The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, the ships of which line sail from Southampton to the West Indies, Central America, North and South Pacific, Brazil and River Plate, was founded in 1839, and has a large fleet of powerful steamers. The _Danube_, _Nile_, _Clyde_, _Thames_, _Magdalena_ and _Atrato_ are all over 5,000 tons, with engines of from 6,773 to 7,500 indicated horse-power. Among the smaller ships is the _Trent_, a namesake of the historic vessel which was boarded by the United States cruiser, _San Jacinto_, in 1861, when the seizure of Slidell and Mason nearly provoked a war with Great Britain. The West India and Pacific Steamship Company, with a fleet of seventeen steamers, keeps up a good line of communication between Liverpool, the West Indies, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean seas. The _American_ and _European_ are each 7,730 tons; the _Barbadian_, _Cuban_, _Jamaican_, _Mexican_ and _Tampican_ are from 4,020 to 4,500 tons. * * * * * The Pacific Steam Navigation Company, incorporated in 1840, conducts a line of mail steamers from Liverpool to Brazil and River Plate, continuing the voyage to the west coast of America _via_ the Straits of Magellan. This company are the pioneers of steam navigation along the southern shores of the Pacific, and between Europe and the West Coast. They have also running in the Orient Line, from London to Australia, four of their largest steamers, viz., _Orizaba_, _Oroya_, _Oruba_ and _Orotava_, all over 6,000 tons. They have a large fleet of other ships, such as the _Orissa_, _Orcana_, _Potosi_, _Liguria_, _Iberia_, ranging from 4,000 to 5,000 tons each, and they are building others of large dimensions. Messrs. Lamport and Holt have a fine fleet, consisting of over sixty steamers, running from Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, London, Antwerp and New York, to Brazil, River Plate, and the west coast of South America. A large percentage of their steamers are capable of carrying between 5,000 and 6,000 tons of cargo, and have a speed of from 10½ to 12 knots at sea. They also carry a limited number of passengers. The largest of their steamers are the _Canova_, 5,000 tons; _Cavour_, 5,500 tons; _Cervantes_, 5,000 tons, and the _Horace_, 4,000 tons. The Wilson Line—Thomas Wilson, Sons & Co. (Limited), Hull—in addition to their North American lines of steamers, have a fortnightly service to Bombay and Kurrachee, a monthly service to Australia, and a line of steamers running to River Plate ports, to suit the trade. The fare from Southampton to the West India Islands runs from £25 to £35; from New York, by the Atlas Line, $50; and to Bermuda, by the Quebec Steamship Company, sailing from New York every Thursday, $25. THE CANADIAN TRANS-PACIFIC STEAMSHIPS.