
concern or not. While the important subject ought to be taken up in
this manner by the Government of Great Britain, it may be observed
that the plan requisite, carried into effect in the most extensive
manner, will certainly remunerate fully the Government or the
individuals who may undertake the work, either on the general or on
the more limited scale; but the higher, the more the scale is
extended.

In fact, unless the plan is carried into effect on an extensive scale,
it will not prove a concern so remunerating as it would otherwise be,
because it is only by connecting different places in the line, or
within the sphere of communication, that a greater number, or rather a
sufficient number, of letters and passengers can be obtained; and
unless the communications are sufficiently frequent and regular, both
letters and travellers will continue to find private traders and ships
in general the quickest mode of proceeding on and getting to the end
of their journey, or the place of their destination.

The position of the United States, in the western world, and the very
extensive trade which these States carry on with every part of that
quarter of the world, and indeed with every quarter of the world,
gives the merchants of these States, constituted as the packet
arrangements