Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 3).djvu/402

 *

branch of trade on the American coast had been greatly overrated. In the first place, it was obvious that every year would diminish its importance if the surmise was correct that the bulk of the trade between the two sea-boards of the North American continent would shortly be carried across the Isthmus of Panama, and would thus, be placed at the disposal of British ships.

Whatever opinion may be formed concerning the validity of this comparison, the Board of Trade assured the Shipowners that the Queen's Government had held on this question, that, although the inter-*Oceanic trade of the United States might, in a strictly technical sense, be properly defined as a Coasting trade, yet, on the broad ground of international equity, it should rather be regarded as analogous to the trade between the United Kingdom and her distant dependencies, and that British ships were, therefore, fairly entitled to participate in the former, in return for the complete assimilation of the United States to the British flag in the latter field of profitable employment.

It should, however, be remarked that, with reference to this question, the reservation of the coasting trade to national vessels does not appear to apply to