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Show witli tha approval of the American pnpple, , Many readers will recall the literary passage which occurred last year between be-tween Gladstone and Blaise. Tha , former attacked the American policy of protection to home industries and : brought all the powers of his wonderful mind to bear against it. Insisting that no nation had any right to adopt such a policy. Mr. Dlaine, in bis reply, . pointed out the fact that Knpland's pro-1 pro-1 taction, of her steamship lines was of exactly the same character. Kach system sys-tem was intended to secure and bold business for tho country pursuing it. Mr (iI.aimtom cuuld net deny that it was right and necessary for England to follow such a course, and no American Ameri-can can successfully combat the proposition prop-osition that this country ought to learn a lessou on the subject from our lifitisb cousins. We annually pay aome two hundred millions of dollars to foreigners foreign-ers for carrying our own freight, while we cannot compete for any considerable consider-able portion of the vast carrying trade of tho nations. Wo ought to control it: we onght to save the r.'Ort.OOO.OOO and directly earn as much more each year; and this could bo done if our government govern-ment would do its full duty as tho same is presented by the commercial conditions con-ditions of the age. Ol'H MEltCHANr MAItt.fE. Commodore Hi cues contributes an articlo to the New York Moraiujr Journal Jour-nal on the subject of ocean commerce iu which he says: The quetitlon of sum .macy on the ocean Is no longer a question of individual versus in dividual, but of r.ntion vcrMis nation. How did England ever create her iron steamships, which developed her shipyard, and pother where sho is today on the ocean? She started them by paying t!i. most libera! kind of mih-shlies. mih-shlies. She vent to a corporation and snid. "We want a line of steamer of such and such a speed to such and men porta. Now, how , much do you require to help you carry out this enterpriser" And she paid what they re-qui re-qui r.d. When they had developed tho trade to thoso ports, she gradually reducedthe subsidy until, perhaps, sue look It away entirely. Then she started new linei to develop buflnes-i with some other country. Theso are conditions which our government gov-ernment is compelled to face. Our flag has been driven from the ocean, and there is no way to replace it there but by government assistance. Ko private individual, no corporation can hope to compete with "foreigners who enjoy government protection in the form of subsidies. It is of public importance that our merchant marine should be reestablished re-established and it is not only proper but necessary that public funds should be used to assist in effecting that purpose. pur-pose. There are people of that class who are unalterably opposed to anything like government protection for any enterprise en-terprise who will insist that we ought to do without steamship lines and let other nations control the commerce of tho world rather than that a single company should be aided, but that is not nomuiOD sens and will sot meet |