Note 46 — Chapter XII · STEAM NAVIGATION.

(125.) Another projected line of steam communication, which offers circumstances of equal interest to the people of these countries and the United States, is that which is proposed to be established between London and New York. On the completion of the London and Liverpool railroad, Dublin will be connected with London, by a continuous line of steam transport. It is proposed to continue this line by a railroad from Dublin to some point on the western coast of Ireland; among others, the harbour of Valentia has been mentioned. The nearest point of the western continent is St. John's, Newfoundland, the distance of which from Valentia is 1900 miles; the distance from St. John's to New York is about 1200 miles, Halifax (Nova Scotia) being a convenient intermediate station. The distance from Valentia to St. John's comes very near the point which we have already assigned as the probable present limit of steam navigation. The Atlantic Ocean also offers a formidable opponent in the westerly winds which almost constantly prevail in it. These winds are, in fact, the reaction of the trades, which blow near the equator in a contrary direction, and are produced by those portions of the equatorial atmosphere which, rushing down the northern latitudes, carry with them the velocity from west to east proper to the equator. Besides this difficulty, St. John's and Halifax are both inaccessible, by reason of the climate, during certain months of the year. Should these causes prevent this project from being realized, another course may be adopted. We may proceed from the southern point of Ireland or England to the Azores, a distance of about 1800 miles: from the Azores to New York would be a distance of about 2000 miles, or from the Azores to St. John's would be 1600 miles.[46]