56

insurmountable obstacles to its adoption. Its advocates were setdown as visionaries, whose theories practice would speedily dissi-pate. Even men of considerable experience frequently asserted thatiron vessels would never answer, and, as if anxious to hasten theconfirmation of their opinions, spared no pains to search out orimagine objections, eagerly seizing upon every defect in those firstconstructed, and holding them up as satisfactory proofs of thefailure of the principle, without giving themselves the trouble to thinkof the possibility of improvements. Time having already shown,at least to a great extent, that one of their first objections—thesupposed rapid corrosion of iron in water—was no longer tenable,they began to lay great stress on the tendency which iron has tobecome foul, when long immersed in salt water ; but I trust I shallhereafter be enabled to prove that this is to be attributed to neglect,and that the adhesion of weeds, shells, &c., is so far from being an in-surmountable objection, that iron ships may be effectually cleaned,even while under sail. Besides, (as before stated,) chemical meanswill doubtless ere long be successfully employed for this purpose.The opposition thus shown to iron vessels is not only to be regardedas injurious, because retarding a scientific improvement, but asdeterring shipowners and directors of steam companies from adopt-ing the principle, and causing them still to invest large sums in theconstruction of timber vessels, which, before they are launched,have in reality lost one-fourth of their value by the rapid improve-ments in iron vessels.

Iron ship-builders themselves are not always free from blame,as having by their imprudence injured the cause, or impeded itsprogress by using material of inadequate strength, by carelessnessin its scientific application, or by imperfect workmanship, frequentlythe results of accepting contracts that will not remunerate them forthe construction of strong and well-built ships. In their eagernessto obtain business, they have allowed themselves to be guided andcontrolled by those who have orders to give. This should be firmlyguarded against, as leading to the construction of vessels unfitfor service, from their extreme lightness,—thus placing theprinciple of iron ships in jeopardy. Iron vessels, too, have generallybeen adapted for situations in which wood vessels have been objec-tionable or inapplicable, a light draft of water being the advantagesought; and it frequently happens that to obtain this every other